Admirable film.

Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.

All that we are seeing on the screen is happening with real people, real action sequences in the background, forcing the eye to watch as if we were there.

Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

This is story about unknown photographer Vivian Maier who is discovered after her death which you probably already know since you're reading the reviews. I loved her life story and her work but documentary could have been less amateur. Maybe that guy Maloof could get a real director and writer to make documentary for him and not put himself into story. You should watch it just to see how amazing she was and to see her beautiful work but other than that documentary is poorly written and directed. Sad to see someone ruin such a good story and potentially good movie.

Growing up, I had a secret hiding spot where I squirreled away my coin and rock collections, grade school memorabilia, and various important (to me) trinkets. What if my secret hiding spot was the size of an enormous storage unit, contained thousands of rolls of undeveloped film and oodles of bric-a-brac, and went completely undiscovered until after my death? And, by the way, my mountain of photographs are astoundingly well-done. Well, get to know Vivian Maier.This is a wonderful documentary about an eccentric woman. She is revealed through interviews, photographs, and snippets of video and audio from Maier herself. The young man who discovered her work, by chance, has done an excellent job of weaving a narrative that unfurls slowly, always pulling you deeper down the rabbit hole. The pacing is good, the plot has interesting twists, and, by the end of the film you feel that the character, Maier, a real person, is someone special that the world should have known better when she was alive.It's not a big spoiler that Maier is deceased. The whole premise for this film is that her hidden artistic life lay fallow in an existence made up of temporary nannying gigs, punctuated by abrupt departures from the families that gave her shelter and a salary. Living this menial life, she completely blended into the background. Not until Maier passed away, and her belongings were auctioned off, did her impressive artistic prowess come to light.Maier is mysterious, to say the least. She spells her name several ways. She doesn't let people get very close, yet she seems to yearn for camaraderie, a place to belong. Her family history is a sub-plot that gives this doc some of its turns, but I'll leave those for the viewer. Maier is, as Churchill said, a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma. An hour-and-one-half-long documentary cannot possibly reveal all there is about this lost soul. But the effort is laudable, and Maier's talent is noteworthy.The film has a satisfying conclusion, but it does leave the viewer wanting more. Like me, you'll find yourself Googling Vivian Maier to find out details of her life, her work, and this story. It's an interesting and engrossing tale. I recommend it.

Saw this on a flight to France. I found it very thought-provoking. Vivian was a self- constructed loner who had her Graflex with her almost constantly, and was an observer rather than an involved bystander. Because she looked down through her viewfinder she could photograph people without being discovered. Her photos are touching and disturbing...like the ones she took after one of her young charges had been hit by a car. Her work was discovered by a young real estate agent who became her promoter after her death. He continued to buy her negatives at public sales and assured that she would be remembered. This movie caused me to wonder what secret genius or talent may be hiding in people who don't even register on our consciousness. Maybe it was just the eight hours of wine that mellowed me out, but I would love to watch it again. I really felt sympathy and admiration for her and the guy who resurrected her work.

There is definitely an odd atmosphere that runs throughout the edges of this film, and it really does work in the context of what it's about. It's basically informative until it's just some kind of real mystery, with a woman that might've, most likely, had secrets of some kind. The real-life story is fascinating enough, and you wonder if some of the things could've even been set up. it sounds like the work of fiction, the dark shadow that is really built up with this woman at the core that's about ready to jump and lurch forward at you. It's intriguing, if maybe at times the film is too long to even warrant its short running time. Regardless, it mostly works so that's a small complaint.