Wakefield
IFC Films | Release Date: May 19, 2017 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
62
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 24 Critic Reviews
Positive:
13
Mixed:
9
Negative:
2
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
ObserverRex ReedMay 23, 2017
Wakefield is a terrific movie, with a devastatingly bravura performance by Bryan Cranston that seizes and grips attention from first scene to last. Read full review
88
Chicago Sun-TimesRichard RoeperJun 8, 2017
In this haunting, darkly funny and elegiac mood piece, Cranston once again displays a nearly unparalleled ability to make us like and care about men who are selfish and impetuous and reckless — yet still seem to have a core of decency buried deep within. Read full review
83
The Film StageJordan RuimyApr 21, 2017
Wakefield fights formula and creates its own unique cinematic language. Read full review
80
New York Daily NewsAriel ScottiMay 18, 2017
One of the reasons why the film works so well is because it imagines a path anyone who’s thought about escaping their lives — and hasn’t — could take. Read full review
75
St. Louis Post-DispatchCalvin WilsonJun 1, 2017
Working from her own screenplay, director Robin Swicord (“The Jane Austen Book Club”) delivers a film that balances wry humor and sly introspection. Read full review
75
RogerEbert.comSheila O'MalleyMay 19, 2017
Even though half of her screen time consists of her being seen but not heard, Garner has a consistent crispness; her character is simultaneously transparent and slightly enigmatic. Read full review
75
Rolling StonePeter TraversMay 18, 2017
The role is a beast, and Cranston, in a tour de force of touching gravity and aching humanism, gives it everything he's got. It's astounding to watch, and an award-caliber performance from an actor who keeps springing surprises. Read full review
75
Entertainment WeeklyChris NashawatyMay 18, 2017
Cranston is utterly hypnotic as a certain kind of American male on the verge of a nervous breakdown. Read full review
75
Movie NationRoger MooreMay 15, 2017
Wakefield is a sometimes funny, always smart movie that never quite finds the depth to be brilliant. Read full review
70
Arizona RepublicBill GoodykoontzJun 1, 2017
In Wakefield’s mind, naturally, there is no life without him. It’s to Cranston’s credit that, at least for a couple of hours, we’re willing to play along. Read full review
70
Los Angeles TimesRobert AbeleMay 25, 2017
If it struggles to make sense emotionally (or logistically), it benefits from the confident pace of a literate, mainstream entertainment, and the tactical showmanship of star Bryan Cranston, who’s made something of a specialty out of the average guy going through a metamorphosis. Read full review
70
Village VoiceApril WolfeMay 18, 2017
Swicord turns what could be a dark or one-note premise into a sometimes charming, sometimes heartbreaking meditation on a man’s loss of self after having set out to conquer the job, wife, house, and kids he thought would make him happy. Read full review
70
Screen DailyTim GriersonApr 24, 2017
Although Wakefield’s ending leaves open the possibility for multiple interpretations, the filmmaker removes the sting from her story’s tale, which keeps its insights from cutting as deep. Read full review
60
The Hollywood ReporterTodd McCarthyApr 24, 2017
Swicord took on a daunting challenge in adapting this piece, and she’s met it more intelligently than convincingly. It would have been asking a lot from any actor to carry this film, and Cranston has done the heavy lifting and more. Read full review
60
VarietyPeter DebrugeApr 24, 2017
Cranston humanizes his sociopathic character, which is essential, considering that Wakefield is essentially a one-man show whose star grows increasingly creepy as his beard fills in and his fingernails lengthen and turn back. Read full review
58
Paste MagazineKenji FujishimaJun 1, 2017
Wakefield is… well, let’s just say, its insights into human nature are limited, at best. Read full review
58
The A.V. ClubEsther ZuckermanMay 17, 2017
It’s a tale of what happens when male inadequacy runs rampant, starring a committed Bryan Cranston, but it’s ultimately hamstrung by its overwrought sensibilities. Read full review
58
IndieWireDavid EhrlichApr 21, 2017
Swicord, perhaps a touch too reverent of Doctorow’s writing, can’t quite solve the limited emotional range of her protagonist. Read full review
50
Washington PostMichael O'SullivanMay 25, 2017
Cranston is consistently watchable in the title role, although Howard’s journey into — and, at least potentially, out of — madness is a tough one to keep up with. Read full review
50
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalleMay 24, 2017
It’s original and idiosyncratic, but Swicord lets herself get away with things another director might not have allowed. Read full review
50
The New York TimesA.O. ScottMay 18, 2017
The film, scrupulously faithful to its source, is decidedly literary, but not in an especially satisfying way. Read full review
40
The GuardianNigel M SmithApr 21, 2017
Cranston acts the hell out of the role, like he’s performing Macbeth in a room. Unfortunately his commitment isn’t enough to sell Wakefield as anything more than a hollow character study, with an unappealing tool at its core. Read full review
38
Slant MagazineDerek SmithMay 15, 2017
Writer-director Robin Swicord's film seems content to merely carry out its absurdist premise until the bitter end. Read full review
25
The PlaylistGregory EllwoodApr 21, 2017
It goes without saying that Cranston has a lot to carry on his shoulders and he does an admirable job. It’s hard not to laugh every so often at one of Wakefield’s snide remarks and that’s effectively because of how Cranston sells it. But even this accomplished actor can’t make you feel any sympathy for a character whose actions defy convention in the most unimaginative ways. Read full review
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