Infinitely Polar Bear
Sony Pictures Classics | Release Date: June 19, 2015 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
64
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 32 Critic Reviews
Positive:
18
Mixed:
12
Negative:
2
Watch Now
Stream On
Stream On
Buy on
Stream On
Stream On
Expand

Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
88
St. Louis Post-DispatchCalvin WilsonJul 23, 2015
As the central character in “Polar Bear,” Ruffalo impressively explores the geography of a troubled mind, and makes the journey fascinating. Read full review
88
RogerEbert.comSusan WloszczynaJun 19, 2015
Basically, Cam is one of the most entertainingly inappropriate guardians for impressionable youths since Auntie Mame. Read full review
88
Rolling StonePeter TraversJun 17, 2015
The movie is a small miracle, lifted by Ruffalo and these two remarkable young actresses. Refusing to soften the edges when Cam is off his meds, Ruffalo is a powerhouse. He and Forbes craft an indelibly intimate portrait of what makes a family when the roles of parent and child are reversed. Read full review
88
ObserverRex ReedJun 17, 2015
Written with wit and nuance and sensitively directed by Maya Forbes, who makes a formidable feature-film debut, this is a movie that informs and entertains, with a centerpiece performance by the great, often underrated and always surprising Mark Ruffalo. Read full review
83
Tampa Bay TimesSteve PersallJul 23, 2015
Forbes' screenplay is fuller of humor than the topic might suggest, and Ruffalo as usual is imminently watchable, in a uniquely feel-good movie. Read full review
83
IndieWireEmma Myers Jan 26, 2014
Drawing from the wellspring of her own life, Forbes' agile tone allows the film to indulge in heartbreak and humor with equal measure. Read full review
80
Wall Street JournalJoe MorgensternJun 18, 2015
Mark Ruffalo is yet again a revelation in Infinitely Polar Bear, and he’s not the only one. This is a first feature by Maya Forbes, yet many of its accomplishments put far more experienced filmmakers in the shade. Read full review
80
Village VoiceStephanie ZacharekJun 16, 2015
Much of what happens in Infinitely Polar Bear could be unbearably painful, but Forbes sees the cracked humor in everything Read full review
80
The TelegraphAmber WilkinsonJan 26, 2014
Forbes has a delicate but unsentimental approach, which gives her film the same infectious energy that blesses and curses Cameron. The end result feels good without feeling superficial. Read full review
80
Time OutJoshua RothkopfJan 26, 2014
Ruffalo, a master of rumpled befuddlement, finds his signature role here—it can't be overstated how deftly he eases into the tricky creation, a blue-blooded slacker who aches when the world won't hug him back. Read full review
80
VarietyJustin ChangJan 26, 2014
Forbes brings a marvelous warmth and specificity to this story of a mixed-race family struggling to survive, aided considerably by one of Mark Ruffalo’s richest, most appealing performances. Read full review
75
Portland OregonianJeff BakerJul 17, 2015
What Ruffalo brings is a gravelly voice, soulful eyes, and absolute commitment. He's a little aw-shucksish in a Midwestern way but never corny and with a strong backbone. You like him and wouldn't want to cross him. Frank Capra would love Ruffalo. So would Hitchcock. Read full review
75
Philadelphia InquirerSteven ReaJul 3, 2015
Deeply personal and filled with love, Maya Forbes' Infinitely Polar Bear is nonetheless a hard movie to watch - hard to watch comfortably. Read full review
75
Chicago Sun-TimesRichard RoeperJun 25, 2015
We veer close to the edge of Precious, Indie-Hipster Cliche so often in Infinitely Polar Bear, but thanks to a gifted filmmaker and two brilliant lead performances, the voice-over narration and the home-movie footage and the flights of fancy aren’t as off-putting as they might have been in lesser hands. Read full review
70
Arizona RepublicBill GoodykoontzJul 2, 2015
Forbes' story and her direction of it may seem too sunny for some. But she keeps us refreshingly off-balance throughout, by letting us in on her memories the way she recalls them. Read full review
67
Austin ChronicleMarjorie BaumgartenJul 8, 2015
With Infinitely Polar Bear, Forbes has created a warm family portrait, even though it sugarcoats the specter that mental illness casts on this group’s well-being. Read full review
63
New York PostLou LumenickJun 17, 2015
Cam (based on the director’s real-life father) is so charming and gifted in various ways that it’s easy to enjoy this fanciful look at a bohemian mixed-race family. Read full review
63
Slant MagazineKenji FujishimaJun 15, 2015
Maya Forbes reveals herself as a sunny optimist, insistent on remembering the ecstatic highs and never dwelling on the despairing lows. Read full review
60
New Orleans Times-PicayuneMike ScottJul 31, 2015
While Infinitely Polar Bear makes an admirable argument that mental illness is something to be managed rather than dreaded like a death sentence, it's hard not to feel as if Forbes' film perhaps paints too rosy of a portrait of what can be a devastating condition to families. Read full review
60
The New York TimesManohla DargisJun 18, 2015
In Infinitely Polar Bear, Ms. Forbes hasn’t made a movie about her father’s illness; she’s made one about her father, who, through hard and weird times, clearly helped give her what she needed so that one day she could tell this story. Read full review
60
Los Angeles TimesSheri LindenJun 18, 2015
Forbes pushes the positivity a bit insistently, yet one of the most appealing aspects of her film is its depiction of kids thriving in an unorthodox household. Read full review
60
New York Daily NewsJoe NeumaierJun 18, 2015
Saldana has a harder lift, as Maggie is striving for something better yet has to often be reactive. In scenes with the adorable Wolodarsky and Aufderheide, she listens and acts intently. But there are too many times when she’s forced to just look worried. Still, Saldana, like so many things in Forbes’ likable but tricky film, does her best in a tough situation. Read full review
60
The DissolveKate ErblandJun 17, 2015
As good as Ruffalo and Saldana are, the best parts of the film are the lovely, unpretentious performances by Imogene Wolodarsky (Forbes’ daughter) and Ashley Aufderheide as Cam and Maggie’s daughters. Read full review
60
The Hollywood ReporterJohn DeForeJan 26, 2014
A feel-good picture that is a little less affecting than it might have been, but is entertaining enough. Read full review
58
Christian Science MonitorPeter RainerJun 19, 2015
Despite some occasional moments of real sadness and terror, the turmoil in this movie is decidedly on the upbeat. Read full review
50
Chicago TribuneMichael PhillipsJun 25, 2015
It's worth seeing, on balance, simply for what Mark Ruffalo does in a hundred different, discrete, telling ways as he creates a character who was a capital-A Character, outlandish one minute, scarily unpredictable the next. Read full review
50
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalleJun 25, 2015
More emphasis on these darker, subterranean elements might have made for a fuller experience, but Infinitely Polar Bear is really all about a father as seen from a child’s perspective. It’s better than a scrapbook item, as in a film made to be appreciated by one family. But it’s not quite a successful movie. Read full review
50
New York Magazine (Vulture)Bilge EbiriJun 22, 2015
Infinitely Polar Bear is a good example of how a film that looks on paper like a mess of indie clichés can be redeemed by fantastic performances … even if, ultimately, it remains a mess of indie clichés. Read full review
42
The A.V. ClubJesse HassengerJun 17, 2015
In Infinitely Polar Bear, Ruffalo attempts to put a recognizable, charismatic, slightly worn face on manic depression. Somehow, though, he comes up with a vaguely theatrical, and vaguely wearying, performance. Read full review
40
The GuardianHenry BarnesJan 26, 2014
Infinitely Polar Bear is heartfelt and honest, but it's too cute by half. Read full review
37
Washington PostMichael O'SullivanJun 25, 2015
What Polar Bear really lacks is hindsight. It is a little girl’s valentine to her father, without the benefit of bittersweet wisdom that comes with age. Read full review
33
The PlaylistJames RocchiJan 26, 2014
Forbes’ script simply cannot make the things she lived through alive for us in anything but the most glib, shallow and contrived way. Read full review
More From This Movie

64 Critic Reviews

7.5 User Reviews

Details & Credits|Trailers

Current Movie Releases
By MetascoreBy User Score
1 81 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple
2 77 Project Hail Mary
3 75 Send Help
4 73 Hoppers
5 72 The Sheep Detectives
SEE ALL
Essential Links
New on Amazon Prime Video
New on Netflix
Coming Soon to DVD/Blu-ray
SEE ALL