He poses simple questions and lets them talk, and talk, and talk. In doing so, he gives them enough rope to hang themselves.

| Jun 18, 2016

Morris's commentary comes in the form of stunning images ... and a truly beautiful score ... The Unknown Known is revealing, but what it reveals is emptiness.

| Apr 21, 2014

[A] scary inquiry.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Apr 18, 2014

By now the director's technique is so savvy, so confident in its visual layering and atmospheric assurance, even a dodgy, cagey camera subject such as Rumsfeld becomes movieworthy.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Apr 17, 2014

Morris doesn't "break" Rumsfeld, as some think he did McNamara. He has held a mirror up to the man, and found no reflection. The viewer simply has to realize that what's important is what's not there.

| Original Score: 4/4 | Apr 11, 2014

What emerges is a fascinating portrait of a bygone approach to power, marked by a seemingly contradictory mix of transparency and obfuscation. Rumsfeld embodies that discrepancy.

| Apr 11, 2014

A portrait of a wartime leader determined to avoid, at any cost, an honest perspective.

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/4 | Apr 10, 2014

The Unknown Known is a worthy addition to Morris's body of work, an epic search that demonstrates the limits of language, the ease of sidestepping truth.

| Apr 4, 2014

Rumsfeld is eerily unflappable. Morris is too polite, or too something, to push back on Rumsfeld.

| Original Score: B- | Apr 4, 2014

More than any film this reviewer has seen in ages, "The Unknown Known" richly rewards a second viewing.

| Original Score: 3.5/4 | Apr 4, 2014

In the end, The Unknown Known is inconclusive - albeit provocatively so.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Apr 4, 2014

We get little in response from Rumsfeld but a demonstration of his cunning at parrying, dodging, and twisting queries.

| Original Score: 2/4 | Apr 4, 2014

Like Jack Nicholson in "A Few Good Men" he does not think we can handle the truth. He may be right.

| Original Score: B+ | Apr 3, 2014

Despite the best efforts of Morris, the man comes across as not only shallow, but as a completely empty vessel. It makes for repetitive and depressing viewing.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Apr 3, 2014

The only self-examination he ever subjects himself to would appear to involve a shaving mirror and lather.

| Original Score: 3.5/4 | Apr 3, 2014

What's so striking is the abstract nature of his discourse; what's so chilling is his dispassion.

| Apr 3, 2014

The matchup, culled from 30 hours of interviews, is intoxicating, and at times maddening, to watch.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Apr 3, 2014

In short bursts, Rumsfeld is an engaging, witty personality. For the first half hour, no matter what your politics are, you will find yourself liking him. He's good company ... until he's not.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Apr 3, 2014

We might have journeyed inside Rumsfeld's mindset for a while, but are we richer for the excursion?

| Original Score: 2.5/4 | Apr 3, 2014

Much against Rumsfeld's will, what the film inevitably reveals, in Morris' words, is "a man using language to obscure the world from himself as well as from others."

| Apr 3, 2014