Finding Vivian Maier (2014)
93%RT Audience Score: 89%
Awards & Nominations: Nominated for 1 Oscar
12 wins & 23 nominations total
Narratively gripping, visually striking, and ultimately thought-provoking, Finding Vivian Maier shines an overdue spotlight on its subject’s long-hidden brilliance.
Finding Vivian Maier is like a game of Clue, but instead of figuring out who killed Mr. Boddy, you’re piecing together the life of a mysterious photographer. The documentary does a great job of showcasing Maier’s incredible work, but it also leaves you with more questions than answers. Was she a genius or just a hoarder? A recluse or a spy? One thing’s for sure, she was definitely one of a kind.
Production Company(ies)
Nero-Film AG,
Distributor
IFC Films
Release Type
Streaming, Theatrical
Filming Location(s)
Chicago, Illinois, USA
MPAA / Certificate
Not Rated
Year of Release
2014
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Dolby
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Aspect ratio:1.85 : 1
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Runtime:1h 23m
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Language(s):English, French
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Mar 28, 2014 Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Jul 29, 2014
Genre(s)
Documentary/Biography
Keyword(s)
documentary, biography, Vivian Maier, John Maloof, Charlie Siskel, career nanny, 100,000 photographs, box office, gross USA, IFC Films, directed by John Maloof, Charlie Siskel, written by John Maloof, Charlie Siskel, reviewed by Sarah Mirk, Stephen Romei, Paul Byrnes, Mark Kermode, Geoffrey Macnab, Tara Brady, Linda Cook, David Walsh, Chris McCoy, Michael J Casey, C.J Prince, Finding Vivian Maier, Tomatometer, audience score, Phil Donahue, Howard Greenberg, Mary Ellen Mark, Joel Meyerowitz, Tim Roth, narrator, documentary film, photography, mystery, art, hidden talent, discovery, life story, human interest, thought-provoking, visually striking, gripping, fascinating, intriguing, complex, challenging, compelling, absorbing, well-edited, talent, right to expose, privacy, humanity, clues, gaps, excellence, competence, marketing limitations, celebrities, everyday life, society, wartime legacy, human web, touching, curator, collection, worth watching
Worldwide gross: $2,385,956
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $2,981,842
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,317
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 325,174
US/Canada gross: $1,514,782
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $1,893,095
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,047
US/Canada opening weekend: $63,600
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $79,484
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,026
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): NA
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): NA
Production budget ranking: NA
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
ROI to date (est.): NA
ROI ranking: NA
Phil Donahue – Self
Howard Greenberg – Self
Mary Ellen Mark – Self
Joel Meyerowitz – Self
Tim Roth – Self
Director(s)
John Maloof, Charlie Siskel
Writer(s)
John Maloof, Charlie Siskel
Producer(s)
John Maloof, Charlie Siskel
Film Festivals
Sundance, Berlin, Toronto
Awards & Nominations
Nominated for 1 Oscar
12 wins & 23 nominations total
Academy Awards
Oscar Nominees
All Critics (103) | Top Critics (45) | Fresh (98) | Rotten (5)
Finding Vivian Maier never does not reveal much about the inner life of the woman at the center of the story, but it does a solid job of its more important mission: bringing Maier’s rarely seen work to light.
January 20, 2021
Sarah Mirk
Bitch Media
TOP CRITIC
This is a film that starts out being about an unknown artist and ends up being about something more complex and challenging: a person.
November 7, 2014 | Rating: 3.5/5
Stephen Romei
The Australian
TOP CRITIC
Maier’s life tells us one thing: great photographers always show themselves in their work, even if they never show their work.
November 6, 2014 | Rating: 3.5/5
Paul Byrnes
Sydney Morning Herald
TOP CRITIC
A fascinating story which continues to raise more questions than it answers.
July 20, 2014 | Rating: 3/5
Mark Kermode
Observer (UK)
TOP CRITIC
Finding Vivian Maier is a tantalising and utterly fascinating film but one which can’t ever quite explain the mystery of Maier.
July 18, 2014 | Rating: 4/5
Geoffrey Macnab
Independent (UK)
TOP CRITIC
Finding Vivian Maier is not without its frustrations. And that, we suspect, is exactly what she would have wanted.
July 18, 2014 | Rating: 4/5
Tara Brady
Irish Times
TOP CRITIC
It’s fascinating from the start, and even more intriguing as layers of Vivian Maier’s life are revealed.
February 5, 2022 | Rating: 4/4
Linda Cook
OurQuadCities / WHBF-TV (Illinois)
The subject of Finding Vivian Maier is a fascinating one, which has aroused a great deal of public interest in recent years.
February 12, 2021
David Walsh
World Socialist Web Site
The detective story in Finding Vivian Maier wouldn’t be compelling without the hundreds of incredible images that flash across the screen.
January 9, 2020
Chris McCoy
Memphis Flyer
Paradoxical.” “Bold.” “Mysterious.” “Eccentric.” “Private.” Five words to describe the subject of the new documentary ‘Finding Vivian Maier.’
June 26, 2019 | Rating: 3.5/5
Michael J. Casey
Boulder Weekly
Finding Vivian Maier may not be an overly memorable experience, but it’s a perfectly serviceable piece of convention.
June 21, 2019 | Rating: 6.9/10
C.J. Prince
Way Too Indie
Although Maier may not have welcomed this newfound, globally recognised appreciation herself, Maloof and Siskel have done a worthwhile job of at least putting her on the map.
April 2, 2019 | Rating: 4/5
Edward Frost
CineVue…
Plot
Real estate agent John Maloof explains how a trip to a local auction house, in search for old pictures to use for a history book about his neighborhood, resulted in him bidding and winning a box full of old negatives. John goes through the massive quantity of negatives, describes how impressed he is by the quality of the images, becomes quickly determined they are not reverent to his project and just puts them away. That could have very likely had been the end of the story, if the power of the images had not pushed him to fall in love with photography. John confides that his photo hobby quickly motivated him to set up a darkroom and devote large amounts of time printing. As he learned more about photography, he recognized that those negatives he had bought, then stored, were the work of a real master. In an attempt to confirm his suspicion, he selected about 100 images and put them online with the hope that the feedback would confirm his judgement as to the strength of the images.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
Tim Roth is listed as part of the cast and crew, but it is not specified what his role is in the documentary.
John-Maloof.jpg
