"In certain ways, AL NEIL: A PORTRAIT seems to summarize all of David Rimmer's previous work. At the same time, it is quite strikingly different from any film that, to my knowledge, he has made in the past. This possible paradox may be resolved by suggesting that the ostensible subject of the film, jazz musician Al Neil, is the living embodiment of Rimmer's own wide-ranging cerebral explorations. As a result, the filming of this subject, this remarkable human being, has jettisoned Rimmer's work to a new plateau. In this sense, AL NEIL: A PORTRAIT is clearly a landmark, both for Rimmer's filmmaking and for alternative Canadian cinema ....

"AL NEIL: A PORTRAIT is the most intricate, powerful and personally rewarding film I have seen in years. Unfortunately, this is only a review. A beautifully complex work like this film deserves a full critical response as impassioned and intelligent as the work itself." - Joyce Nelson