73
Metascore
16 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 88Chicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertChicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertGiven the grievousness of their sins, one wonders why the church continues to shelter them. Might it not be more appropriate to excommunicate them, and refer them to the attention of the civil authorities?
- 83The PlaylistJessica KiangThe PlaylistJessica KiangBy turns moving, absorbing and downright rage-inducing.
- Mea Maxima Culpa is not gentle about placing blame on a structure that elevates priests above the rest of mankind and prioritizes maintaining an appearance of pious perfection over addressing some grievous wrongs committed.
- 83IndieWireEric KohnIndieWireEric KohnGibney's narrative drags to some extent when the focus widens to explore the Vatican's overall policy for covering up sex scandals, but he successfully demonstrates the systematic failure of a system designed work flawlessly on the basis of spirituality that never existed in the first place.
- 80Village VoiceVillage VoiceSilence might be the most perfect expression of scorn, as the saying goes, but like Edvard Munch's "The Scream," you don't have to hear it to get the horror.
- 70The Hollywood ReporterJohn DeForeThe Hollywood ReporterJohn DeForeDamning documentary pairs an individual sex-abuse case with analysis of institutional dysfunction at the Vatican.
- 70VarietyJustin ChangVarietyJustin ChangA powerful, necessary contribution to a chilling body of reportage that, one senses by film's end, has just begun to take stock of the human costs of a monstrous conspiracy.
- 70New York Magazine (Vulture)David EdelsteinNew York Magazine (Vulture)David EdelsteinBeyond the Mafia-like code of silence, it comes down to this: The guys at the top reserved their compassion for priests like Father Murphy in the belief that the boys were young and would get over it. No one of true faith will get over Maxima Mea Culpa.
- 63Slant MagazineSlant MagazineAlex Gibney's latest lacks a certain cinematic depth, but that doesn't take away from its admirable reporting.
- 40Time OutDavid FearTime OutDavid FearMea Maxima Culpa only gets messier the more it tries to iris out to a larger indictment. The central tragedy ends up diluted to a fault.