The title implies that Joe’s story is the focus, yet the unnecessarily convoluted narrative bounces too much between past and present as well as the POVs of father (Mark Wahlberg, playing against his usual jacked, macho persona) and son (Reid Miller).

| Original Score: 2/4 | Aug 16, 2023

Didn’t expect to be this emotionally wrecked this morning. Mark turns in what might be one of his best performances of his career.

| Jul 26, 2023

The entire film is unfocused, creating a bit of a mess that left me rotating between rolling my eyes and having tears steaming out of them.

| Original Score: C | Jul 19, 2023

The film stays in a mosaic of superficiality... it doesn't reach a reflective peak.

| Nov 2, 2022

Joe Bell is a heartbreaking film about repentance stemming from unapologetic intolerance.

| Original Score: 3.5/5 | Oct 9, 2022

It’s a movie in which the tragedy is unrelenting, and we are left to find whatever scraps of happiness we can find in the ending.

| May 20, 2022

The screenplay can feel a bit clichéd in its coming-out and grieving-parent tropes, and the cinematography, editing, and score are nothing particularly special. But they’re effective because of how of a piece they are with the characters.

| Original Score: 7/10 | May 10, 2022

Despite Joe Bell's heart being in the right place, this is a dreary slog.

| Original Score: 2/5 | Apr 7, 2022

The real star here is Miller, who gives a nuanced and powerful performance in a difficult role (in fact, one of his scenes had to be trimmed after TIFF, as it was considered too disturbing).

| Original Score: 3/4 | Mar 13, 2022

A bearded Wahlberg certainly gives his all, but it's undermined by a fractured narrative that telegraphs its twist far too early,

| Original Score: 3/5 | Dec 1, 2021

In a sit-up-and-take note breakthrough performance, newcomer Reid Miller delivers a heart-wrenching portrait as Jadin Bell, a gay teen trying to live his life out loud without the harassment about "being different."

| Original Score: B+ | Oct 23, 2021

It is a film which aims for and packs an emotional punch.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Sep 30, 2021

Joe Bell is a movie about soul searching, with a good message, that never quite finds its way.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Sep 29, 2021

Though armed with a noble social conscience message, the entertainment value is not there.

| Original Score: C+ | Sep 27, 2021

Without giving too much away, Joe Bell is an emotional, thought-provoking piece that has something to say.

| Original Score: B+ | Sep 27, 2021

There's such emotional manipulation imbued that its ultimate message gets lost in the shuffle.

| Sep 26, 2021

Every time the film even considers criticizing Bell for what he's doing, it backpedals immediately for fear of noting the truth.

| Sep 17, 2021

Reid Miller's phenomenal acting cannot save the story that ran flat. I wanted to cry, I really did.

| Original Score: 2.8/5 | Sep 14, 2021

Bell is predictably woeful.

| Original Score: C | Aug 27, 2021

Reid Miller is the breakout here, and really imbues Jadin with strength. He's never portrayed as a victim.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Aug 18, 2021