The One I Love
RADiUS-TWC | Release Date: August 22, 2014 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
66
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 27 Critic Reviews
Positive:
18
Mixed:
8
Negative:
1
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
90
VarietyGeoff BerkshireApr 29, 2014
Boasting spectacular performances from Duplass and Elisabeth Moss as a husband and wife on the brink of separation, this incredibly assured directorial debut of Charlie McDowell essentially turns the idea of a two-hander upside down and inside out. Read full review
88
Chicago Sun-TimesRichard RoeperAug 21, 2014
Working from Justin Lader’s smart script, Moss and Duplass expertly portray a very typical couple going through a rocky time — and they’re just as effective when the weirdness kicks in during their getaway weekend. Read full review
88
Film.comKate ErblandApr 29, 2014
The film is brisk, funny, smart, and artful, a strong pairing of high concept and relatable storylines. Read full review
80
Los Angeles TimesBetsy SharkeyAug 21, 2014
Though the indie falls short of its grandest ambitions, it is inventive in constructing its conceits. As to Moss and Duplass? It's hard not to love them — for better or worse. Read full review
80
New York Magazine (Vulture)David EdelsteinAug 21, 2014
It’s Moss who takes the film to a higher, scarier level. After years of playing Peggy Olson on "Mad Men", she knows how to smile and nod and say one thing while obviously meaning the exact opposite, and when at last she unleashes the truth, it’s with demonic intensity. She turns subtext into horror-poetry. Read full review
80
New York Daily NewsJoe NeumaierAug 21, 2014
To sing the praises of the movie but not give away the revelations is difficult. Let’s just say this: The less you know about what happens in this funny, tasty twisteroo, the better. Read full review
75
Washington PostMichael O'SullivanSep 4, 2014
Duplass and Moss are so good, and their reactions to the frankly nutty circumstances of the film are so plausible, that the preposterous premise of the story hits home both conceptually and emotionally. Read full review
75
Boston GlobePeter KeoughAug 28, 2014
Like other offbeat and original efforts such as Spike Jonze’s “Her,” Jonathan Glazer’s “Under the Skin,” and Richard Ayaode’s dour “The Double,” it juggles genres, reverses expectations, and resorts to fantasy in order to explore the enigmas of gender, identity, and love. Read full review
75
RogerEbert.comSheila O'MalleyAug 22, 2014
Unabashedly entertaining at an efficient 91-minutes, The One I Love is an extremely confident first feature, with some really fun things to say about identity and relationship, connection and destiny. Read full review
75
Portland OregonianJeff BakerAug 21, 2014
I liked The One I Love but if I had to choose between it and "Third Person," the Paul Haggis relationship movie that flirts with narrative in unconventional ways, I'd go back and watch "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind." Now that's how it's done. Read full review
75
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalleAug 21, 2014
It's probably the only love story you'll see this decade that will make you half-expect the camera to swerve and pick up the sight of Rod Serling, standing there in a black suit. Read full review
75
Entertainment WeeklyChris NashawatyAug 17, 2014
Charlie McDowell's romantic brainteaser is disarmingly clever — too clever to spoil. But it's also repetitive and a bit too Spike Jonze lite. Read full review
75
The PlaylistCory EverettApr 29, 2014
Justin Lader’s screenplay is contained but also funny, emotionally honest and nails its pivot from the conventional to something much richer. Read full review
70
Arizona RepublicBill GoodykoontzAug 27, 2014
The One I Love is an odd, unsettling and ultimately satisfying movie. Read full review
67
Austin ChronicleMarjorie BaumgartenSep 3, 2014
Unfortunately, someone (screenwriter Justin Lader, perhaps?) needed to improvise some kind of satisfying denouement because the film’s third act just collapses in on itself. The One I Love is imaginative and provocative until … until it isn’t. Read full review
67
The A.V. ClubMike D'AngeloAug 20, 2014
The ending is intended to be ambiguous, but it’s not too hard to guess what happened in advance, as it’s the only dramatically satisfying option. What’s no longer at all certain is what it means. Read full review
63
Rolling StonePeter TraversAug 21, 2014
If you survive that wrenching plot curve (some won't), you're in for an emotional workout. Knowing you've never seen anything like this, Moss and Duplass let it rip. You've been warned. Read full review
63
Slant MagazineElise NakhnikianApr 28, 2014
The film gets too caught up in the semi-farcical comings and goings of the two Sophies and Ethans to explore any of the issues it raises about relationships very deeply. Read full review
60
The New York TimesManohla DargisAug 21, 2014
Mr. McDowell manages and massages the mystery, even while he forgets to do much with the camera except periodically have it chase after someone. He can be frustratingly inattentive to the visual possibilities offered by the story. Read full review
60
Time OutTomris LafflyAug 20, 2014
The film delivers on its most crucial idea by being an inventive relationship dramedy with actors who handle the dual challenge thrown at them with distinguished poise. Read full review
60
Village VoiceAlan ScherstuhlAug 19, 2014
Some of the surprise works, but the final gotcha won't getcha. Read full review
60
The DissolveScott TobiasAug 4, 2014
When it comes time to get to the bottom of what’s really going on, McDowell and Lader start losing the thread. Read full review
60
The Hollywood ReporterTodd McCarthyApr 29, 2014
Duplass and Moss are put to the test to carry the film entirely on their shoulders and unquestionably carry it off... On the other hand, viewers will have widely disparate reactions to spending 90 uninterrupted minutes with these characters. Read full review
50
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Kate TaylorAug 21, 2014
Here’s a date movie that will neither cozily cheer you nor satisfyingly thrill you, but instead leave you scratching your head. Read full review
50
New York PostKyle SmithAug 20, 2014
Like many movies that premiere at the Sundance Film Festival, The One I Love has plenty of story — for a 30-minute TV episode, in this case of “The Twilight Zone.” Read full review
40
SalonAndrew O'HehirAug 21, 2014
There’s nothing disgraceful about The One I Love, and if you’re just in the mood for a VOD time-waster, you could do worse. But despite the agreeable lead performances, it doesn’t quite repay your 90 lost minutes of life. Read full review
25
ObserverMatthew KasselAug 14, 2014
The One I Love, Charlie McDowell’s debut feature, can’t decide what kind of film it wants to be. Atonal and aimless, it zigzags clumsily from mood to mood, without any clear direction. Read full review
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