The Second Act
Diaphana Distribution | Release Date: TBA CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
57
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 12 Critic Reviews
Positive:
5
Mixed:
7
Negative:
0

Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
80
The Hollywood ReporterJordan MintzerMay 14, 2024
The Second Act is probably his strongest film yet, and certainly the first that could stir up any controversy. Not only is the script cleverly written, but the cinematography, including four epically long tracking shots, and the editing, which times all the jokes perfectly, are well-mastered. Read full review
80
The TelegraphRobbie CollinMay 14, 2024
Dupieux elevates it by seeding entire swaying crops of confusion: we can never be entirely sure where scenes end and the mess of making them begins. Read full review
75
The Film StageRory O'ConnorMay 14, 2024
It can feel a touch contrived, even on-the-nose, but there is more than enough quiet confidence and seasoned quality in performances and filmmaking to stick the landing. Read full review
70
The Film VerdictStephen DaltonMay 18, 2024
Not every joke hits the target, and not every thematic tangent is fruitfully explored, but a stellar cast and lively pacing lend comic force to even the weaker lines. Read full review
67
IndieWireBen CrollMay 14, 2024
We take frequent and foolish pleasure watching the four charismatic leads brush up against one another while bristling against their assigned roles, with the film giving performer time to shine. Read full review
60
The GuardianPeter BradshawMay 14, 2024
It’s a sprightly meta gag, a movie about a movie, or perhaps a movie about a movie about a movie – or perhaps just a movie, full stop, whose point is to claim that reality as we experience it inside and outside the cinema is unitary despite the levels of imposture and role-play we bring to it. Read full review
55
TheWrapSteve PondMay 15, 2024
The Second Act is little more than an amusing trifle, as meta as that trifle may be. Read full review
50
ColliderChase HutchinsonMay 14, 2024
From a talented cast in Léa Seydoux, Louis Garrel, Vincent Lindon, and Raphaël Quenard to an initial willingness to be ruthless in tearing apart the messy art of moviemaking, it could have been something truly great. nstead, just when you think this movie about making movies is starting to get somewhere interesting, it reveals itself to be only a sporadically funny satire with a surprising lack of teeth. Read full review
50
Screen DailyTim GriersonMay 14, 2024
Lea Seydoux, Vincent Lindon, Louis Garrel and Raphael Quenard commit fully to this cheeky postmodern exercise, but neither the humour nor the commentary is incisive enough to sustain such a strained bauble. Read full review
40
Paste MagazineFarah ChededMay 21, 2024
Lacking the whip-smarts of previous works, The Second Act only winds up feeling as self-important—and as insecure—as the very characters it caricatures. Read full review
40
Screen RantPatrice WitherspoonMay 18, 2024
A highly restrained examination of multiple topics, The Second Act is a film about everything and nothing all at once. Perhaps in line with Dupieux’s style, the surreal, dark humor and commentary produce a messy end product that overstays its welcome. Read full review
40
VarietyPeter DebrugeMay 14, 2024
Dupieux’s strategy seems to be flipping or repeating certain punchlines for fresh effect, which is fine for a while, until you realize that neither The Second Act nor those second-degree readings have much to say. Read full review
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