Father of My Children
IFC Films | Release Date: May 28, 2010 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
76
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 17 Critic Reviews
Positive:
14
Mixed:
3
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
Wall Street JournalJoe Morgenstern
It isn't saying too much, though, to call Mia Hansen-Løve's French-language drama beautiful, profound and, given the gathering tensions of its story, phenomenally full of life. Read full review
90
The New York TimesManohla Dargis
A tale of cinema, a story about the agonies of trying to work outside the cinematic mainstream (even in France!). Yet what makes the movie so affecting is that it’s also a love story about a family. Read full review
88
ReelViewsJames Berardinelli
The Father of My Children is exceptional drama. Compelling and unforced, it shows sensitivity and evenhandedness in approaching a difficult subject. Read full review
88
Philadelphia InquirerSteven Rea
The talented Hansen-Love, with clarity and economy, manages to avoid the maudlin. Read full review
88
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
The film's second half is the most touching, because it shows that our lives are not merely our own, but also belong to the events we set in motion. Read full review
83
Portland OregonianMarc Mohan
A well-acted, convincing portrait of a successful but overworked film producer. Read full review
80
Los Angeles TimesKenneth Turan
What French writer-director Mia Hansen-Love has created is an extraordinarily empathetic humanistic drama, a film of love, joy, sadness and hope that understands how complex our emotions are and does beautiful justice to them. Read full review
80
VarietyJustin Chang
Marked by moments of remarkable stillness amid its emotional tumult, the film's classy, perceptive treatment of potentially maudlin material merits wider arthouse attention than it's likely to receive. Read full review
80
MovielineMichelle Orange
Hansen-Løve’s gifts for mood and eliciting controlled, empathetic performances are well-suited to her sensitive material, and ultimately overshadow the film’s difficult and uneven central characterization. Read full review
75
The A.V. ClubNoel Murray
It’s refreshing not to be led along or handled by a filmmaker, but given the almost-novelistic structure of The Father Of My Children--which juggles half a dozen or so major characters and follows their reaction to a crisis in obsessive detail--the movie could stand to be a little more dynamic. Read full review
75
San Francisco ChronicleAmy Biancolli
Starts slowly, builds slowly, resolves slowly and ends slowly, if indeed it can be said to end at all. Read full review
75
New York PostV.A. Musetto
There is much opportunity to turn the film into a soaper, but Hansen-Love resists. Read full review
70
Boxoffice MagazineJohn P. McCarthy
The Father of My Children is a protean charmer just like Grégoire Canvel, the title character modeled on the late Humbert Balsan. Read full review
70
The New YorkerAnthony Lane
It takes a female director, I think, to catch children, young and old, at these fragile hours, and also to trace a residue of something childlike in their elders. Read full review
60
Time OutKeith Uhlich
When The Father of My Children shifts focus to Grégoire’s wife (Caselli) and children (the eldest is beautifully played by De Lencquesaing’s actual daughter, Alice), Hansen-Løve’s hand steadies, and she reveals a true talent for intimate, behavioral observation. Read full review
50
L.A. WeeklyElla Taylor
Loses focus and sags into a how-we-got-through-it family procedural. Read full review
50
The Hollywood ReporterKirk Honeycutt
In the end, an audience has far too much knowledge about Gregoire's movie projects and finances and far too little about what makes anyone here tick. Read full review
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