The Interrupters 2011

Wesley Morris, Boston Globe: The immediacy and caprice of violence in "The Interrupters'' are just as strong as in nearly every documentary I've seen about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Read more

Lisa Schwarzbaum, Entertainment Weekly: Once again, James' trustworthy work demonstrates the power of paying attention. Read more

James Rocchi, MSN Movies: James' Hoop Dreams has been spoken of with reverence and wonder for 17 years; now, he has an equal to its reputation. Read more

Manohla Dargis, New York Times: The stories in "The Interrupters," a hard wallop of a documentary, may weigh heavily on your heart and head, but they will also probably infuriate you. Read more

Moira MacDonald, Seattle Times: Through understanding and fearlessness, this brave trio shows us, the world can be changed, tiny step by tiny step. Read more

Scott Tobias, AV Club: Local activists commit, with varied results, to halting a tragic epidemic. It's a job fraught with volatility and peril, taken with the understanding that some cases may ultimately end in failure. Read more

Andrea Gronvall, Chicago Reader: Searing in its depiction of at-risk children in poor communities, the film is also the bracing, life-affirming story of residents who are beginning to reclaim their streets, one corner at a time. Read more

Peter Rainer, Christian Science Monitor: In the end, statistics are of less moment to this movie than the case-by-case personal successes that, in some cases, are emotionally overwhelming. Read more

Chris Vognar, Dallas Morning News: Ameena Matthews, Cobe Williams and Eddie Bocanegra used to instigate Chicago street violence. Now they live for nipping it in the bud, block by treacherous block. Read more

Lisa Kennedy, Denver Post: Tense, moving, and, at times brain-draining. Read more

Tom Long, Detroit News: There's no doubt The Interrupters do some good; but there's also no doubt the problem they're facing is enormous. Read more

John DeFore, Hollywood Reporter: Steve James' arresting documentary could benefit even more from a multi-part television treatment. Read more

Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times: It tears at your heart with its depiction of the intractability of the problem. But it simultaneously insists, and makes you believe, that change is possible one person at a time. Read more

Rene Rodriguez, Miami Herald: A heartbreaking, empowering documentary about inner-city violence... Read more

Richard Brody, New Yorker: James's approach is not analytical but emotional; his depiction of people bearing inextinguishable pain is empathetic and powerful... Read more

Joe Neumaier, New York Daily News: Begins with sobering facts about Chicago's epidemic of gang and youth violence before embedding us with people hoping to change them. Read more

Kyle Smith, New York Post: The movie is more a situation than a narrative, and it's repetitive and depressing. Read more

Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: It is difficult to imagine the effort, day after day for a year, of following this laborious, heroic and so often fruitless volunteer work. Read more

Andrew O'Hehir, Salon.com: You won't see a movie this year that is more moving, more tragic, more upsetting, more hopeful or more necessary. Read more

Walter V. Addiego, San Francisco Chronicle: "The Interrupters" is an intense and chilling documentary about peacekeeping troops in a war zone. Read more

Dana Stevens, Slate: The Interrupters, a documentary about an initiative to stop urban violence in Chicago, may be the most necessary film you'll see this year. Read more

Liam Lacey, Globe and Mail: Where James's film excels is as direct experiential cinema -- without narration, onscreen interviews or acknowledgment of the presence of the camera -- it is an intensely dramatic window into a world. Read more

Peter Howell, Toronto Star: A sobering but not hopeless look at how the Windy City is attempting to turn around a rising tide of street shooting, through the work of a unique group called CeaseFire. Read more

Peter Debruge, Variety: In a documentary career defined by fierce commitment to his subjects, Steve James delivers his most ambitious project yet in The Interrupters. Read more

Melissa Anderson, Village Voice: The Interrupters reminds us of the powers and pleasures of well-crafted, immersive nonfiction filmmaking -- a genre vitiated within the past five years by a glut of cruddy-looking, poorly researched and argued titles. Read more

Stephanie Merry, Washington Post: Realistically inspiring and, thankfully, not overly dramatized. Read more