A Master Builder
Abramorama | Release Date: July 23, 2014 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
67
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 17 Critic Reviews
Positive:
11
Mixed:
5
Negative:
1
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
91
Christian Science MonitorPeter RainerSep 5, 2014
Whatever the case, the film resounds with hyperbolic passion. Hot bubbling currents flow through this film’s constricted veins. Read full review
90
New York Magazine (Vulture)David EdelsteinJul 25, 2014
Gregory and Demme have turned A Master Builder into (pardon my invoking the name of a Strindberg work) a dream play, and have made it once more madly, bitingly, chillingly alive. Read full review
90
Village VoiceStephanie ZacharekJul 22, 2014
Demme, following in the footsteps of the late Louis Malle, takes a spare, direct approach to the material -- his economy pays off in quiet eloquence. Read full review
88
Boston GlobePeter KeoughSep 11, 2014
The performances ratchet up to giddy near-hysteria, as Hilde toys with Solness’s randiness and repressed memory. Read full review
88
Chicago Sun-TimesHedy WeissAug 8, 2014
The cast is uniformly superb. But it is the palpable erotic tension between Solness and the mysterious, bewitchingly nubile Hilde (who he may have sexually abused or at least titillated a decade earlier) that drives the film. Read full review
75
RogerEbert.comPeter SobczynskiAug 8, 2014
While A Master Builder never really catches fire as a film, it is still more or less worth watching. Read full review
75
Slant MagazineChuck BowenJul 21, 2014
Jonathan Demme makes loving sport of the trust his actors have clearly placed in him, erecting for them a monument to the joys and terrors of walking an emotional high wire. Read full review
70
The New YorkerAnthony LaneAug 1, 2014
A Master Builder is a bold endeavor, thriftily made, and there is muscle and volume in the performances; but had Demme hung back, and kept things cooler and quieter, the mastery of what Ibsen built, and the agon of his extraordinary hero, would have cast a more looming shadow. [4 Aug. 2014, p.75]
70
The Hollywood ReporterJordan MintzerJul 24, 2014
With such well-tuned performances and scattered intensity, it's unfortunate that the technical aspects of the film are not always up to par. Read full review
67
The A.V. ClubMike D'AngeloJul 23, 2014
Demme barely even makes an effort, shooting mostly in bland close-ups with the occasional zoom for completely random emphasis. Nor does A Master Builder have any meta-element—it’s like "Vanya On 42nd Street" without 42nd Street. Read full review
63
Washington PostStephanie MerrySep 18, 2014
For a movie that lasts longer than two hours and is made up solely of talking, it’s impressive that the story never seems to drag. But with all of the possibilities of movie magic, it’s a shame that the characters keep us at arm’s length. Read full review
60
The DissolveNoel MurrayJul 22, 2014
Shawn’s adaptation mostly follows Ibsen’s original text, which is what keeps A Master Builder on the level of a well-meaning but only intermittently electrifying exercise. Read full review
60
The New York TimesStephen HoldenJul 22, 2014
As both an actor and a playwright, Wallace Shawn, at his most audacious, goes for the jugular, but in sneaky roundabout ways. Read full review
60
Time OutKeith UhlichJul 15, 2014
The film adheres closely to a well-reviewed theater production cocreated by and starring Andre Gregory and Wallace Shawn, both of whom get to riff on their prickly "My Dinner with Andre" rapport. Read full review
50
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Liam LaceyJul 24, 2014
A Master Builder really doesn’t work, hampered by odd casting, theatrical performances and a reductive interpretation of Ibsen’s play. Read full review
40
VarietyJay WeissbergJul 24, 2014
The adaptation lacks a strong enough sense of modulated construction, making for a tedious sit. One of the biggest problems, though, is the performances. Read full review
38
New York PostFarran Smith NehmeJul 23, 2014
The film is full of baffling choices, like the EKG machine that beeps for the first 40 minutes, so loud and so maddening that the great words barely register. Mumblecore is not a good look for Ibsen. Read full review
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