78
Metascore
8 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 90The New York TimesBilge EbiriThe New York TimesBilge EbiriIt’s an artful portrait of a world that refuses the order we try to impose on it when we close ourselves off to heartache, doubt and pain.
- 88Slant MagazineWes GreeneSlant MagazineWes GreeneThis a much leaner film in terms of narrative incident than In the Family, though it paves the way for Patrick Wang to step into new artistic terrain.
- 80VarietyJustin ChangVarietyJustin ChangMore experimental in form and wobbly in execution than its predecessor, this searching adaptation of Leah Hager Cohen’s 2011 novel nonetheless evokes a family’s fragile inner life in ineffably moving fashion, capturing how distant and isolated parents and children can feel from one another even when living under the same roof
- 80Los Angeles TimesRobert AbeleLos Angeles TimesRobert AbeleWang approaches storytelling through the internal weather of his characters and long, fixed takes marked by naturalistic dialogue — blink and you might not catch a time-fracturing, nuanced gesture, or crucial piece of information.
- 80L.A. WeeklySam WeisbergL.A. WeeklySam WeisbergWang favors static, wide, one-take shots, to underscore the relentlessness of his characters’ suffering. But — like Jost — he also has a knack for primitive in-camera effects. The final shot is a triumph of both economy and feeling.
- 75RogerEbert.comMatt Zoller SeitzRogerEbert.comMatt Zoller SeitzWang's movie is empathetic enough not to pass negative judgment on the characters as they muddle through their experience.
- 70The Hollywood ReporterBoyd van HoeijThe Hollywood ReporterBoyd van HoeijA step up in terms of complexity, with more subplots and a larger cast of protagonists to juggle and less instantly sympathetic characters or an evident cause to rally behind, this drama again offers many quiet, often character-driven rewards but struggles to become larger than the sum of its parts.
- 67The A.V. ClubA.A. DowdThe A.V. ClubA.A. DowdIt’s every bit as human-scaled as the filmmaker’s other work — but also, in its noble restraint, a little less involving.