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
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
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