Non-Fiction
Playtime | Release Date: May 3, 2019 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
78
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 29 Critic Reviews
Positive:
26
Mixed:
3
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
RogerEbert.comGlenn KennyMay 2, 2019
This is a sexy, fun film filled with a lot of zingers, but it also feels a little less personal than many of Assayas’ movies, perhaps in part because it’s not stuffed to the gills with songs he loves. Read full review
91
The PlaylistGregory EllwoodSep 6, 2018
Assayas has often shown great wit in his screenplays (most recently in “Clouds of Sils Maria”), but there is a rhythm to his writing here that is surprisingly good. Read full review
90
Los Angeles TimesKenneth TuranMay 9, 2019
What makes Non-Fiction stand out is the adroit way it keeps everything in balance. The writing and the acting, the questions about contemporary society as well as personal relationships, they all exist in enviable harmony to create an incisive snapshot of the present moment. Read full review
90
VarietyJay WeissbergAug 31, 2018
This story of two couples dealing with change in their personal and professional lives, so packed with intellectual sparring, gets progressively lighter as it moves along, acknowledging the primacy of human interaction (foibles and all) over doctrine. Read full review
90
Screen DailyLee MarshallAug 31, 2018
The prolific French director clearly needed to breeze through this one – and the breeziness is infectious. Read full review
90
The Hollywood ReporterJon FroschAug 31, 2018
There are chuckles and even guffaws throughout, though the comedy is streaked with despair, and also great tenderness. It’s the latest evidence of the director’s gift for tackling grave subjects with the lightest of touches; the film flows airily along, then knocks you off-balance with the weight of its insights and implications. Read full review
89
Austin ChronicleJosh KupeckiMay 22, 2019
While Non-Fiction can be quaint in its examination of art versus commerce, it is never boring. Read full review
88
Washington PostAnn HornadayMay 22, 2019
This is a handsome, hugely enjoyable movie that invites the spectators to reflect on precisely what they value, both on screen and off. “Is it good?” is a question repeatedly asked throughout Non-Fiction. When it comes to the myriad subjects at hand, the debate rages on. As for the movie itself, the answer is a resounding yes. Read full review
85
TheWrapAlonso DuraldeAug 31, 2018
As with “Summer Hours,” Non-Fiction traffics in ideas and concerns without handing out leaflets; first and foremost, this is an empathetic and charming character piece, featuring top-notch actors (Binoche revels in a rare opportunity to be funny) enjoying richly clever dialogue. Read full review
83
Christian Science MonitorPeter RainerMay 4, 2019
Most of all it’s about talking. It’s practically a nonstop jabberathon. What rescues the film from tedium is that much of the talk is enticing. Read full review
83
Entertainment WeeklyChris NashawatyMay 1, 2019
In the end, Non-Fiction is a warm, humane story that ends on a hopeful note reminiscent of "Hannah and Her Sisters." Life can be a messy business, but every so often it reveals moments of unexpected joy with perfect clarity. Read full review
83
The Film StageLeonardo GoiSep 8, 2018
If the aftertaste is one of cinematic delight–the feeling of being invited to take part in those chats, not just to listen to them–credit goes to Assayas’ writing and a handful of phenomenal performances from the quartet and supporting cast. Read full review
83
IndieWireDavid EhrlichAug 31, 2018
Non-Fiction isn’t a surrender, nor is it a call to arms. It’s an anxious — but strangely calming! — reminder that change is the only true constant, and that steering the current is a lot easier than fighting it. Nobody does that better than Assayas, even when it looks like he’s not even trying. Read full review
80
EmpireIan FreerOct 15, 2019
All modern life is here — the good, the bad, the insufferable — and it’s glorious. Non-Fiction is Olivier Assayas in a lighter register and he wears it well. Read full review
80
Wall Street JournalJoe MorgensternMay 9, 2019
Either way, though, Mr. Assayas, whose previous work has ranged from the tossed-off beguilements of “Irma Vep” to the docudramatic brilliance of “Carlos,” has created a small but special diversion that fairly vibrates with stylish performances and flies in the face of marketing fashion — a talkie with an abundance of good talk. Read full review
80
Rolling StonePeter TraversMay 2, 2019
The famous Assayas light touch keeps his film above the fray of didacticism. So dig in as an expert cast puts a scintillating spin on every verbal volley. Non-Fiction is a bonbon spiked with delicious wit and malice. Read full review
80
The New York TimesA.O. ScottMay 1, 2019
Witty, intelligent, sometimes cryptic. Read full review
80
Los Angeles TimesJustin ChangSep 15, 2018
[A] delightfully voluble new comedy. Read full review
75
Chicago TribuneMichael PhillipsMay 24, 2019
It plays as a comedy in its structure, and a drama in the margins, on the sidelines. Minor, clever, wonderfully acted, Non-Fiction makes room for jokes about “Star Wars,” Michael Haneke’s “The White Ribbon” and, at one point, Binoche herself. It’s funny that way. Read full review
75
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalleMay 22, 2019
The experience of watching it is rather like swooping down and catching people living their lives. Read full review
75
Boston GlobeTy BurrMay 15, 2019
It’s a fond comedy of manners and pretentions, a film for literate audiences that gently bites the hands that buy the tickets. Read full review
70
The New YorkerRichard BrodyMay 7, 2019
Despite situations aching for parody, Assayas is anything but satirical: as his characters give the book business, the Internet, and infidelity a vigorous but empty dialectical workout, he comes down squarely on the side of business as usual, which the film itself embodies. Yet Macaigne, quizzical and impulsive, invests a rote role with brilliant turns. Read full review
70
Film ThreatLorry KiktaOct 3, 2018
Non-Fiction is incredibly witty, fast-paced, and unmistakably French. Read full review
67
The A.V. ClubIgnatiy VishnevetskyMay 1, 2019
This is, in other words, Assayas’ homage to highbrow gabfests — the mid-period films of Woody Allen (complete with a Bergman reference) and especially the work of Éric Rohmer, the pseudonymous critic-turned-director who made a career of exploring his characters’ private dilemmas, but remained famously secretive about his own personal life. Read full review
63
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Barry HertzMay 9, 2019
It is a sadly out-of-touch tactic that recalls an old man yelling at the clouds (or, more accurately, cloud computing). Read full review
63
Movie NationRoger MooreMay 6, 2019
It reads livelier than it plays, I must say. But the sophistication of it all, the provocative disagreements of the many long conversations, pulled me in. Read full review
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