Ophelia
IFC Films | Release Date: June 28, 2019 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
60
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 23 Critic Reviews
Positive:
11
Mixed:
10
Negative:
2
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
90
TheWrapAlonso Duralde
Ridley is simply extraordinary, and she and MacKay give us a younger, lustier Ophelia and Hamlet than we usually get on the big screen. Read full review
88
RogerEbert.comNell MinowJun 28, 2019
In this version, she is not the helpless girl driven to madness and likely suicide by a lover’s rejection. Played by “Star Wars” heroine Daisy Ridley, she has courage, intelligence, integrity, and agency. In this story, neither she nor the Danish prince she loves waste time worrying about whether to be or not to be. She is fully alive in every moment and ready to act to protect herself or those she loves. Read full review
83
The PlaylistWarren CantrellJun 26, 2019
McCarthy’s film manages to balance an audacious reinterpretation inside a loving ode to the original. Read full review
80
Film ThreatAnthony Ray BenchJan 8, 2019
Ophelia is an amazing movie that puts a positive feminist spin on a very familiar story. I’d love to see more classic stories retold from a female perspective like this one, written by women and directed by women. Read full review
80
The Hollywood ReporterTodd McCarthy
This vigorous, colorful and clever melodrama smartly rethinks both the play and the character, making her a far more proactive figure than Shakespeare did in addition to entirely reimagining her fate. Read full review
75
Chicago TribuneRick BentleyJul 3, 2019
Ridley is at her best in scenes with Watts, as both their characters are strong but must deal with romantic blindness. The film also takes some liberties with Gertrude’s story, adding a level that fits a modern telling. Read full review
70
VarietyAmy Nicholson
The best part of Ridley’s performance is her plodding, heavy-footed walk that reminds us this well-groomed lady is still a stubborn child underneath her fancy dress. She has a blank, open face that absorbs the court’s machinations and reflects little back until she decides to act insane. Read full review
70
New York Magazine (Vulture)David Edelstein
This is the ultimate female take-back-the-narrative movie, and frankly a lot of it is silly and sophomoric. But it’s also juicy and fun. Read full review
63
Chicago Sun-TimesRichard RoeperJul 12, 2019
With an intriguing premise, the magnetic Daisy Ridley (Rey in the “Star Wars” sequel trilogy) in the lead and a stellar supporting cast including Naomi Watts in a dual role, Ophelia has its moments of inspiration and beauty. Read full review
63
ReelViewsJames BerardinelliJun 29, 2019
Although an intriguing way to deconstruct and reassemble a story familiar to most people who have taken high school English, Ophelia doesn’t live up to its promise perhaps because the lead character, even after having been “expanded,” is still rather flat. Read full review
63
Movie NationRoger MooreJun 25, 2019
Director McCarthy stages a red shadow pantomime that’s the best filmed version of “the play within a play.” Ever. Read full review
60
EmpireIan FreerNov 22, 2019
An interesting, well played and well made attempt to reframe Shakespeare’s most famous play through a feminist lens, Ophelia ultimately doesn’t have the boldness to deliver on its resonant idea. Read full review
60
The New YorkerAnthony LaneJul 1, 2019
From the opening shot of Ophelia adrift in a river, in mimicry of Millais’s famous painting, the film seems to splash around in search of a suitable style. The drama is no longer a tragedy but a fairy tale — almost, at times, a farce. Read full review
60
The New York TimesManohla DargisJun 27, 2019
It’s an interesting exercise and, for the most part, a passably diverting one. Read full review
60
Los Angeles TimesMichael OrdoñaJun 26, 2019
Sometimes the cheekiness works and sometimes the empowerment theme feels forced. Read full review
50
Boston GlobeTy BurrJun 26, 2019
What sinks the movie (rather than the character) are the tortured melodramatics of its backstage plot and dialogue that aims for clever — and sometimes is — but that generally approximates Shakespeare for, like, beginners. Read full review
50
IndieWireKate Erbland
McCarthy’s film, based on Lisa Klein’s 2006 novel of the same name, takes its best ideas (and its best performers) and traps them in a cheap narrative that would will likely rank among the worst of many Shakespearean adaptations. It’s such a good idea on paper, rendered totally inert on the screen. Read full review
50
Screen DailyAnthony Kaufman
The film also has plenty of faults. One of the main problems is that Ophelia is still under-written. Read full review
42
The A.V. ClubMike D'AngeloJun 25, 2019
They’ve created not a bold revision but a bland empowerment tale, devoid of everything that makes Hamlet great. Read full review
42
The Film StageDaniel Schindel
Even if the conceit is faulty, that doesn’t mean it’s impossible for this film to rework this material into an intelligent riff on the play. Unfortunately, it still doesn’t. Read full review
40
The GuardianJordan Hoffman
This film looks absolutely gorgeous, but apart from its production design it is basically a disaster. Read full review
38
Slant MagazinePat BrownJun 25, 2019
Transforming Ophelia’s abuser into a helpful co-conspirator hardly seems like the most daring feminist reading of Hamlet. Read full review
25
ObserverRex ReedJun 29, 2019
The result is pretty to look at, with the misty lakes and foreboding forests of Denmark beautifully photographed and the costumes lavishly designed, but the sad (and boring) result has none of the bold thrust or festering passion originally created by the Bard. Read full review
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