Scott stating that these characters were in stark contrast to the iconic blaxploitation characters of that era helped me appreciate the independent film more and understand why it did not gain traction until years after it was released.

| Jun 2, 2024

The brilliance of its imagery shines just as bright as the complex story at its heart.

| Feb 13, 2024

It didn’t quite work for me.

| Mar 24, 2023

Ignored and undistributed upon its debut in 1982, in the decades since, the film “Losing Ground” has slowly gained the recognition it deserves.

| Aug 22, 2022

Losing Ground critically pushed back against facile depictions and monolithic reductions of black people in the mainstream cinematic canon.

| Mar 1, 2022

[Collins] succeeds in detailing the various ways in which we all stumble about looking for a blessed moment of release.

| Mar 1, 2022

The inherent tension of this scenario is ratcheted up gradually, across patient, theatrically composed scenes.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Mar 1, 2022

Though occasionally stilted in its dialogue and performances, Losing Ground is an intriguing exploration of relationships amongst high achievers...

| Jun 4, 2021

Losing Ground stands as a bold testament to black, womanist filmmaking, and to American filmmaking, as a platform that we all stand upon.

| Feb 3, 2021

Defined by a nimble élan and piercing wit, Collins's movie ranks as one of the best about a marriage between two ambitious members of the creative class.

| Sep 25, 2020

To watch it today is to discover a missing piece of history.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Sep 13, 2020

Part of the film's originality lies in its portrayal of black middle-class artists and academics.

| Jun 6, 2020

The camerawork is as dynamic as the characters: A tracking shot is used for Sara's outdoor walking scene alongside Duke; for Victor, it's a loose, handheld camera.

| Jun 6, 2020

There are moments in Losing Ground that are so rich in mood, texture, and longing I can't catch my breath.

| Jun 6, 2020

It is highly cerebral, thick with abstract and erudite dialogue and also full of charm and sensuality, lingering in landscapes and rooms and savoring the pleasures of music, color and talk.

| Jun 6, 2020

Given its self-contained milieu, arty references and cerebral humor, "Losing Ground" is far closer to Eric Rohmer's or Woody Allen's contemporary brand of haute bourgeois comedy than to Spike Lee's confrontational social satire.

| Jun 6, 2020

There's no film like it.

| Jun 6, 2020

Collins dramatizes crises of gender and race-as well as of intellectual pursuit and artistic ambition-with a decisive and nuanced touch, and her attentiveness to light and color is itself painterly...

| May 12, 2020

This low-budget 1982 drama was one of the first features directed by an African-American woman, but it's much more than a historical footnote.

| Mar 21, 2019

[It] comes as a relief to see a film by a black director that's devoted to the higher question of the existential condition of humans.

| Aug 28, 2018