Name : Joe Morgenstern / Alias : Wall Street Journal
More than a musical offering, it's a study in boundless passion, plus a wellspring of wisdom about art and life from a man who sees no dividing line between the one and the other.

Name : J. R. Jones / Alias : Chicago Reader
The movie's real subject is the difficulty - and the critical importance - of bringing into harmony one's personal and artistic lives, of being not only a good artist but a joyful one.

Name : Peter Rainer / Alias : Christian Science Monitor
The unfortunate disconnect between great artistry and great commercial success runs throughout history. But Bernstein is a special case because, unlike so many great musicians who fell unwillingly by the wayside, he chose his own path.

Name : Peter Travers / Alias : Rolling Stone
Ethan Hawke's remarkable documentary puts us in close proximity to 80-something classical pianist Seymour Bernstein, whose funny, touching and vital presence is something you don't want to miss.

Name : John Anderson / Alias : Newsday
Unusual, intelligent documentary whose subject is a pleasure to spend time with.

Name : David Ehrlich / Alias : Time Out
Hawke's first documentary is a perfect movie for a gray Sunday afternoon, a gentle and loving tribute to a man . anachronistically convinced that talent is its own reward.

Name : Manohla Dargis / Alias : New York Times
So effective does it close the distance between you and Mr. Bernstein that afterward you may find yourself scanning the streets, hoping to catch sight of him, as if for an old friend.

Name : Leba Hertz / Alias : San Francisco Chronicle
Bernstein in action is a study of what a teacher should be: kind but with a steely resolve. He analyzes the music and figures how to overcome its obstacles.

Name : Bill Goodykoontz / Alias : Arizona Republic
His playing is beautiful - he was a gifted concert pianist who gave up the stage at 50 to concentrate on teaching and composing. His stories are tremendous. And his voice, clear and strong, is magnetic.

Name : Tom Long / Alias : Detroit News
The great joy of the film, whether you know piano or not, is watching Bernstein teach.

Name : Steven Rea / Alias : Philadelphia Inquirer
Seymour: An Introduction is just that - not too much biography, or history. And one needn't be a music aficionado, or a musician, to appreciate the modest erudition coming from this man.

Name : Stephanie Zacharek / Alias : Village Voice
Works both as a celebration of Bernstein, whose spirit is at once gentle and boldly generous, and as a way of exploring creativity and the meaning it can have in our lives.

Name : Joe Neumaier / Alias : New York Daily News
Some very special aspects of New York City hide in plain sight. A case in point is Seymour Bernstein, the subject of actor Ethan Hawke's assured, meditative debut as a documentary director.

Name : Peter Keough / Alias : Boston Globe
Whether or not Hawke got any answers to his questions about the purpose of being artist, seeking them under the guidance of a teacher like Bernstein resulted in this work of art.

Name : Colin Covert / Alias : Minneapolis Star Tribune
Like a touching master class on living correctly, listening to the charming Bernstein will have you changing keys.

Name : Justin Chang / Alias : Variety
In his calm defense of beauty, craftsmanship, intellectual curiosity and emotional connection as vital human needs, this is one artist who knows he doesn't have to raise his voice to speak volumes.

Name : Anthony Lane / Alias : New Yorker
The sweetness of the subject's nature and the gentle modulations of his speaking voice are so potent that it would seem not just uncivil but futile to contradict him; yet Hawke is too alert and too inquiring to let the movie subside into worship.

Name : Joe Williams / Alias : St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Hawke's cinematic etude may not unlock all the mysteries of music, but "Seymour: An Introduction" is universal enough to be understood by a bananafish.

Name : Inkoo Kang / Alias : TheWrap
"Seymour: An Introduction" is a compendium of tutorial anecdotes and poetic aphorisms he's collected over the years. Hawke's approach is apostolic, as if he's recording for posterity the sublime wisdom of a philosophical master.

Name : Ann Hornaday / Alias : Washington Post
"Seymour: An Introduction" gives viewers a soaring, sublime and enduringly meaningful glimpse of a man who is undoubtedly the real thing.

Name : Stephen Farber / Alias : Hollywood Reporter
Hawke's film is very well crafted, tightly edited and elegantly photographed. The acute musical selections only add to our appreciation of Seymour's selfless devotion to his art.

Name : Linda Barnard / Alias : Toronto Star
A fondly made portrait . of a gentle philosopher with a wicked wit, a superbly talented pianist who intellectually challenges and charms in equal parts.

Name : Brad Wheeler / Alias : Globe and Mail
It's hard to find much wrong with this film, itself a meditation on art and the practice of craft.

Name : Bruce Ingram / Alias : Chicago Sun-Times
Coming off of his superb one-two performances for Richard Linklater in Before Midnight and Boyhood, Hawke continues to work at a creative high level. He demonstrates a rapport and openness with his subject that proves exceptionally affecting.

Name : Joe McGovern / Alias : Entertainment Weekly
Hawke's gaze is too adoring, but the solitary sight of Bernstein putting together his foldout couch/bed in his one-room apartment is as poignant as his recital of the "Moonlight" Sonata.

Name : Mike D'Angelo / Alias : AV Club
The film claims to be an introduction, but it's really a long series of conclusions.

Name : Kenneth Turan / Alias : Los Angeles Times
[A] thorough, thoughtful and disturbing documentary .

Name : David Edelstein / Alias : New York Magazine/Vulture
Here it is, folks, in your face. Will you look or return to your own private Happy Valley?

Name : A.O. Scott / Alias : New York Times
"Happy Valley," even as it revisits past events, has a chilling timeliness.

Name : John DeFore / Alias : Hollywood Reporter
Less an investigation into or comprehensive summary of the Penn State sex-abuse scandal than a look at the feelings it elicited, Amir Bar-Lev's Happy Valley is more concerned with the phenomenon of team spirit than any single question of fact.

Name : David Denby / Alias : New Yorker
"Happy Valley" is a devastating portrait of a community-and, by extension, a nation-put under a spell, even reduced to grateful infantilism, by the game of football.

Name : David Lewis / Alias : San Francisco Chronicle
It's not a groundbreaking thesis, but we still get a fascinating tour of a town that may never be the same again.

Name : Mike D'Angelo / Alias : AV Club
It has no new information to offer regarding the case, and doesn't even do a terribly coherent job of organizing the details for the benefit of some hypothetical ignorant viewer.

Name : Andrew O'Hehir / Alias : Salon.com
"Happy Valley" does not try to lead you to any firm conclusion about who or what is to blame for what went wrong in the football-crazed farmland of central Pennsylvania, and viewers with different perspectives will understand it in different ways.

Name : Joshua Rothkopf / Alias : Time Out New York
The troubling tale is well told, unpacked with a clarity and a minimum of ominous mood music.

Name : Michael Phillips / Alias : Chicago Tribune
The film could've benefited from another 15 or 20 minutes of detail and nuance. What's there, though, is strong, thoughtful and disturbing.

Name : Chris Nashawaty / Alias : Entertainment Weekly
The documentary offers a compelling overview of the case, but Bar-Lev spends too much time painting Paterno as a victim and scapegoat. That advocacy doesn't sit well.

Name : Justin Chang / Alias : Variety
Amir Bar-Lev offers a typically gripping and thoughtful take on the Penn State scandal.

Name : Alan Scherstuhl / Alias : Village Voice
Happy Valley . [lays] bare the broken heart of a community that believed that everything was perfect in a world that never is.