The Work

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2:01

The Work

2017

1h 27m

Documentary

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

100%

Tomatometer

55 Reviews

86%

Popcornmeter

500+ Ratings

Set inside a single room in Folsom Prison, three men from the outside participate in a four-day group therapy retreat with level-four convicts. Over the four days, each man in the room takes his turn at delving deep into his past.

Critics Consensus

The Work takes a gut-wrenching look at lives all too often written off as lost causes, persuasively arguing that growth and change can be waiting where we least expect it.

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Raphael Abraham

Financial Times

Dec 29, 2017

4/5

Never has a 4,000-year-old aphorism seemed more devastatingly of the moment. But the results are inspiring: it seems The Work works.

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Simran Hans

Observer (UK)

Dec 29, 2017

5/5

Sceptics may enter Folsom with suspicion, but these are extraordinary scenes, so shocking and dynamic they might be mistaken for exorcisms.

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A.A. Dowd

AV Club

Dec 14, 2017

More than just an advertisement for the process depicted, The Work carries a profound, implicit point about a culture that encourages men to bottle up what they feel, then condemns them after those emotions express themselves in violent, destructive ways.

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Kip Mooney

College Movie Review

Aug 28, 2021

B-

Stretched out to nearly an hour and a half, its intensity is diluted and it can feel a little repetitive.

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Phil Guie

Film-Forward.com

May 22, 2019

5/5

The men look inward in the most powerful scenes and come face-to-face with the darkness they find. However, it's the moments afterwards, when they... show love and appreciation that are unexpectedly powerful and uplifting.

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Tomas Trussow

The Lonely Film Critic

Nov 10, 2018

3.5/5

I'm glad something so gruelingly powerful came out of that four-day session. Just the sight of seeing these tough-looking guys cheering someone on for pouring their soul out was very touching to me.

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Matthew R

@RT52830269 Jul 30, 2025

idk, if you can accept that these guys are being honest and you like he whole therapy thing its worth a watch. I like the whole therapy thing but it jsut seemed these guys were overreacting to everything. It was like watching a reality show, well i guess it was a reality show, but it just seemed all the emotions are super forced to me.

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Mar 23, 2021

Incredibly powerful. I was amazed at the depth of wisdom and discernment displayed by convicts who had extremely violent pasts and who probably were in prison for life.

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Dec 22, 2020

Genius! 'The Work' shows a raw and uncut view into the mental state of men and masculinity in a society where opening up and exposing your emotions isn't encouraged.

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Kelly M

@kellyokelly Sep 5, 2020

A candid look inside some men who are prisoners and some men are prisoners in their minds. An honest study that I didn't want to end.

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Dec 19, 2019

This is an important movie about an even more important programme.

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Jul 11, 2019

I am completely baffled by these reviews. I did not connect emotionally on any level, did not believe these guys - they all appeared to be actors. Did not find out much about their lives - pretty much a lot of screaming and crying.

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Jairus McLeary

Director

Gethin Aldous

Director

Gethin Aldous

Executive Producer

Rob Allbee

Executive Producer

James McLeary

Executive Producer

Jairus McLeary

Producer

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Synopsis

Set inside a single room in Folsom Prison, three men from the outside participate in a four-day group therapy retreat with level-four convicts. Over the four days, each man in the room takes his turn at delving deep into his past.

Director: Jairus McLeary, Gethin Aldous
Producer: Jairus McLeary, Alice Henty, Eon McLeary, Miles McLeary, Angela Sostre
Distributor: The Orchard
Production Co: Blanket Fort Media
Genre: Documentary
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Oct 25, 2017, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Nov 21, 2017
Box Office (Gross USA): $3.3K
Runtime: 1h 27m

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