This movie hasn't been treated well by "the critics," but neither were movies like "It's A Wonderful Life," "The Wizard of Oz," and many others. Sometimes critics don't see what is in front of them. The pacing only seems slow if you're spending your other reviews telling people how wonderful super hero and "Fast and Furious" movies are. How can it be slow if the whole thing takes place over a period of about three weeks? It's paced the way it should be to allow a good look at Bernadette, who she is, how she got there and the demons she deals with. It's a wonderful look at the closeness between a daughter and her mother, when the daughter often finds herself being the more mature of the two. The best part of the movie, as it should be, is Bernadette, played to mercurial perfection by Cate Blanchett. Under the obvious disruption of a manic personality, Blanchett also allows the intelligence, humor and pain of the character to show through. It's a tremendous performance and, fortunately, some of the awards are paying attention to it despite the critics. It's a thoughtful, but also very funny movie. People should give it a chance.
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sage-4261815 December 2019
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palofsophie25 August 2019Some reviewers criticized the film's pacing, I was fine with it. It's clear from the beginning the family is non-tradiotional, living in partially renovated, unkempt colossal house in a high end Seattle among well kept homes. Snobbery abounds. The viewer wonders about the past and it is revealed little by little in various ways. Bernadette & her daughter are unusually close, the parents less so. The ultimate strength of their bonds is what drives the last 1/3. I did snort-laugh a few times, for the record. A good film for families ( kids over 12 or so) to watch which may lead to discussions. Cate B's performance is excellent!
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jimandkent16 August 2019Started out at little slow and ended strong. The Director took to long to help us understand the complexity of Bernadette and her real struggles -which we can all identify with, so that we really liked and rooted for her. Once the movie got there it took off and ended strong. One criticism overall and not so much about this movie but an overall statement. If a movie is set in a specific city - film it in that city. There were obvious obligatory scenes of Seattle but It was clearly filmed mostly elsewhere.
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Kirpianuscus25 June 2020Just I love it. Not only for the basic motif than Cate Blanchett is one of my favorit actress , for the art of Billy Crudup or because the young Emma nelson reminds me one of my students, but because all is...just lovely. Amix of depression, family, life , passion, loneliness and the result of vocation. An adorable film. Just an adorable one. For storytelling, acting, humor , extravagance and tension. And in few scenes, for the status of mirror.
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tmosest16 August 2019I personally felt the story to be lacking and the ending abrupt. Despite that, Cate's range of emotion makes her unique, like the genius protagonist she plays.
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Director Richard Linklater is one that does movies in an in depth manner as they are long drawn out and almost always deal with life and personal matters. And most viewers as they watch can relate to them and most face some in real life. This latest "Where'd You Go, Bernadette" is one that deals with somewhat of a midlife drama as the head character wants a change and escape to a new scene all while wanting to live past glory again.
Bernadette Fox(Cate Blanchett) is a professional woman an inventor, teacher, wife, and mom who had a very creative past only now her life is stuck in neutral. It's like she can't get no satisfaction! So she needs a new journey a new adventure and discovery. So upon taking a getaway in somewhat of a secretive manner the world opens back up and a new light shines for her! Overall really a picture of once again finding self discovery and old glory thru escape, not one of Richard's best works and the performance from Cate is only okay, still it's a watch for some drama and inspiration. -
MDawn18 August 2019From the trailer I could tell I wasn't so into this story but gave it a shot because I'm a fan of Richard Linkletter. Unfortunately my gut was right. It was an okay movie but surprisingly my biggest issue was Cate Blanchett in the role. I had trouble feeling anything for the character. Usually I love this actress but I don't know, maybe this character was played too similarly to Blue Jasmine and that bothered me? Or maybe it's that she played the lost and anxious Bernadette too hard and cold so that it was impossible to feel any character sympathy for her. Oh well.
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lavatch29 November 2019This film might as well be re-titled "Genius at Work." Bernadette Fox was a distinguished architect in Los Angeles, when suddenly her designer home named the "Twenty-Mile Home" turned into a boondoggle. After purchasing it, the billionaire decided to demolish it and turn it into a parking lot. Bernadette then went into retreat and did not design again for nearly two decades. The film tells the story of the need of a genius to be engaged in the creative process as the essence of her life.
In the bonus track of the DVD, actress Cate Blanchett described her character as someone who was "not a good listener" to others because she was so wrapped up in herself. The solipsistic side of a genius is one of the main themes of the film. The psychiatrist who diagnosed Bernadette and recommended that she spend time in the Madrona Hill mental institution noted the "grandiosity" exhibited by Bernadette. The wise old architect Paul Jellinek put it even better when he stressed "the need to create" on the part of a genius.
Adapted from the epistolary novel by Maria Semple, "Where'd You Go, Bernadette?" includes a batch of generally obnoxious characters, not the least of which is Bernadette herslef. The loving husband Elgie and the miracle daughter Bee (Buzzy) offer Bernadette something close to unconditional love, yet still fail to reach her until she is finally back in her creative element.
Bernadette's husband Elgie, a creative artist in his own right as a designer for Microsoft, thinks of his wife in terms of a saint. The nickname that he gave her was Saint Bernadette, in honor of Bernadette of Lourdes, who created no less than eighteen miracles. But Elgie is faced with working a miracle of his own in order to bring the clearly depressed and unhinged Bernadette back to reality.
The film tended to ramble in its scenes and dialogue, and the long sequence in Antarctica at the end seemed forced and strained. Yet, the eccentric, wild, and wacky side of a genius made the film palatable, even if Saint Bernadette was just as hard for an audience to take as it was for the characters in the film. -
Bernadette is the kind of woman you would cross the road to avoid and who would also cross the road to avoid meeting you and she's just the perfect character for Cate Blanchett to add to her portfolio of oddballs. She's also married to something of an oddball, (Billy Crudup), who's some kind of computer genius and between them they have managed to create a nice, normal teenage daughter, (newcomer Emma Nelson, superb), and they all live in a Seattle mansion that is literally falling apart. But Bernadette isn't just a sociopathic oddball; she is, or was, a great architect who dropped out and whose midlife crisis has lasted a couple of decades.
"Where'd you go, Bernadette" is a Richard Linklater comedy so you know we are in odddball territory to begin with. What you might not realise is that it's also very funny and naturally more than a little sad. It's like a walking, talking New Yorker cartoon brought to glorious life and not just by Blanchett, (no-one does crazy quite like her), Crudup and Nelson but by a terrific supporting cast headed by Kristen Wiig and with pitch-perfect turns from Judy Greer, Zoe Chao, Laurence Fishburne, David Paymer and Steve Zahn. I loved every crazy, off-the-wall and marvellously moving moment. -
rockman18217 August 2019Richard Linklater, for me is a solid filmmaker. I think the Before Trilogy is masterful and damn near perfect and while his other work doesn't resonate as well for me he's had some great films. I didn't know a whole lot about this film, other than it being based on a book I've never read and it looking like quite a stylish film though a very curious one. After watching, I'm sort of on the fence of whether I liked it or not. The needle is right in the center.
The film is about a former architect named Bernadette Fox and her life. She hates people, has rows with her neighbor, and is having issues with her husband and her own mental health. Things come to a head where her life becomes so disorganized that an intervention is called to help her get better. Before you know it Bernadette disappears and her family must track her and get her back. Its hard to summarize the plot of this film because this isn't really an event that takes center stage in this film.
I feel like this film was just so uneven. On one hand you have a very good performance by the always amazing, Cate Blanchett. I love the interactions with her and Kristen Wig's character. The writing and humor is sharp and witty at times but like Bernadette, it disappears as the film trails along. I can't really put a finger on what makes this book special because the film makes me wonder why we really have to care for it.
I feel like a lot of this was a swing and a miss for Linklater who is always trying to challenge himself. There are things to appreciate, like the musical score and performances but not a whole lot else in this rather uneventful and non memorable film. Luckily for me this was a first film in a double feature, with the latter feature really making up for my time at the cinema.
5.5/10 -
lizshotter26 November 2019In an age when more working people than ever can't afford to feed their families, housing is a luxury and work is more like slavery it's heartening to see a film take on these difficult topics..oh, wait. It didn't. At all. It focused on a privileged white woman, in a privileged white upper class neighbourhood with a privileged white upper class family who experiences social anxiety and some depression. It's difficult to relate to her, given that she's a celebrated architect that can afford a last minute trip to Antarctica, and I kept waiting for this film to make sense to me, but it just made me cringe the longer it went on to the point that I had to mute the last ten minutes. I get that mental health can effect anyone irrespective of material wealth, but I didn't feel that this was fully explored, just glossed over and resolved in a bland and unsatisfying and unlikely way. But god love her, cate tries hard and I liked her character way more when she was slightly bad and I didn't feel like that aspect of her needed to change. Just a weird hallmark film with a weird hallmark ending.
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My wife and I went to see this movie because Kristen Wiig is in it and it looked like it would be funny. It is funny - but it is a lot more. It is quirky (we love quirky movies!), edgy, sometimes uncomfortable, but mostly enlightening (as in bringing light in). It could have been titled "Where'd you go Human Spirit?", or "Where'd you go Imagination?, or "This is what happens to society when fear drives honest, loving, intelligent people to start acting weird and give up on each other". And it shows us the answer in a very positive way. So, it was not Bridesmaids. Closer to "Welcome to Me" or "Skeleton Twins" maybe (I loved both), but not really like any other movie I can think of. Note: The critics seemed to not like it. That is almost a sure sign of a good movie to me. Bless their pointy little heads.
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Elefantom1 June 2020My rating is not quite as high, because I compare it to the book. The book storyline is non-linear, and starts off with Bernadette having disappeared. Finding her seems to be less straight forward than in the movie and make the story more intriguing. But having said that I thought the movie portrayed the characters and relationships well. Definitely worth seeing
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xml-727889 September 2019The set up in the first 2/3 is strong, with strong performances. But instead of dealing with the conflicting mental health, emotions and needs of each in the couple, the "where'd you go" was fleeting and the happy ever after resolution was disappointing. It's Hollywood, bears no semblance of real life or good literature. Get me re-write.
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TxMike19 January 2020My wife and I watched this movie at home on DVD from our public library. We enjoyed it, all actors are good in the roles and to me Blanchett turns in one of her better performances as the genius architect that ceased to create after her difficulties with pregnancy and motherhood.
Cate Blanchett is Bernadette, living in Seattle with her Microsoft executive husband and teen daughter. She doesn't do much anymore, they bought an old large fixer upper but are not fixing it up. She doesn't seem to have any friends. At one point her family arranges an intervention, they think Bernadette needs to be hospitalized but she escapes.
Having planned a trip at their daughter's request, to Antarctica, and seemingly being aborted, through a series of quirky events all three of them end up there and Bernadette finds the inspiration to reignite her passion for architecture.
Good movie. Filmed partly in Greenland standing in for Antarctica, -
imjaredross21 November 2019Where'd You Go, Bernadette is based off of the novel of the same name and tells the story of Bernadette Fox who is going through a bit of a midlife crisis as it begins to effect the people around her. I've been really interested in this film ever since Richard Linklater's name was a attached. He is a director I admire and couldn't wait, however reviews for this film have not been kind and I really don't understand why.
This film manages to balance drama and comedy in a very clever and consistent way that really works in my opinion. The acting all around is very good, especially from Cate Blanchett who wonderfully portrays this character in a quirky and self destructive way that still makes you feel sorry and care for her. Billy Crudup, a very underrated actor also does a great job as he is trying to keep his family from Fallon apart.
The story is very quirky, but as I said balances with drama as well making it feel well rounded and never feels too whimsical. It's just right and is very heartfelt and relatable. It can be sappy at times, but I didn't mind it at all.
Perhaps the acting from the daughter could have been better and the trailers pitched a very different film, but I think what we got is funny, heartfelt and very well acted. It's not up there with Linklater's best, but it is a win for me. -
M_Exchange21 August 2019Director Linklater did a great job of using a faux YouTube documentary to flesh out Cate Blanchett's Bernadette character. It's not obtrusive or distracting, and it meshed well with the actual story. Unfortunately, it rendered Emma Nelson's voiceover narration-- which I usually hate anyway-- even more pointless.
Although the scenes with Emma Nelson's Bee and Bernadette are the most heartfelt and poignant in the movie, Nelson had quite a few cringe-worthy lines throughout it. One of the most hideous lines was delivered when she is damning her father (Billy Crudup) for working while she and her unemployed mother were FORCED to live together in a loving relationship on a massive estate in a well-to-do Seattle neighborhood. To quote Colonel Kurtz (who is also mentioned in this film), "the horror.... the horror." Nelson also dives into such lines with all of the overzealousness of a young actor who is unaware that they're garbage. A more seasoned actor would have half-mumbled them.
Fortunately for Linklater, Cate Blanchett is in his film. She demonstrated why people believe that she is one of the greatest actors of this century by reeling in the supporting cast's slack and causing us to forget some of the story's shortcomings.
I'm usually unamused by Linklater's obsession with the mundane, but in this film there was something adorable about seeing Bernadette's daughter perform at an elementary school function and watching Kristen Wiig's character host a kids' party in her house. The quirkiness served it well. Overall, I'm glad that I watched this film-- it was a welcome relief from the Disney monopoly. Get out there and enjoy non-Disneyized cinema while you still can, folks. -
daodian8 September 2021At first I only put it on because Kristin Wig. It starts off pretty slow but it is soooo worth the watch. Get the Kleenex's ready!
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nancycferrara-263-78555727 February 2021Painfully real, humorous, poignant in so many ways. A woman's journey through her life and all its challenges. The many interpretations of the heroines' predicaments, are so true, meaningful. How different people attempt to help!
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thesuthernman24 August 2019Yes, it's a Hollywood film with all the clever coincidences and neat n' tidy endings, but it is also very clever, well acted, and even poetic. Go see a film that doesn't involve flying superheroes, gun fights, or animated toys...you'll be glad you did.
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ebri-112 June 2023The disappearance mentioned in the description happens at 2/3 of the film, until than the situation is building up, not very quickly, but also in a fine pace. I started to check if I want to view it, and I stuck watching it. The story is also different, it is not about disappearing someone and finding her in a sense of eg. "Searching", but rather find yourself after you lost yourself.
A bit unbelievable, a bit slow at the beginning, but overall the story is nice and I did not intend to stop after 20-30 mins.
Acting, directing etc. Were good, and ending titles drawing were also nice. I would also visit the Antarctica :). -
svendaly27 April 2020Blanchett, Crudup, Wiig, Fishburne, Linklater. You'd really think would have come out better. Certainly watchable but whatever was in the source material was not brought out to make this really move. The ending was rather predictable and cheesy and god know what that final prop was
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aslisonceley3 January 2020She must create so she doesn't become a menace to society. A beautiful insight into the mind of an artist who bottled up her creative drive, and became dysfunctional.
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caitlin-798294 October 2020I usually never write reviews, but I felt I had to after watching this. Although "Where'd You Go, Bernadette" was filled with a star-studded cast, and great acting, it left out many of the pieces that made the book so wonderful. So much of the plot changed, and I'm sure that was to make it more relatable to viewers, but it really misses the mystery and magic this story holds. It's a story completely out of the box for Hollywood, and I wish it could have been told that same way. This is one of my favorite books and it truly is a wonderful, hilarious, slightly dark, and mysterious read. The story deserves so much more than what it was given with this screenplay. So, with that, I highly recommend reading "Where'd You Go, Bernadette," you won't be disappointed.
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tigerfish5023 August 2019Richard Linklater has made several movies notable for their originality and excellence - with 'Dazed and Confused', 'Tape', 'Boyhood' and the 'Before Sunrise/Sunset/Midnight' trilogy being the cream of the crop. He has also made a couple of clunkers, but Bernadette is almost certainly his career low. The acting, script and direction are so abysmal, it's hard to know whether the film was intended to be a drama, comedy or farce.
The plot tells how a housewife, married to a successful software geek, is having a mid-life crisis over abandoning her brilliant early career as an architect and designer. After estranging herself from family and neighbors with chronic grouchiness and bizarre behavior, she absconds. The mystery of her disappearance lasts approximately three minutes before Bernadette's husband and daughter figure out her destination and set off in pursuit. Already dire, from that point onward the film descends to the level of ineptitude and sentimentality usually found in provincial amateur dramatics. Overall, it would be gross deception to describe it as anything better than an embarrassing mess.