User reviews

This movie hasn't been treated well by "the critics," but neither were movies like "It's A Wonderful Life," "The Wizard of Oz," and many others. Sometimes critics don't see what is in front of them. The pacing only seems slow if you're spending your other reviews telling people how wonderful super hero and "Fast and Furious" movies are. How can it be slow if the whole thing takes place over a period of about three weeks? It's paced the way it should be to allow a good look at Bernadette, who she is, how she got there and the demons she deals with. It's a wonderful look at the closeness between a daughter and her mother, when the daughter often finds herself being the more mature of the two. The best part of the movie, as it should be, is Bernadette, played to mercurial perfection by Cate Blanchett. Under the obvious disruption of a manic personality, Blanchett also allows the intelligence, humor and pain of the character to show through. It's a tremendous performance and, fortunately, some of the awards are paying attention to it despite the critics. It's a thoughtful, but also very funny movie. People should give it a chance.

Some reviewers criticized the film's pacing, I was fine with it. It's clear from the beginning the family is non-tradiotional, living in partially renovated, unkempt colossal house in a high end Seattle among well kept homes. Snobbery abounds. The viewer wonders about the past and it is revealed little by little in various ways. Bernadette & her daughter are unusually close, the parents less so. The ultimate strength of their bonds is what drives the last 1/3. I did snort-laugh a few times, for the record. A good film for families ( kids over 12 or so) to watch which may lead to discussions. Cate B's performance is excellent!

Started out at little slow and ended strong. The Director took to long to help us understand the complexity of Bernadette and her real struggles -which we can all identify with, so that we really liked and rooted for her. Once the movie got there it took off and ended strong. One criticism overall and not so much about this movie but an overall statement. If a movie is set in a specific city - film it in that city. There were obvious obligatory scenes of Seattle but It was clearly filmed mostly elsewhere.

Just I love it. Not only for the basic motif than Cate Blanchett is one of my favorit actress , for the art of Billy Crudup or because the young Emma nelson reminds me one of my students, but because all is...just lovely. Amix of depression, family, life , passion, loneliness and the result of vocation. An adorable film. Just an adorable one. For storytelling, acting, humor , extravagance and tension. And in few scenes, for the status of mirror.

Director Richard Linklater is one that does movies in an in depth manner as they are long drawn out and almost always deal with life and personal matters. And most viewers as they watch can relate to them and most face some in real life. This latest "Where'd You Go, Bernadette" is one that deals with somewhat of a midlife drama as the head character wants a change and escape to a new scene all while wanting to live past glory again.

Bernadette Fox(Cate Blanchett) is a professional woman an inventor, teacher, wife, and mom who had a very creative past only now her life is stuck in neutral. It's like she can't get no satisfaction! So she needs a new journey a new adventure and discovery. So upon taking a getaway in somewhat of a secretive manner the world opens back up and a new light shines for her! Overall really a picture of once again finding self discovery and old glory thru escape, not one of Richard's best works and the performance from Cate is only okay, still it's a watch for some drama and inspiration.

Where'd You Go, Bernadette is based off of the novel of the same name and tells the story of Bernadette Fox who is going through a bit of a midlife crisis as it begins to effect the people around her. I've been really interested in this film ever since Richard Linklater's name was a attached. He is a director I admire and couldn't wait, however reviews for this film have not been kind and I really don't understand why.

This film manages to balance drama and comedy in a very clever and consistent way that really works in my opinion. The acting all around is very good, especially from Cate Blanchett who wonderfully portrays this character in a quirky and self destructive way that still makes you feel sorry and care for her. Billy Crudup, a very underrated actor also does a great job as he is trying to keep his family from Fallon apart.

The story is very quirky, but as I said balances with drama as well making it feel well rounded and never feels too whimsical. It's just right and is very heartfelt and relatable. It can be sappy at times, but I didn't mind it at all.

Perhaps the acting from the daughter could have been better and the trailers pitched a very different film, but I think what we got is funny, heartfelt and very well acted. It's not up there with Linklater's best, but it is a win for me.

My wife and I went to see this movie because Kristen Wiig is in it and it looked like it would be funny. It is funny - but it is a lot more. It is quirky (we love quirky movies!), edgy, sometimes uncomfortable, but mostly enlightening (as in bringing light in). It could have been titled "Where'd you go Human Spirit?", or "Where'd you go Imagination?, or "This is what happens to society when fear drives honest, loving, intelligent people to start acting weird and give up on each other". And it shows us the answer in a very positive way. So, it was not Bridesmaids. Closer to "Welcome to Me" or "Skeleton Twins" maybe (I loved both), but not really like any other movie I can think of. Note: The critics seemed to not like it. That is almost a sure sign of a good movie to me. Bless their pointy little heads.

Richard Linklater, for me is a solid filmmaker. I think the Before Trilogy is masterful and damn near perfect and while his other work doesn't resonate as well for me he's had some great films. I didn't know a whole lot about this film, other than it being based on a book I've never read and it looking like quite a stylish film though a very curious one. After watching, I'm sort of on the fence of whether I liked it or not. The needle is right in the center.

The film is about a former architect named Bernadette Fox and her life. She hates people, has rows with her neighbor, and is having issues with her husband and her own mental health. Things come to a head where her life becomes so disorganized that an intervention is called to help her get better. Before you know it Bernadette disappears and her family must track her and get her back. Its hard to summarize the plot of this film because this isn't really an event that takes center stage in this film.

I feel like this film was just so uneven. On one hand you have a very good performance by the always amazing, Cate Blanchett. I love the interactions with her and Kristen Wig's character. The writing and humor is sharp and witty at times but like Bernadette, it disappears as the film trails along. I can't really put a finger on what makes this book special because the film makes me wonder why we really have to care for it.

I feel like a lot of this was a swing and a miss for Linklater who is always trying to challenge himself. There are things to appreciate, like the musical score and performances but not a whole lot else in this rather uneventful and non memorable film. Luckily for me this was a first film in a double feature, with the latter feature really making up for my time at the cinema.

5.5/10

Yes, it's a Hollywood film with all the clever coincidences and neat n' tidy endings, but it is also very clever, well acted, and even poetic. Go see a film that doesn't involve flying superheroes, gun fights, or animated toys...you'll be glad you did.

Blanchett, Crudup, Wiig, Fishburne, Linklater. You'd really think would have come out better. Certainly watchable but whatever was in the source material was not brought out to make this really move. The ending was rather predictable and cheesy and god know what that final prop was

My wife and I watched this movie at home on DVD from our public library. We enjoyed it, all actors are good in the roles and to me Blanchett turns in one of her better performances as the genius architect that ceased to create after her difficulties with pregnancy and motherhood.

Cate Blanchett is Bernadette, living in Seattle with her Microsoft executive husband and teen daughter. She doesn't do much anymore, they bought an old large fixer upper but are not fixing it up. She doesn't seem to have any friends. At one point her family arranges an intervention, they think Bernadette needs to be hospitalized but she escapes.

Having planned a trip at their daughter's request, to Antarctica, and seemingly being aborted, through a series of quirky events all three of them end up there and Bernadette finds the inspiration to reignite her passion for architecture.

Good movie. Filmed partly in Greenland standing in for Antarctica,

The first two thirds of the movie were quirky and at times funny and at other times mildly disturbing. Cate Blanchett played the slight nutty has-been genius architect to a T. Her nuttiness drove the movie forward as the other characters were somewhat banal.

The final third was a (and I have stolen this from another review here) "cooky cutter sitcom ending". All of a sudden Blanchett's character was back to boring and banal with the rest of them.

What started out as promising, ended with a fizzle.

I usually never write reviews, but I felt I had to after watching this. Although "Where'd You Go, Bernadette" was filled with a star-studded cast, and great acting, it left out many of the pieces that made the book so wonderful. So much of the plot changed, and I'm sure that was to make it more relatable to viewers, but it really misses the mystery and magic this story holds. It's a story completely out of the box for Hollywood, and I wish it could have been told that same way. This is one of my favorite books and it truly is a wonderful, hilarious, slightly dark, and mysterious read. The story deserves so much more than what it was given with this screenplay. So, with that, I highly recommend reading "Where'd You Go, Bernadette," you won't be disappointed.

I love all of Linklater's work, because it is so humble, down-to-earth and basic. This is no exception. I have not read the novel, so cannot comment on if the adaptation is true to the novel. However, I loved all the Antarctica scenes, the opening and the ending in particular. It is spot on about human nature, and how we overlook our basic needs and desires most of the times to just get on with our life. It is also about how most of the time people dont spare any time to understand and analyze each other. Judging one another is much more easier. That is because people are getting lazier to work on one another in our age. Blanchett as always is great in this role. Curdrup is miscast, his acting is pretty flat and boring. Could be better , that is why a 7. This movie and its likes are under- appreciated for the same reason that we have / will continue to have zillions of superhero movies/ series.

Bernadette is the kind of woman you would cross the road to avoid and who would also cross the road to avoid meeting you and she's just the perfect character for Cate Blanchett to add to her portfolio of oddballs. She's also married to something of an oddball, (Billy Crudup), who's some kind of computer genius and between them they have managed to create a nice, normal teenage daughter, (newcomer Emma Nelson, superb), and they all live in a Seattle mansion that is literally falling apart. But Bernadette isn't just a sociopathic oddball; she is, or was, a great architect who dropped out and whose midlife crisis has lasted a couple of decades.

"Where'd you go, Bernadette" is a Richard Linklater comedy so you know we are in odddball territory to begin with. What you might not realise is that it's also very funny and naturally more than a little sad. It's like a walking, talking New Yorker cartoon brought to glorious life and not just by Blanchett, (no-one does crazy quite like her), Crudup and Nelson but by a terrific supporting cast headed by Kristen Wiig and with pitch-perfect turns from Judy Greer, Zoe Chao, Laurence Fishburne, David Paymer and Steve Zahn. I loved every crazy, off-the-wall and marvellously moving moment.

Director Linklater did a great job of using a faux YouTube documentary to flesh out Cate Blanchett's Bernadette character. It's not obtrusive or distracting, and it meshed well with the actual story. Unfortunately, it rendered Emma Nelson's voiceover narration-- which I usually hate anyway-- even more pointless.

Although the scenes with Emma Nelson's Bee and Bernadette are the most heartfelt and poignant in the movie, Nelson had quite a few cringe-worthy lines throughout it. One of the most hideous lines was delivered when she is damning her father (Billy Crudup) for working while she and her unemployed mother were FORCED to live together in a loving relationship on a massive estate in a well-to-do Seattle neighborhood. To quote Colonel Kurtz (who is also mentioned in this film), "the horror.... the horror." Nelson also dives into such lines with all of the overzealousness of a young actor who is unaware that they're garbage. A more seasoned actor would have half-mumbled them.

Fortunately for Linklater, Cate Blanchett is in his film. She demonstrated why people believe that she is one of the greatest actors of this century by reeling in the supporting cast's slack and causing us to forget some of the story's shortcomings.

I'm usually unamused by Linklater's obsession with the mundane, but in this film there was something adorable about seeing Bernadette's daughter perform at an elementary school function and watching Kristen Wiig's character host a kids' party in her house. The quirkiness served it well. Overall, I'm glad that I watched this film-- it was a welcome relief from the Disney monopoly. Get out there and enjoy non-Disneyized cinema while you still can, folks.

I have seen many Linklater films and they are seldom disappointing. But this one is a real stinker. Bernadette comes across more as myopic and antagonizing than a woman who has stalled in her career as an architect.

Cate Blanchette does not make her character believable as a person suffering and feeling like a failure in her career, marriage, and motherhood. I must admit the first half of the movie is interesting but then the story becomes a hallmark mystery as her husband and daughter go on the hunt to find Bernadette. The plot becomes so saccharine and sentimental I was wondering if Linklater had lost interest in the film and decided to just bring it to an end.

I ended up seeing this movie to kill some time and I am so glad I did. As someone with anxiety, depression, and past trauma, this movie moved me. The way people can judge others with mental health issues when they have no idea what it's like, is appalling. Cate Blanchet's portrayal of someone fighting inner demons while fighting people who completely misunderstand her is awe-inspiring. I highly recommend this movie for anyone- especially anyone who has or knows someone with mental health issues. I will be taking everyone I know to see this movie.

My rating is not quite as high, because I compare it to the book. The book storyline is non-linear, and starts off with Bernadette having disappeared. Finding her seems to be less straight forward than in the movie and make the story more intriguing. But having said that I thought the movie portrayed the characters and relationships well. Definitely worth seeing

In an age when more working people than ever can't afford to feed their families, housing is a luxury and work is more like slavery it's heartening to see a film take on these difficult topics..oh, wait. It didn't. At all. It focused on a privileged white woman, in a privileged white upper class neighbourhood with a privileged white upper class family who experiences social anxiety and some depression. It's difficult to relate to her, given that she's a celebrated architect that can afford a last minute trip to Antarctica, and I kept waiting for this film to make sense to me, but it just made me cringe the longer it went on to the point that I had to mute the last ten minutes. I get that mental health can effect anyone irrespective of material wealth, but I didn't feel that this was fully explored, just glossed over and resolved in a bland and unsatisfying and unlikely way. But god love her, cate tries hard and I liked her character way more when she was slightly bad and I didn't feel like that aspect of her needed to change. Just a weird hallmark film with a weird hallmark ending.