Critic Reviews

It’s difficult to think of any film that speaks to our moment as strikingly as this documentary does, a quality evident early on. ... [Scenes of men's] complaints about, for instance, the pain of having to listen regularly to a woman’s voice are in their hellish way priceless and not to be missed. The same goes for all four hours of this never less than mesmerizing film.

Hillary is about Hillary Clinton, yes. But it’s also a recap of how America has viewed feminism and women seeking power during the late-20th and early-21st centuries. That makes it essential viewing. ... You might not agree with her. But after watching Hillary, you may be able to do something that America has had a really hard time doing over the years: You may understand her.

Excellent, excruciating. ... Documentarian Nanette Burstein (The Kid Stays in the Picture, the incredible On the Ropes) deftly interweaves historical background, intimate behind-the-scenes campaign footage, and great hindsight interviews from her campaign staff. But the core of the series is Burstein’s fresh sit-down with Hillary herself, who emerges in both conversation and candid footage as someone who’s looser and warmer than even her fans might suspect.

Love her or hate her, one thing we can agree on is that she’s essential to telling the story of world politics in the last half-century. And “Hillary” is the most accomplished version of her story so far.

At its best, “Hillary” isn’t just a defense of Hillary Clinton, but a nuanced examination of why we don’t yet have a female president.

This is not a project that just uses old news footage and sit-down interviews to fashion a portrait of a notable figure. There is never-before-seen history here and it is as joyous as it is painful.

Expect outrage from her right-wing detractors and cheers from her fans when this persuasive and brisk four-hour series by documentarian Nanette Burstein debuts.

There are very few facts in "Hillary" that other documentaries, whether solid or entirely unreliable, haven't covered in some fashion. But what Burstein offers that previous works don't is an emotional journey through Clinton's life in her words and those of her family and friends, some 45 of them (including Barack Obama, her main Democratic rival in the 2008 election) and not all of them entirely without criticism.

Perhaps foremost, "Hillary" provides insight into the private woman in a way that the abundant coverage through the years, good or bad, seldom has in cracking that shell.

A rather sleek and highly watchable version of the joys and anguish of being Hillary Rodham Clinton, culminating in her electoral loss to Donald Trump. What emerges is an artfully structured personal history of modern feminism, told in the context of a country and a culture still grappling with a daunting degree of gender bias. ... Burstein is not here simply to commiserate or adulate, though the film necessarily serves measures of both. She thoughtfully and concisely weaves the backstage campaign efforts with Clinton’s biography.