In the end, the film raises more questions than it answers: is this a sympathetic portrait or a hatchet job? Is Dolezal a pioneer or mentally unstable? Would she have the same air time if she were a black woman pretending to be white?

| Jun 26, 2018

There is something sick, twisted and insulting about America's fixation with Rachel Dolezal and the way her lies have given her a platform, albeit a negative one, that most Black people don't have.

| May 3, 2018

"The Rachel Divide" becomes a disturbing and enthralling drama of the American family, the pain of its truths and its fictions.

| May 1, 2018

Its title is a bit too clever, but The Rachel Divide takes a largely serious, respectful and dignified approach toward a subject many would say is undeserving.

| Apr 27, 2018

Brownson has done exactly what she needed to: show how Dolezal was formed, how society responded to her insistence that "race is a construct," and how she's coping in the face of such relentless hatred.

| Apr 27, 2018

It's devastating to see so many innocent people torn down by Dolezal's deceit, and The Rachel Divide benefits immensely by highlighting their voices, including those of some of the NAACP members she worked with.

| Apr 27, 2018

"The Rachel Divide" grapples with Dolezal's contradictions, as well as with the inherent problems of making a movie about her.

| Apr 26, 2018

Ms. Brownson hasn't figured out how to construct a movie around a figure who essentially owes her fame to the obfuscation of her past.

| Apr 26, 2018

Dolezal is basically outrage clickbait in human form, and so Brownson is using Dolezal's negative attention seeking to get attention for herself as a filmmaker. Nothing beyond that has been accomplished here.

| Apr 25, 2018

Her steadfast refusal to acknowledge the opposing view seems to also be a sore spot with both of her sons, who form a crucial foundation for the story.

| Apr 25, 2018

Dolezal is nicely integrated into a larger discussion of modern America's grappling with identity fluidity.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Apr 25, 2018

The Rachel Divide lets Dolezal continue to dictate the experience through her own perspective, and even hard-hitting words from a handful of sharp critics are drowned out by Dolezal's unflagging resistance to facing up to her misdeeds.

| Original Score: B | Apr 25, 2018

A fascinatingly complex, humanizing portrait that faces controversy head-on.

| Apr 24, 2018

The Rachel Divide is a fascinating and thought-provoking film. But it is also a reminder that the "larger conversation about race and identity" always seems to find a way to prioritize white feelings and center white stories.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Apr 24, 2018

Far from simply a snapshot of a discussion about race, Brownson's documentary is a riveting account of self-sabotage, misplaced priorities, and obstinacy run amok.

| Apr 24, 2018