The great achievement of Ragtime is in its performances, especially Howard E. Rollins, Jr. and the changes he goes through in this story.

...an ambitious and agreeably sprawling epic...

...it’s not exactly a crowd-pleaser at 155 mins, but as a consideration of the darker side of American history, specifically racism, it’s an absorbing and powerful watch for grown-up audiences...

The film flounders in its rhythms, and the editing is sometimes jagged, suggesting that there should be more than there is