FINDING VIVIAN MAIER is a fascinating, beautifully constructed documentary that unfolds like a real-life detective story. Co-directed by John Maloof and Charlie Siskel, the film begins with Maloof’s accidental discovery at a Chicago auction of a box containing thousands of photographic negatives. They turn out to be the work of Vivian Maier, an intensely private nanny who spent decades photographing everyday life on the streets of Chicago and New York—yet kept virtually all of her extraordinary work hidden from the world. As Maloof searches for the woman behind the camera, interviews with the families and children Maier worked for reveal an eccentric, fiercely independent and sometimes troubling figure whose remarkable eye captured strangers with humor, compassion and startling intimacy. Maier’s photographs are ultimately the stars of the film, offering an unforgettable portrait of mid-20th-century American life.

Critics embraced Finding Vivian Maier, which went on to receive an Academy Award nomination for Best Documentary Feature. Rotten Tomatoes gives the film a 95% critics score, calling it “narratively gripping, visually striking, and ultimately thought-provoking.” Variety described it as an “initially playful, ultimately haunting documentary,” while the Chicago Sun-Times praised it as “intriguing and engrossing.” Kenneth Turan of the Los Angeles Times called the film a “gripping documentary” and Maier’s story “stranger-than-fiction.” RogerEbert.com noted that when Maier’s finest photographs first appear, “the quality takes your breath away.” Part mystery, part biography and part celebration of a once-unknown artistic genius, Finding Vivian Maier is a compelling reminder that extraordinary art can sometimes be hiding in the most unexpected places.