The Dinner
Orchard, The | Release Date: May 5, 2017 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
57
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 30 Critic Reviews
Positive:
12
Mixed:
15
Negative:
3
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
90
VarietyOwen GleibermanFeb 18, 2017
Moverman balances the potential for staginess with his flowing cinematic bravura; he keeps surprising you, and he gives the drama a dash of poison elegance. Read full review
88
Rolling StonePeter TraversMay 4, 2017
There are bumps along the way, transitions from one medium to another will do that, but this filmmaker and his fierce foursome won't be done till they take a piece out of you. It's a gripping psychological thriller with a sting in its tail. Read full review
88
Movie NationRoger MooreApr 28, 2017
I love the way the film sets us up with “types” — ambitious, narcissistic politico, “trophy” wife, loyal spouse, doting dad — and thoroughly upends them time and again. Read full review
83
The PlaylistJessica KiangFeb 18, 2017
This is a film that glories in juxtaposition, as exchanges of bestial ferocity hiss back and forth in an excruciatingly elegant destination restaurant, and as poisonously feral barbs are traded across a table laden with elaborately effete hors d’oeuvres. Read full review
78
Austin ChronicleJosh KupeckiMay 3, 2017
The quartet of actors are all high-caliber pros, and the performances are marvelous, especially Linney, whose Claire hides depths of self-deception. Read full review
75
Chicago Sun-TimesRichard RoeperMay 4, 2017
As you might expect from this cast, all four leads are simply outstanding. Read full review
75
The Seattle TimesMoira MacdonaldMay 4, 2017
The film’s strength is its cast, and each of them finds moments of truth. Read full review
70
Los Angeles TimesJustin ChangMay 4, 2017
For all the actors’ commitment and ferocity, the experience they offer feels less like a confrontation with the anxieties of modern life than a plush, moody escape. Read full review
70
Arizona RepublicBill GoodykoontzMay 4, 2017
There are moments in The Dinner, Oren Moverman’s tense drama based on the Herman Koch novel, in which you sit back and watch four terrific actors go at it. There just aren’t enough of them. Read full review
68
TheWrapBen CrollFeb 18, 2017
At once a darkly comic social satire, a pitch-black moral thriller and an earnest plea to recognize mental illness, The Dinner is a seven-layer dip overflowing with compelling individual ingredients that, when mixed together, make the finished dish awfully difficult to digest. Read full review
67
IndieWireEric KohnFeb 18, 2017
Moverman’s discordant structure constantly veers from clumsy moments to fascinating exchanges. As an experiment, it never finds a complete shape, and ends on a frustratingly abrupt note. Read full review
63
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Kate TaylorMay 4, 2017
Besides psychological drama, besides thriller, social satire is another significant element in this sometimes erratic film and it’s one that, surprisingly and belatedly, rises to the top: Anyone who started out thinking The Dinner was a thriller will probably be disappointed when the evening wraps up with an ending that is more farce than denouement. Read full review
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