Robert Christgau is one of the first-generation critics still having something to say, and has become sort of a legend, so it is no wonder that a new documentary titled The Last Critic will see its premiere at the SXSW Film Festival in March 2026. Its SXSW premiere will be in the Documentary Feature Competition.
The film will feature the likes of Randy Newman, Boots Riley, and Village Voice writer-turned-novelist Colson Whitehead. Having penned “I Killed Christgau With My Big Fucking Dick,” Sonic Youth’s Thurston Moore also chips in to help immortalize his onetime foe.
The documentary is directed by Matty Wishnow and features music from Newman, Yo la Tengo, the Feelies, and Gina Birch. A murderer’s row of critics also contributed, including Greil Marcus, Ann Powers, Rob Sheffield, Amanda Petrusich, and Kelefa Sanneh. A synopsis on the film’s Instagram page notes that Christgau, whose work “has inspired & infuriated readers for sixty years, is still at it in his eighties—grading records, interrogating commas & listening to absolutely everything (except metal & prog).”
