What They Had
Bleecker Street Media | Release Date: October 19, 2018 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
69
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 25 Critic Reviews
Positive:
18
Mixed:
6
Negative:
1
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
90
Los Angeles TimesGary GoldsteinOct 18, 2018
The radiant Danner, one of the greats, is perfection here, while Forster gives a stunning, Oscar-worthy turn as a man struggling to hold onto a blissful past to ward off a frightening future. Read full review
90
TheWrapTricia OlszewskiOct 17, 2018
Chomko doesn’t drag on a scene longer than it should be; there’s an expediency to her storytelling that gets the point across without the film feeling rushed. It’s blunt and bold, just like its characters. Read full review
90
New York Magazine (Vulture)David EdelsteinJul 27, 2018
There’s raw power in Chomko’s writing, but so much scrupulousness and craft that you feel safe when the time comes to weep. Read full review
88
Chicago Sun-TimesRichard RoeperOct 25, 2018
There’s something quite beautiful and quite melancholy and sometimes achingly relatable about the tone of writer-director Elizabeth Chomko’s lovely and memorable What They Had, which is based in part on the Chicago-born Chomko’s own family history. Read full review
88
RogerEbert.comMonica CastilloOct 19, 2018
Chomko’s grandmother was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, and she takes great effort to recreate a sense of that unique kind of pain, where the person’s memories are lost but they are standing in front of you. Read full review
88
ObserverOliver JonesOct 18, 2018
The intimacy and honesty of the family rapport, the razor sharp dialogue and—most unexpectedly—its deeply grounded humor keep the film and its slight and compassionate story utterly engaging. Read full review
83
Film Journal InternationalHarry HaunOct 18, 2018
The dominant performance throughout remains Forster’s. He’s such a hard-charging engine that he reduces everyone within his earshot to a reactive mode. Read full review
83
ConsequenceDominick Suzanne-MayerOct 17, 2018
What They Had is an indie drama of a familiar cut, delivered so well that you’ll forgive its smaller inconsistencies. Read full review
80
Arizona RepublicBarbara VanDenburghOct 25, 2018
A delicately balanced, mature drama, What They Had portrays a family devastated by Alzheimer’s with accuracy, empathy and respect, capturing both the heartache and unexpected tenderness of caring for a loved one coming slowly undone and the familial bonds that are tested and forged in the process. Read full review
80
Wall Street JournalJoe MorgensternOct 18, 2018
This fine debut feature by Elizabeth Chomko dramatizes well-worn themes — degenerative illness, family dysfunction, anguishing choices to be made in the face of implacable decline. Yet the cast is exceptional, the performances are extraordinary, the writing and direction are heartfelt, and the film is, consequently, stirring, frequently funny and consistently affecting. Read full review
80
Rolling StonePeter TraversOct 18, 2018
At first glance, you might mistake What They Had for one of those well-meaning family dramas about what to do when your mom is diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. But that would discount the exceptional accomplishment achieved by debuting director Elizabeth Chomko, enlivening her scrappy script with a cast of actors who truly are as good as it gets. You laugh as much as you cry, which means you believe in the movie’s truth. Read full review
75
Chicago TribuneMichael PhillipsOct 24, 2018
Small but sure, this low-keyed actors’ feast marks the feature directorial debut of writer-director Elizabeth Chomko, who grew up in Chicago and the western suburb of Hinsdale, among other stops in a relocation-heavy childhood. Read full review
75
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Brad WheelerSep 12, 2018
An excellent cast (including Michael Shannon and Hillary Swank) hit the right notes in an evenly wrought family drama that rings true. Read full review
70
VarietyDennis HarveyJul 27, 2018
Chomko mitigates a fairly heavy narrative agenda with a great deal of humor, sometimes threatening to make things a little too seriocomic, but never quite crossing the line into pat dramedy. Read full review
67
Austin ChronicleMarjorie BaumgartenNov 8, 2018
What They Had has a lived-in ring of truth that will be instantly recognizable to any caregiver, spouse, child, or other loved one who has experienced something of this sort. Read full review
67
Entertainment WeeklyChris NashawatyOct 17, 2018
While it’s loaded with excellent ensemble performances and flashes of real poignancy, it can’t seem to help itself from occasionally jack-knifing into heavy-handed wrong turns that can play as clichéd or phony. It’s half of a great movie. Read full review
63
Washington PostMark JenkinsOct 24, 2018
What works best here comes between the movie’s heavy opening and its lightweight conclusion. Read full review
63
Slant MagazineWes GreeneOct 22, 2018
What They Had gracefully coasts on its patient observations of one family’s dynamics, but once the third act hits, Elizabeth Chomko goes about neatly tidying up seemingly every loose end. Read full review
60
The GuardianCath ClarkeFeb 28, 2019
The script, inspired by Chomko’s grandparents’ marriage, throws up plenty of authentic-looking observations of life with Alzheimer’s. Read full review
60
The Hollywood ReporterDavid RooneyJul 27, 2018
It's been made with genuine feeling and smooth professional craftsmanship. Read full review
58
The A.V. ClubCaroline SiedeOct 17, 2018
Unfortunately, Shannon isn’t the film’s star, and What They Had loses momentum whenever he’s not on screen. Read full review
50
Boston GlobeTy BurrOct 24, 2018
Can a vastly talented cast raise a heartfelt but banal screenplay on their own? The verdict is mixed, to put it kindly. Read full review
50
L.A. WeeklyAlan ScherstuhlOct 18, 2018
The family squabbles jangle the nerves while not hitting on insights or memorable emotion. Read full review
40
The New York TimesJeannette CatsoulisOct 18, 2018
Programmatic and groaningly trite, What They Had, the debut feature from Elizabeth Chomko, would be impossible to swallow without its star-studded cast. Even so, it requires all their considerable skills to stop this soapy family drama from sliding into complete banality. Read full review
38
Movie NationRoger MooreNov 6, 2018
Forgive the fact that actress turned writer-director Elizabeth Chomko is bad at history and math. Dad is driving around in a ’60s GTO with a broken convertible top in the middle of a Chicago winter. No, he’s not driving the Camry. Read full review
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