The Wedding Guest
IFC Films | Release Date: March 1, 2019 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
57
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 25 Critic Reviews
Positive:
13
Mixed:
11
Negative:
1
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
80
The Observer (UK)Simran HansJul 26, 2019
Patel excels as a smouldering, enigmatic antihero who gradually begins to drop his defences; Apte might be even better as the duplicitous femme fatale. Read full review
80
New York Magazine (Vulture)Bilge EbiriMar 1, 2019
It’s all quite gorgeous, and surprisingly moving. The Wedding Guest shows just how much you can do with a wisp of a story and a whole lot of cinematic vision. Read full review
75
San Francisco ChronicleG. Allen JohnsonMar 8, 2019
Like the best noirs, The Wedding Guest is an efficient crime thriller that clocks in at around 90 minutes. It’s a B movie with style — the stuff that dreams are made of. Read full review
75
Washington PostMichael O'SullivanMar 7, 2019
It’s a while before we learn anything, even a name, about the title character in The Wedding Guest. Played by Dev Patel, who delivers an unexpectedly stoic — yet predictably appealing — lead performance, he is a man of deep professionalism and equally deep mystery. Read full review
75
Entertainment WeeklyLeah GreenblattMar 1, 2019
The phrase “low-key thriller” might be an oxymoron, but it also feels like the best description of The Wedding Guest. Read full review
75
RogerEbert.comMonica CastilloMar 1, 2019
A movie steeped in the traditions of film noir, and its narrative will become complicated very quickly. Winterbottom, who also wrote and co-produced the movie, creates a story about gorgeous people committing crimes and double-crossing each other, where no one is innocent. Read full review
75
New York PostSara StewartFeb 27, 2019
There’s also a broader commentary here on the treatment of women, both in arranged marriage and in testosterone-heavy thrillers. Apte’s character stays largely an enigma throughout, but her palpable frustration with the men and culture around her — plus the chance to vicariously visit Goa, that jewel of an Indian seaside getaway — makes The Wedding Guest worth an RSVP. Read full review
67
Austin ChronicleMarjorie BaumgartenMar 20, 2019
The Wedding Guest arrives with unexpected gifts. Read full review
67
The A.V. ClubVikram MurthiFeb 26, 2019
It plays like a compelling, genre-inflected advertisement for the Indian tourism board, even as Winterbottom toils in the country’s seedy underbelly. Read full review
63
ReelViewsJames BerardinelliMar 8, 2019
An intriguing blend of globetrotting neo-noir and road trip plot elements, The Wedding Guest often seems on the cusp of greatness without ever getting there. The film classifies more as a disappointment than a success because, despite its little triumphs, it fritters away too many opportunities and suffers through a turgid middle act. Read full review
63
Chicago TribuneKatie WalshMar 7, 2019
The Wedding Guest ultimately just fails to gel into something captivating. Read full review
63
The Associated PressMark KennedyFeb 27, 2019
The Wedding Guest might not completely work as a thriller or a satisfying romance, but for anyone missing India or planning to go, it’s a film worth getting lost in. Read full review
63
Slant MagazinePat BrownFeb 25, 2019
Michael Winterbottom’s film succeeds in translating the problematics of intercultural conflict into thriller fodder. Read full review
60
The New York TimesBen KenigsbergFeb 28, 2019
The scenery, nicely shot by Giles Nuttgens and covering a wide swath of the country — Amritsar, New Delhi, Jaipur and Goa — is always great, and Patel and Apte’s chemistry approaches scalding levels as their characters grow closer. Read full review
50
Movie NationRoger MooreMar 27, 2019
The Wedding Guest is no “Bourne” or “Run Lola Run,” or “The Getaway.” It’s just an ambling “antic” dash through the New India, forced to deal with Indian train and bus timetables (many rental car counter scenes) and the region’s sea of humanity, “where anyone (who looks Indian or Pakistani) could get lost.” And if that’s the case, what’s the hurry? Read full review
50
The Seattle TimesSoren AndersenMar 13, 2019
The Wedding Guest is a thriller without thrills. Read full review
50
VarietyPeter DebrugeMar 1, 2019
What’s lacking is personality from the human characters, which is a serious failing, considering how the film shifts into character mode as Apte slowly emerges as an equal to Patel, while both remain too guarded for audiences to fully appreciate as people. Read full review
50
Los Angeles TimesKatie WalshFeb 28, 2019
Twists and turns abound, but they're all smoke and mirrors that ultimately don't add up to anything. Read full review
50
IndieWireDavid EhrlichFeb 28, 2019
As a spare and sexy thriller, Michael Winterbottom’s “The Wedding Guest” is far too undercooked; there’s little flavor, and even less to chew on. As an audition for its star to be the next James Bond, however, this aimless Dev Patel vehicle is virtually perfect. Read full review
50
TheWrapTricia OlszewskiFeb 27, 2019
A thriller without thrills is merely a drama, and The Wedding Guest is a dull drama at that. Read full review
42
The Film StageChristopher SchobertFeb 26, 2019
The Wedding Guest is as technically accomplished as any film Winterbottom has ever made. But it all amounts to very, very little. Read full review
40
EmpireIan FreerJul 19, 2019
Despite good performances and an interesting milieu, The Wedding Guest doesn’t deliver as an exciting genre piece or thought-provoking drama. Michael Winterbottom is a master in many areas but the thriller seems beyond him this time. Read full review
40
The GuardianPeter BradshawJul 19, 2019
It has an intriguing premise and a gripping first act. But the ending fizzles when it should explode, giving us neither the twisty and suspenseful entertainment that it seemed to promise, nor the serious response to sexual politics in Pakistan that also seemed to be on offer. Read full review
40
Arizona RepublicRandy CordovaMar 6, 2019
The film evolves into one of those "watch the hostage fall in love with her captor" tales, always an icky plot development that's not any more appetizing here. There are some more twists to be had, but it's never more than marginally interesting. Read full review
25
ObserverRex ReedFeb 28, 2019
This anemic little so-called thriller is the next best thing to a prescription for 30 mg Dalmane. Read full review
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