Clara's Ghost
Orion Classics | Release Date: December 6, 2018 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
66
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 12 Critic Reviews
Positive:
9
Mixed:
2
Negative:
1
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
91
The PlaylistRodrigo Perez
This is a film that’s wantonly absurd and even silly, and yet, bubbling underneath it all, Clara’s Ghost never takes its eyes off its protagonist or our empathy for her even when she pushed to the edge of the frame both literally and figuratively. And Niedert Elliott’s performance is haunting, perfectly capturing that ambiguous space between comedy and drama that gives the movie its edge. Read full review
90
The New York TimesTeo BugbeeFeb 13, 2019
As is perhaps appropriate, given the comic occupations of the Reynolds (and the Elliott) family, this unusual, unsettling and terrific little film presents itself not as a domestic opera, but as a family comedy. Read full review
75
Paste MagazineAndrew CrumpDec 11, 2018
It’s often said that going into business with family is a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad idea, but Clara’s Ghost provides an exception to this particular rule. Read full review
75
Slant MagazineChuck BowenDec 4, 2018
Bridey Elliott avoids the smug pitfalls of narratives concerned with privileged people drinking themselves into a stupor. Read full review
70
Los Angeles TimesNoel MurrayDec 10, 2018
The movie’s grating a lot of the time, but often very funny, and perversely fascinating. Most importantly, it's always as honest as it is painful. Read full review
70
New York Magazine (Vulture)Bilge EbiriDec 10, 2018
One of the strangest films I’ve seen this year, Clara’s Ghost is a twisted, slippery little whisper of a thing that refuses to let itself be easily defined. Read full review
70
The Hollywood ReporterJustin Lowe
A degree of tolerance for these frequent outbursts of unrestrained, puerile humor eventually reveals a tender portrait of a neglected woman seeking solace in her vivid, perhaps deranged, imagination Read full review
70
Vanity FairJordan Hoffman
This extremely homemade film, written and directed by Bridey Elliott and starring her own mostly-famous family, is extremely funny at times and nerve-wracking at others, but also pitch black to the point that many will find it unbearable. I say stick with it; if nothing else, the film is a work of great daring. Read full review
67
The Film StageDan Mecca
Paula Niedert Elliott is given the most to do, and she does plenty with it. Read full review
50
VarietyDennis Harvey
Clara’s Ghost is determinedly quirky, but its ideas are seldom all that original or funny, too often degenerating into rote scatological humor. Nonetheless, there’s a formative creative sensibility that seems on the verge of defining itself — something that never quite happens before the film ends, its anecdotal story having drifted nowhere in particular. Read full review
42
The A.V. ClubMike D'AngeloDec 4, 2018
Unfortunately, like most home movies, it’s of precious little interest to non-relatives. Read full review
38
RogerEbert.comTomris LafflyDec 7, 2018
Throughout Clara’s Ghost you can’t help but think that you’re watching a quaint home video that would appeal to the members of the subject family only — the unnecessary square aspect ratio certainly doesn’t help with the amateurish feel of the whole thing. Read full review
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