The Photograph
Universal Pictures | Release Date: February 14, 2020 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
62
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 27 Critic Reviews
Positive:
18
Mixed:
9
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
60
The Observer (UK)Wendy IdeMar 9, 2020
LaKeith Stanfield and Issa Rae light up a beautiful-looking movie that weaves together love stories from the past and present. Read full review
60
New York Magazine (Vulture)Angelica Jade BastienFeb 14, 2020
Unfortunately, The Photograph doesn’t quite deliver on the promise of its premise. Read full review
50
The PlaylistAsher LubertoFeb 17, 2020
Ultimately, no amount of champagne, pretty faces, and New York real estate porn can turn dull lovers and a dramatic lack of focus into a pretty picture, and this is the reality The Photograph captures in the end. Read full review
50
New York PostJohnny OleksinskiFeb 14, 2020
Watching The Photograph is like looking through a friend’s old photo album — it’s not as exciting as your friend thinks it is. Read full review
50
Rolling StonePeter TraversFeb 14, 2020
The Photograph comes down with a teary case of "The Notebook," laying on flashbacks that yank us out of the present, where our stars live, and into a past riddled with sentimental clichés. Read full review
50
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalleFeb 13, 2020
The characters are engaging, and writer-director Stella Meghie is able to keep us interested in them for about an hour — and then the drama leaks out of the movie completely. Read full review
50
The Hollywood ReporterBeandrea JulyFeb 13, 2020
The Photograph is a romance-heavy star vehicle for Issa Rae and Lakeith Stanfield that’s deeply flawed but both sexy and thoughtful. Writer-director Stella Meghie’s fourth feature (after The Weekend, Everything Everything, Jean of the Joneses), thick and multi-layered with a lush and precise visual language, invites the audience to look beneath the surface of a standard meet-cute. Read full review
40
The Irish TimesDonald ClarkeMar 5, 2020
The film’s failure is a shame. The straight romantic movie deserves to thrive and African-American talent deserves an opportunity to play out its stories in the mainstream. But The Photograph is too nice, too leisurely and too lacking in friction. Oh, for more of the briefly glimpsed satire that, in scenes set in the 1980s, sees Mae’s mom competing for a job against an unending line of banal, primped, Upper East Side princesses. That’s what we’re looking for. Read full review
40
The GuardianAdrian HortonFeb 13, 2020
Issa Rae and Lakeith Stanfield can’t save this dreary Valentine’s drama that lacks fizzle and emotional stakes. Read full review
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