critics consensus

American Dharma offers a fascinating glimpse of a political influencer's public persona - and a frustrating missed opportunity to interrogate his actions and stated beliefs. Read critic reviews

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Movie Info

A portrait of political strategist Stephen K. Bannon.

Rating:

R (Language|Some Sexual Material)
Genre:

documentary
Original Language:

English
Director:

Errol Morris
Producer:

Robert Fernandez, Steven Hathaway, Errol Morris, Marie Savare, P.J. Van Sandwijk
Release Date (Theaters):

Nov 1, 2019 limited
Release Date (Streaming):

Jan 30, 2020
Box Office (Gross USA):

$50.3K
Runtime:

1h 35m
Production Co:

Fourth Floor Productions, Moxie Pictures, Storyteller Productions

Cast & Crew

Errol Morris
Director

Robert Fernandez
Producer

Steven Hathaway
Producer

Errol Morris
Producer

Marie Savare
Producer

P.J. Van Sandwijk
Producer

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News & Interviews for American Dharma

Terminator: Dark Fate Is a Solid Reset

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Critic Reviews for American Dharma

All Critics (60) | Top Critics (24) | Fresh (37) | Rotten (23)

There's just not enough poking around in the Bannon-verse by Morris.

October 24, 2020 | Full Review…

Peter Rainer
FilmWeek (KPCC - NPR Los Angeles)
The movie's worth taking in, though, as a shaky confrontation with a very American kind of demon, one weaned on the shallow, heroic lies of Hollywood individualism, furious that life rarely works that way, and willing to wreck the house in response.

January 2, 2020 | Rating: 3/4 | Full Review…

Ty Burr
Boston Globe
Kid-glove treatment of the former Donald Trump advisor is surprising coming from the hard-hitting interviewer of Robert McNamara and Donald Rumsfeld.

December 17, 2019 | Rating: 2/4 | Full Review…

Richard Roeper
Chicago Sun-Times
Give 'em enough rope, as they say. It's become increasingly fashionable to twist or ignore facts, but it's still important to present them for all to see.

December 5, 2019 | Rating: 3/5 | Full Review…

Bill Goodykoontz
Arizona Republic
Bannon has trafficked in racism, far-right conspiracy theories and other controversies during his career. Morris brings up some of it... but rarely nails Bannon with a tough follow-up question.

December 5, 2019 | Rating: 2/4 | Full Review…

G. Allen Johnson
San Francisco Chronicle
American Dharma is a vivisection, and [ Errol] Morris gives Bannon the tools to do it himself.

November 14, 2019 | Rating: 4/5 | Full Review…

Richard Whittaker
Austin Chronicle
Morris essentially provides this scandalmonger and inciter of racial and ethnic hatred a platform for most of the one and a half hours of the film.

February 10, 2021 | Full Review…

David Walsh
World Socialist Web Site
It's commonly believed culture is a civilising influence but Bannon is the living refutation of that idea.

December 8, 2020 | Full Review…

John McDonald
Australian Financial Review
Unfortunately, Morris keeps his rebuttals to a career minimum in American Dharma -- bad timing, considering his subject is an active fire-starter, not a regretful, dried-out war hawk.

November 12, 2020 | Rating: 2/4 | Full Review…

Chance Solem-Pfeifer
Willamette Week
While Morris never takes his subject to task (and oh how delicious the film would be if he had), the director has crafted a time capsule that delivers a blunt (and aggravating) record of one of the most polarizing political figures of our time.

November 6, 2020 | Rating: 3 / 5 | Full Review…

Louisa Moore
Screen Zealots
I wanted more answers and less glossing over and excuse-making by the [so-called] monarch-maker.

October 27, 2020 | Rating: B | Full Review…

Robin Clifford
Reeling Reviews
Morris's conversation with Bannon reveals a lot and is, in fact, a more illuminating look at the man than last year's "The Brink."

October 21, 2020 | Rating: B | Full Review…

Laura Clifford
Reeling Reviews