while formulaic on its face, Reinaldo Marcus Green's film resists the sort of obvious cinematic catharsis expected of such a story, resulting in a final product that earns its emotional beats
sincere and emotionally charged; led by a performance that feels grounded in genuine pain and atonement from Mark Wahlberg, the drama is directed with great sensitivity by Reinaldo Marcus Green, working from an empathetic screenplay by Diana Ossana
Reinaldo Marcus Green's "Good Joe Bell" has its heart in the right place, but the limited gaze the writers and director offer withholds this redemptive tale from being the uplifting critique of homophobia and bullying that it needs to be
Mark Wahlberg affects in moving homophobia drama; There's something disarmingly genuine about the film, a little obvious at times perhaps, but also remarkably unforgiving