in writing for "the village voice", chief film critic stephanie zacharek called it "a restrained but forceful picture that captures some of the texture and detail of one human life" and praised first-time director ryan coogler, writing that he "dramatizes oscar's last day by choosing "not" to dramatize it: the events unfold casually, without any particular scheme. and yet because we know how this story will end, there's a shivery, understated tension running beneath."