Barbaric Genius

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Barbaric Genius

2011

1h 14m

Documentary

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

83%

Tomatometer

6 Reviews

60%

Popcornmeter

Fewer than 50 Ratings

John Healy evolves from a street mugger and drunk to a chess champion and award-winning author, then a single act brings him crashing down again.

Tim Robey

Daily Telegraph (UK)

05/25/2012

3/5

[Convinces] us of an obscured talent whose lack of exposure remains something of a mystery.

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Peter Bradshaw

Guardian

05/24/2012

4/5

The film skirts around his emotional life, but it's a gripping study.

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Antonia Quirke

Financial Times

05/24/2012

3/5

This is a sad film about the fate of the writer John Healy, who survived a brutal childhood and spent the whole of the 1960s drunk in the parks of London's Camden Town.

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Joseph Walsh

CineVue

08/23/2018

2/5

The films overall structure and a number of holes in the story tremendously weaken Duane's documentary.

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Philip French

Observer (UK)

05/28/2012

Fascinating.

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Paul Duane

Director

Robert McCrum

Actor

Paul Duane

Producer

Mary Carson

Producer

Ian de Brí

Film Editing

Colm O'Brien

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Synopsis

John Healy evolves from a street mugger and drunk to a chess champion and award-winning author, then a single act brings him crashing down again.

Director: Paul Duane
Producer: Paul Duane, Mary Carson
Genre: Documentary
Original Language: English
Release Date (Streaming): Jun 20, 2014
Runtime: 1h 14m