The Oath
Roadside Attractions | Release Date: October 12, 2018 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
58
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 27 Critic Reviews
Positive:
14
Mixed:
10
Negative:
3
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalleOct 17, 2018
The Oath is harsh. It’s extreme. It goes to places you don’t expect, and then past those places. It’s the most unpleasant comedy in a long time, and lots of people will absolutely hate it. It’s also one of the best movies of the year. Read full review
91
The PlaylistKyle KohnerSep 27, 2018
Raw, improvised and indicative of Trump’s America, The Oath reminds viewers of the need for laughter despite the downtrodden insanity around us. Thankfully, Barinholtz resists the urge to lapse into cynicism, because at the end of the day people are more important than politics. Read full review
80
L.A. WeeklyAlan ScherstuhlOct 11, 2018
While watching the film, I not only laughed a lot and gasped oh, shit! in the right places. I somehow never once found myself tempted to sneak a peek at my phone to check in on our real American hellscape. Read full review
78
Austin ChronicleMarc SavlovOct 18, 2018
For a first-time director like Barinholtz, The Oath is more than impressive. Tonally, it goes all over the place, but that only serves to keep the audience as off-balance as the characters onscreen. No matter what your political affiliation may be, this Orwellian farce is a candidate for President Trump’s least favorite film of the year. Read full review
75
Chicago Sun-TimesRichard RoeperOct 19, 2018
I found it to be the equivalent of a free-swinging slugger who is willing to strike out once, twice, even three times — but then hits one clear out of the park. It’s worth the risk-reward ratio. Read full review
75
Philadelphia Daily NewsGary ThompsonOct 18, 2018
There are a number of movies about addiction scheduled to be released this fall, and although The Oath isn't mentioned as being among them, maybe it should be. Read full review
70
Arizona RepublicKerry LengelOct 18, 2018
Somewhat courageously, the film’s real focus is not on the obvious villains in this tale of two Americas, but on the absurd contradiction of its liberal hero watching a political apocalypse unfold on his iPhone. Read full review
70
TheWrapWilliam BibbianiSep 26, 2018
The Oath is a film of its time, and that immediacy is both its strength and its downfall. Read full review
67
ConsequenceClint WorthingtonOct 10, 2018
The Thanksgiving table is a perfect battleground for these heavily entrenched political lines, with Barinholtz’s smart, nuanced script pulling no punches. While the satire definitely loses some of its bite in its wild, unpredictable closer, the film still takes Barinholtz and Haddish to fascinating places as performers – neither of them have been as intense or vulnerable onscreen to date. Read full review
67
Entertainment WeeklyMaureen Lee LenkerOct 10, 2018
The film wrongfully substitutes abrupt violence for anything truly provocative, squandering the promise of its early scenes with a disjointed third act and pat ending that renders its satire toothless. Read full review
67
The A.V. ClubJesse HassengerOct 9, 2018
In The Oath, his first feature as a writer-director, comic actor Ike Barinholtz zeroes in on an approach somewhere between caustic stage comedy and "The Purge." The movie isn’t always up to the delicacy of that ambitious balancing act, but even the attempt is engaging. Read full review
67
IndieWireEric KohnSep 26, 2018
Despite tackling our crazy times, The Oath somehow winds up not quite crazy enough to assess them. Read full review
63
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Barry HertzOct 18, 2018
Most of all, though, it comes off as unsure, even afraid, of just what it wants to say about America today, resulting in a sometimes amusing, sometimes stilted lecture that indicts everyone, and no one. Read full review
63
Washington PostMichael O'SullivanOct 10, 2018
A blistering political satire that may rip the bandage and the scab, as well as a lot of the skin, off a political wound that has barely had time to heal. Read full review
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