A crisp and convincing doc.

| Nov 3, 2020

For those less familiar with her life, Maya Angelou: And Still I Rise should serve as a bracing introduction, and as an inducement to dive into her prose, poetry and speeches.

| Feb 21, 2017

At a time when so many cinematic arguments are cast in black-and-white terms, tipping the scales in one direction, it's refreshing to see one that's content to present a case that leaves room for several shades of gray.

| Feb 21, 2017

The powerful filmmaking duo of Chris Hegedus and D.A. Pennebaker somehow turn Wise's quest into a compelling and noble tale, no matter what your thoughts are on the views presented.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Aug 19, 2016

The picture is essentially a brief for Wise's case. And as such, it's as dry and uncinematic as a dusty legal document.

| Original Score: 2/4 | Jul 7, 2016

Makes a worthy case for reconsidering the sturdiness of laws that explicitly separate humans from animals.

| Jun 23, 2016

It's a tricky narrative challenge to shift from inherently compelling wildlife scenes to abstract courtroom debate, but the film manages it capably, even spicing things up with one justice's admonition that Wise needs to cut his slavery analogies.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Jun 23, 2016

An exemplary piece of documentary storytelling.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Jun 16, 2016

What constitutes self-determination and what responsibility humans have toward other sentient beings can't be answered by a single film, but this is nevertheless a valuable contribution to an ongoing and still-shifting conversation.

| Jun 9, 2016

Even allowing for the anthropomorphic misreadings that humans often apply to animals, it's clear that many of the nonhumans in this film deserve a better life. Unlocking the Cage provides some legal ballast for that sentiment.

| Original Score: B+ | May 27, 2016

The film is impeccably shot and paced, but the radical real-world implications of Wise's agenda are never fully explored.

| Original Score: 2/4 | May 26, 2016

This is yet another doc that would make a first-rate book or lengthy article, gaining almost nothing from its chosen medium apart from (maybe) greater exposure. There's no legitimate taxonomic reason for this material to be designated a film.

| Original Score: C+ | May 25, 2016

Polls show that public views of animal rights have also been evolving in recent years. Wise, obviously, has reasons for optimism. At least they're no longer barking at him.

| Original Score: 3/4 | May 25, 2016

Unlocking the Cage is a genuine rarity: a rather happy documentary about a losing battle for justice.

| May 25, 2016

This is an ill-fitting first for vrit legends D.A. Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus: an issue-based film.

| Original Score: C | May 25, 2016

Part courtroom drama, part rumination on what separates human beings from other animals, the film is above all a sympathetic portrait of an advocate.

| May 24, 2016

The problem isn't necessarily the tension between emotion and rationality, but that the filmmakers do little to explore these dimensions as they arise.

| Original Score: 2/4 | May 20, 2016

A thoughtful, hopeful film, filled with dedicated and inspiring advocates, and the courtroom scenes are absolutely fascinating.

| May 9, 2016

Likely to be of greater interest in 50 years, once the issue has been more thoroughly vetted in court, as opposed to today, when it feels a bit too much like a publicity stunt ...

| Feb 8, 2016