The Sea of Trees
A24 | Release Date: August 26, 2016 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
23
METASCORE
Generally unfavorable reviews based on 18 Critic Reviews
Positive:
0
Mixed:
5
Negative:
13
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
60
Los Angeles TimesGary GoldsteinAug 25, 2016
The Sea of Trees proves a stronger movie experience than one might expect. It’s anchored by a fine, understated performance by Matthew McConaughey and a deeply felt, if at times melodramatic, story that proves strangely immersive. Read full review
50
HitfixGregory EllwoodMay 23, 2015
The resulting film is yet another example of a Black List script that does not work on the screen. And, frankly, we're not sure an auteur other than Van Sant would have fared any better. Read full review
40
Screen DailyCharles GantMay 23, 2015
As all the dots join in a pattern that strives for deeper meaning, the just too-damned-cute Sea of Trees becomes undone by a surfeit of contrived ingenuity. Read full review
40
The TelegraphTim RobeyMay 23, 2015
Van Sant wanted to study a man drowning in sorrow and guide him towards the light. But the guidance he gets is fake, forced, and unbearably tricksy, a kind of suicide rehab with gotcha devices. Read full review
40
CineVueJohn BleasdaleMay 23, 2015
It has to be said that Van Sant is not above doing one for the studio but quite what sins he had committed to be made to make this pile of sub-Nicolas Sparks tripe will be beyond most. Read full review
38
The Seattle TimesJohn HartlSep 1, 2016
The sparring couple at its center are played by Naomi Watts, a fearless actress who seems game for anything, and Matthew McConaughey, who just seems off his game here. Read full review
35
TheWrapSam FragosoAug 25, 2016
The Sea of Trees is a movie about guilt and grief that elicits just that in its viewers: guilt and grief. Because for every ephemeral moment to admire in Gus Van Sant‘s latest film, there are about a half-dozen more that make you wonder what went wrong. Read full review
30
The New York TimesJeannette CatsoulisAug 25, 2016
Mr. Van Sant has always had a sentimental streak — reaching some kind of apogee with “Restless,” in 2011 — but a better script might have replaced literalness with the emotional intelligence that the film badly needs. Read full review
30
The Hollywood ReporterTodd McCarthyMay 23, 2015
Gus Van Sant’s sticky, gooey side — previously on display in the likes of Finding Forrester and especially in the 2011 Restless — oozes out once more in the woefully sentimental and maudlin The Sea of Trees. Read full review
25
RogerEbert.comBrian TallericoAug 26, 2016
On paper, it feels like a can’t-miss, especially when one considers how much it plays with themes that Van Sant has often - brilliantly explored before. Movies don’t exist on paper. And this one’s a mess. Read full review
25
New York PostSara StewartAug 25, 2016
A vague, syrupy soundtrack plays across scenes both current and past, making the whole thing feel like a bad soap opera. Read full review
25
The A.V. ClubIgnatiy VishnevetskyAug 24, 2016
As it turns out, there is something worse than Nicholas Sparks, the king of morbid romantic kitsch, and that’s a Nicholas Sparks pretender with highfalutin pretensions. Read full review
25
Slant MagazineJames LattimerAug 16, 2016
There's little here to suggest that the film is anything more than a hastily cobbled-together studio star vehicle. Read full review
25
IndieWireEric KohnMay 23, 2015
Not even Matthew McConaughey can sustain the mushy, amateurish story, which digs itself a deeper hole as it moves along. The established talents of both director and star only serve to magnify the many wrong moves that this stunning misfire takes. Read full review
20
The GuardianPeter BradshawMay 23, 2015
For all its apparent sombreness and thoughtfulness, The Sea Of Trees is an exasperatingly shallow film on an important and agonisingly painful subject - depression and suicide. This it slathers in palliative sentimentality. Read full review
20
VarietyJustin ChangMay 23, 2015
This risibly long-winded drama is perhaps above all a profound cultural insult, milking the lush green scenery of Japan’s famous Aokigahara forest for all it’s worth, while giving co-lead Ken Watanabe little to do other than moan in agony, mutter cryptically, and generally try to act as though McConaughey’s every word isn’t boring him (pardon the expression) to death. Read full review
16
ConsequenceNico LangSep 1, 2016
It would have been one thing to settle for vapid sentimentality, but what makes The Sea of Trees so galling, as it turns the afterlife into a game of riddles, is how manipulative it is. Read full review
0
The PlaylistOliver LytteltonMay 23, 2015
From the cloying, ever-present score to the complete lack of narrative momentum, it all adds up to a film that's easily Van Sant's worst, and is a sad black mark on McConaughey's mostly excellent recent run. Ultimately, Sea Of Trees feels like an entirely appropriate title: it makes you feel like you're drowning, and it's full of sap. Read full review
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