Puzzle
Sony Pictures Classics | Release Date: July 27, 2018 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
66
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 36 Critic Reviews
Positive:
26
Mixed:
10
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
91
The PlaylistJordan Ruimy
Turtletaub does have a hard time finding a way to conclude Agnes’ story, but he ends Puzzle on such a delightful note of simplicity, that this near-perfect movie nevertheless stuns. Read full review
88
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Kate TaylorAug 9, 2018
Turtletaub has some difficulty ending the film, which resolves itself with one too many closeups of Macdonald gazing out at the world, whether from a lakeshore or a train window, as both the script and its director struggle to figure out what happens next. Read full review
83
Entertainment WeeklyLeah GreenblattJul 27, 2018
Director Marc Turtletaub pulls thoughtful, carefully shaded performances from Denman, Khan, and, most of all, Scottish actress Macdonald (Boardwalk Empire, No Country for Old Men), who refuses to let Agnes be an easy avatar for midlife longing and suburban discontent. Read full review
83
IndieWireKate Erbland
Puzzle toes a tough line, managing to stay relentlessly good-hearted and deeply humane, even as Agnes herself plunges into deeper, more dramatic waters. It’s the kind of mid-life crisis story that so rarely centers on a woman and Macdonald shines in the role, riveting even in the quietest of moments. Read full review
80
EmpireDan JolinSep 10, 2018
It might look like a quirky take on the sports movie, but Puzzle is in fact an astutely crafted character drama, featuring a superb central performance from Kelly Macdonald. Read full review
80
The Observer (UK)Wendy IdeSep 9, 2018
The lovely, subtle work from Macdonald, as her character blossoms and her horizons broaden, gives the film a warmth and magnetism. Read full review
80
Arizona RepublicBill GoodykoontzAug 2, 2018
Puzzle just kind of chugs along at its own pace, one of those small movies that packs a bigger punch, one in which, sorry, all the pieces fit. Read full review
80
Film Journal InternationalTomris LafflyJul 26, 2018
Puzzle proudly wears its unfussy metaphors on its sleeve, while sidestepping trite clichés of stories about self-discovery. Its premise might sound dull, but this charming crowd-pleaser is thankfully anything but—so much that Puzzle might even restore your faith in remakes. Read full review
80
Los Angeles TimesKenneth TuranJul 26, 2018
Macdonald has never starred in a film until Puzzle, and her delicate but deeply felt performance, along with the work of top Indian actor and costar Irrfan Khan and the rest of the cast, make this gentle, thoughtful yet pointed film the undeniable success it is. Read full review
80
Screen DailyWendy IdeJun 28, 2018
It’s a testament to Macdonald’s performance (and later, to Khan’s charm) that we share her passion for puzzling. Read full review
78
TheWrapWilliam BibbianiJul 26, 2018
It’s a kind and thoughtful drama that respects its characters and has faith in them, letting them live and breathe and find the meaning in their own lives. Read full review
75
Chicago Sun-TimesRichard RoeperAug 2, 2018
This is Agnes’ story, and this is Kelly Macdonald’s movie. Read full review
75
Washington PostAnn HornadayAug 1, 2018
In Puzzle, Macdonald has finally found a movie that she doesn’t need to steal, because it belongs to her completely. Read full review
75
ObserverRex ReedJul 31, 2018
The intelligent script provides rare insight into character development and the meticulously layered performance by Macdonald give the film a credence and balance that touches the heart. Read full review
75
ReelViewsJames BerardinelliJul 27, 2018
Although unintentional, Puzzle is what its name implies. Despite an Oscar-caliber performance from Kelly Macdonald, the film is hampered by sluggish pacing and a sterile mood that sucks the life out of various emotionally-charged situations. Read full review
75
RogerEbert.comChristy LemireJul 27, 2018
While Puzzle adheres to a bit of a formula in depicting her character’s path of self-discovery, it’s filled with vivid details and lovely grace notes along the way. Read full review
75
Movie NationRoger MooreJul 15, 2018
Thanks to its most engaging, sympathetic stars, even the over-familiar path it takes lets us find the warmth in the predictable first steps its characters take toward a richer life. Read full review
75
The Film StageJordan Raup
An earnest, clear-cut drama about the struggle for one woman’s liberation from the shackles of domesticity, Puzzle does what it sets out to do remarkably well. Read full review
70
The New YorkerAnthony LaneJul 30, 2018
In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film. Yet the play of emotions on Macdonald’s face tells of worries and wounds much deeper than anything that can be accounted for in the script, and it will take more than a jigsaw, I reckon, even a thousand-piece whopper, to free this woman’s soul. Read full review
70
New York Magazine (Vulture)Emily YoshidaJul 26, 2018
Like its protagonist, Puzzle finds itself as it goes along, and Agnes becomes a truly interesting person to root for. Read full review
70
The New York TimesJeannette CatsoulisJul 26, 2018
Like a bedtime cup of cocoa, Marc Turtletaub’s Puzzle has a soothing familiarity that quiets the mind and settles the spirit. Read full review
70
The Hollywood ReporterLeslie Felperin
This directing debut for experienced producer Marc Turtletaub (Little Miss Sunshine, Loving) ticks along pleasantly, driven by an efficient if slightly bland script by Oren Moverman and Polly Mann. Read full review
67
UproxxVince ManciniAug 2, 2018
Puzzle is one of those rare movies whose acting is so good it elevates a mediocre story. Read full review
63
Boston GlobeTom RussoAug 8, 2018
Why can’t the film maintain its subtler shadings throughout? It’s a puzzle. Read full review
63
Philadelphia Daily NewsGary ThompsonAug 8, 2018
Khan and Macdonald make it watchable. Read full review
63
Chicago TribuneMichael PhillipsAug 7, 2018
Much of Puzzle feels schematic and, in the convenient solution to the family’s financial problems, a bit lazy. Yet Macdonald is so good, on her own or with a scene partner, director Marc Turtletaub’s movie refuses to fall apart. Read full review
60
The GuardianMike McCahillJul 26, 2018
There is modest craft and genuine heart here, not to mention an eye-catching centrepiece: an actor growing more certain of herself, and more capable than ever of holding an entire picture together – even one as unusual, and sometimes as unlikely, as this. Read full review
60
VarietyPeter Debruge
We should be grateful that it exists, if only because it affords a long-overdue leading role to Kelly Macdonald. Read full review
50
Austin ChronicleMarjorie BaumgartenAug 22, 2018
That is really the reason to see this movie: the lovely performances of Macdonald and Khan. Read full review
50
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalleAug 2, 2018
In any case, Puzzle ends strangely, in a way that’s not clear what the filmmakers intended or how we’re supposed to feel about it. It’s entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional. Read full review
50
Wall Street JournalJoe MorgensternJul 26, 2018
Puzzle is less puzzling than exasperating. What’s good is exceptional — a meeting of minds, and then more, between two jigsaw-puzzle prodigies — while the rest is perfunctory or lifeless. Read full review
50
Village VoiceAlan ScherstuhlJul 26, 2018
Since it’s hard to buy the character, it’s hard to buy the story, no matter how good Macdonald is. Read full review
50
The A.V. ClubJesse HassengerJul 23, 2018
It’s hard to fault Puzzle for going in a more rigorous, serious-minded direction... until it trudges in that direction with such repetition. Turtletaub and his screenwriters lay the borderline-anachronistic details of their heroine’s oppressive life on so thick that the movie starts to sag. Read full review
50
Slant MagazineJosh WiseJul 11, 2018
The film buoyed by Kelly Macdonald, who's a master of understated vulnerability, but she can't steer it out of the doldrums. Read full review
40
The TelegraphTim RobeySep 9, 2018
So what’s to dislike here? Hardly anything – it’s finding things actively to like that poses more of a problem. Read full review
40
The AtlanticDavid SimsAug 1, 2018
Puzzle is often too prosaic for its own good. Read full review
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