Rotten Tomatoes
Cancel Movies Tv shows RT App News Showtimes

Heaven Adores You

Play trailer Poster for Heaven Adores You 2015 1h 44m Documentary Biography Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
82% Tomatometer 17 Reviews 72% Popcornmeter 100+ Ratings
The music of late musician Elliott Smith is presented alongside dense yet isolating cityscapes in Portland, New York, and Los Angeles.

Critics Reviews

View More
Paul de Barros Seattle Times 05/14/2015
2.5/4
A film that makes a lovely introduction to Smith's music but a lousy account of his life. Go to Full Review
Gabriela Helfet Little White Lies 05/07/2015
2/5
Unless you're a superfan, you'd be better off watching Smith's best performances on YouTube instead. Go to Full Review
Henry Barnes Guardian 05/07/2015
3/5
Rossi's film will purr for Smith devotees, but is exasperatingly incurious about anything but the majesty of the man and his music. Go to Full Review
Michael J. Casey Boulder Weekly 06/30/2019
What Heaven Adores You lacks in insight, it makes up for in music, which Rossi keeps front and center. Go to Full Review
Patrick Gamble CineVue 04/05/2019
2/5
Far too indulgent to justify its feature-length status. Go to Full Review
Sherilyn Connelly SF Weekly 08/24/2017
Heaven Adores You means to celebrate Smith's life, not his death. Go to Full Review
Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View More
T C 08/07/2024 Having watched this twice - on its release and again on ES’s birthday yesterday (a decade later), it is still underwhelming. And frankly very boring. It’s mostly interviews with people who knew him personally, which is fine, but it was not cohesive. Little footage of him, so much of his story left out and no one from outside his world to convey his impact. Would love to see his story better told, because it is worth telling. See more 02/28/2016 A frustrating piece. As a serious fan, I found it lacking. Fifty percent landscape and cityscape shots. So many missing pieces, such as missing persons among the interviewees and a notable dearth of archival footage and complete songs (I could have cobbled together more from my old VHS and audio cassettes). As a biopic, it fails. But, as a celebration of his music, it fails just as much. I watched it with my girlfriend, who has little knowledge of Elliott or his music, and we both came away from it dissatisfied. If this isn't for the hardcore fans and it isn't for the newcomers, who is it for? Elliott referred to his songs as impressions. If this documentary is attempting to create an impression of his life and/or music, it's the unfinished demo tape of a jam session. Elliott's music was lean and visceral. He deserves better than a movie that's so sloppily edited and emotionally empty. See more 11/28/2015 Heartbreaking but thoughtful and full of insight. See more 09/20/2015 I loved Elliott Smith. His songs are among those that still hold the most meaning for me. His death felt, to me, the way people talk about Cobain's death feeling. 'Heaven Adores You' is not a journalistic enterprise. It easies right past the controversies surrounding Smith's death (there are a few) and right into the details of his posthumos album. There is a different Elliott Smithh film to be made. I'm not suggesting anything salacious. I'm saying a film intrested in those questions could be worthwhile. The film we're left with is pretty, full of interviews with those closest to Smith, and full of his wonderful music. If there is a truly moving element to 'Heaven Adores You,' it it, unsurprisingly, the music of Elliott Smith. I'll just say what I've been inferring... the thing is kind of syccophantic. It's a tribute, not an exploration. That's not a bad thing. It's just not a great thing. I like 'Heaven Adores You.' I just wish it played hardball, like it's subject did. See more 09/03/2015 A música de Elliott Smith é excelente e chega para alimentar um documentário, mas esperava-se muito mais deste retrato sobre o songwriter norte-americano. Sobretudo mais do que infindáveis sequências de planos aéreos sobre Portland. Há de resto, em "Heaven Adores you", uma tendência para empolar a importância da cena de Portland, em redor de Elliott Smith, quando sabemos que nenhuma daquelas bandas chegou a marcar o seu tempo fora da cidade. É talvez um documentário sobre o Elliott de Portland, com tudo o que há de alienante nisso. A curta "Lucky Three" precisou de muito menos minutos para talvez revelar mais sobre a essência de Elliott Smith. See more 07/26/2015 I´ve been waiting almost 3 years for this documentary.... See more Read all reviews
Heaven Adores You

My Rating

Read More Read Less POST RATING WRITE A REVIEW EDIT REVIEW
You Don't Need Feet to Dance 50% % You Don't Need Feet to Dance Watchlist Little White Lie 80% 76% Little White Lie Watchlist TransFatty Lives 88% 92% TransFatty Lives Watchlist Iris 98% 80% Iris Watchlist Discover more movies and TV shows. View More

Movie Info

Synopsis The music of late musician Elliott Smith is presented alongside dense yet isolating cityscapes in Portland, New York, and Los Angeles.
Director
Nickolas Dylan Rossi
Producer
Kevin Moyer, Nickolas Dylan Rossi, J.T. Gurzi, Marc Smolowitz
Distributor
Eagle Rock Entertainment
Production Co
Blowback Pictures
Genre
Documentary, Biography, Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
May 7, 2015, Limited
Rerelease Date (Theaters)
Aug 6, 2024
Runtime
1h 44m