Overall, film hits the right tone, and its brief but fascinating glimpses into Goodall's private life distinguishes it from the many TV docs on the lady.
Skimps on intellectual substance but skirts by on the lightly likable charm of its subject.
60
New York Daily NewsJoe Neumaier
New York Daily NewsJoe Neumaier
Though Lorenz Knauer's film is as thoughtful as his subject - with a break for interviews with Pierce Brosnan and Goodall's fellow UN Goodwill Ambassador Angelina Jolie - the study of chimps is given short shrift.
50
Slant MagazineJoseph Jon Lanthier
Slant MagazineJoseph Jon Lanthier
Despite the fact that Goodall narrates the bulk of the material, there are scant details about her concrete contributions to animal and life science save for her observing of chimp-made tools.
50
Village Voice
Village Voice
Spectacularly photographed and journalistically lame, Jane's Journey blows a 105-minute kiss to Dr. Jane Goodall.
Any analysis of her philanthropy or character is traded for blind idol worship; only intermittent footage of the subject interacting with the natural environments she hopes to save (hippo habitats, arctic snowscapes) manages to sidestep bland reverence.