68
Metascore
15 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 80Village VoiceCraig D. LindseyVillage VoiceCraig D. LindseyJust like high-wire showman Philippe Petit, Tower is a brilliant, dedicated artist who has spent most of his life wowing people with his talents — but is ultimately always out there by himself.
- 80Wall Street JournalJoe MorgensternWall Street JournalJoe MorgensternAn unusually engaging portrait of a legendary chef who can be insufferable, as his most ardent admirers acknowledge, but who is also a brighter-than-life charmer, raging perfectionist, world-class hedonist, self-styled dandy and all-too-human survivor of the highest-end restaurant wars.
- 80TheWrapTricia OlszewskiTheWrapTricia OlszewskiTower himself contributes to the film’s appeal. Still elegant in his mid-70s, there’s no doubt of his arrogance, though that seems to be a prerequisite of the trade. He knows that his work has been extraordinary, he’s well-spoken, and he cares intensely about decorum and class.
- 70The New York TimesAndy WebsterThe New York TimesAndy WebsterThroughout, the solitary Mr. Tower maintains an unflappable refinement, dedicated, a college friend says, to “looking for some utopian possibility of living, because that’s what kept the darkness away.”
- 70Los Angeles TimesKenneth TuranLos Angeles TimesKenneth TuranA film that finally fascinates despite some initial bumps in the road.
- 70The Hollywood ReporterFrank ScheckThe Hollywood ReporterFrank ScheckDespite its missteps and occasional pretensions, Jeremiah Tower: The Last Magnificent provides a compelling portrait of the chef as tortured artist.
- 63RogerEbert.comGlenn KennyRogerEbert.comGlenn KennyThis documentary directed by Lydia Tenaglia is a conspicuously imperfect movie that turns more compelling after trying your patience, then yields a final half-hour that’s as engrossing as a finely-wrought suspense drama.
- 63Slant MagazineChuck BowenSlant MagazineChuck BowenLydia Tenaglia's direction is occasionally flashy and cluttered, but her empathy for Tower is evocative and poignant.
- 60The best sequences are those incorporating vintage footage from the 1970s-era Chez Panisse, where Tower, as a young, rakish beauty — quite clearly gay, but also pansexual in the dashing way people were allowed to be in those days — was the crown prince of the kitchen.
- 50Washington PostWashington PostIt’s a languorous look at the ups and downs of a career gone awry, and the mysteries and confused culinary disciples left in the wake of the chef’s abrupt disappearance to Mexico for several years.