Joy
Netflix | Release Date (Streaming): November 22, 2024 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
62
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 17 Critic Reviews
Positive:
10
Mixed:
7
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
88
The Associated PressMark KennedyNov 20, 2024
Joy is not all joy. There is frustration and loss and tears along the way, but it is a triumphant film about the way humans can make the world better and how a baby’s cry can be a priceless gift. Read full review
80
Time OutDavid HughesOct 18, 2024
It’s an extremely moving and deeply affecting drama about a woman’s persistence in the face of overwhelming odds. Read full review
75
Movie NationRoger MooreNov 25, 2024
Cloying tendencies aside, Joy is a welcome feel-good movie about science, a “Hidden Figures” for IVF and the sort of movie a lot of people will take comfort in as the world’s anti-science ignoramuses, anti-vaccine rubes and anti-“expert” opportunists control most of the media megaphones these days. Read full review
75
RogerEbert.comNell MinowNov 21, 2024
Sometimes we just need a nice, cozy movie featuring a heartwarming true story and actors with British accents. And if Bill Nighy is one of them, well, that's just a bonus. Read full review
75
ObserverEmily ZemlerOct 16, 2024
It’s not a flashy movie, and the vintage aesthetic sometimes feels unnecessarily dour, but it makes for good storytelling that embraces both our past and present concerns at once. And sometimes it’s the unassuming movies that manage to sneak up on you. Read full review
70
Wall Street JournalJohn AndersonNov 22, 2024
Ms. McKenzie is terrific and carries much of the film, and director Taylor (“Sex Education”) seizes every opportunity to adorn it with period flavor, portraying Manchester and a Manchester hospital as they were 50 years ago. Read full review
70
The Daily BeastNick SchagerNov 22, 2024
A tribute to scientific innovation and compassion that, no matter its obvious manipulations, adeptly pulls at the heartstrings. Read full review
70
The Irish TimesTara BradyNov 21, 2024
The film, which always feels like classy telly rather than a pioneering effort befitting its subjects, might have made more of this dilemma. Read full review
67
IndieWireDavid EhrlichNov 19, 2024
Neither the deficiencies of Thorne’s script nor the made-for-TV feeling of Taylor’s direction ever fully obscure the enduringly relevant principle they exist to serve: Science will always keep inching forward, but it’s society’s job to ensure that bringing life into this world is a happiness worth the heartache of living in it. Read full review
67
Paste MagazineJim VorelNov 15, 2024
At the very least, it manages to remind us of how miraculous the commitment of human ingenuity can be, when it comes to making a new life possible. Read full review
60
EmpireMatt GlasbyDec 5, 2024
Made with love, even in its awkward moments, this modest account of a miraculous achievement is quietly life-affirming. Read full review
60
iChristina NewlandNov 22, 2024
Joy doesn’t reinvent the wheel, but it satisfyingly brings these stories to the screen in a typically prosaic, no-fuss British manner. Read full review
60
The New York TimesGlenn KennyNov 21, 2024
This is one of those pictures where the actors outdo the conventional material they are given to work with. Read full review
60
The Observer (UK)Wendy IdeNov 18, 2024
Given the emotive subject matter, the film chooses to keep the potential mothers at arm’s length as characters, losing tear-jerking opportunities as a consequence. Read full review
60
The GuardianPeter BradshawOct 15, 2024
It’s a somewhat stagey reconstruction but an approachable and humane account of a great moment in scientific history. Read full review
60
ColliderEmma KielyOct 15, 2024
It’s the movie’s efforts to make this as digestible as possible for the audience through its light-hearted tone and simplistic dialogue that render it a movie you watch on Netflix with your parents and probably never think about again. Read full review
40
The TelegraphTim RobeyOct 16, 2024
Joy adopts the most basic possible template for its fluffy history lesson, but still has an impressive habit of joining all the wrong dots. Read full review
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