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Movies / On DVD / Margot at the Wedding
Margot at the Wedding

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Margot at the Wedding (2007)

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Reviews Counted:161

Fresh:83

Rotten:78

Average Rating:5.6/10

Consensus: Despite a great cast, the characters in Margot at the Wedding are too unlikable to enthrall viewers.

Rated: 15 [See Full Rating] for sexual content and language.

Runtime: 1 hr 33 mins

Genre: Dramas

Theatrical Release:29-02-2008

Synopsis: Writer-director Noah Baumbach follows up his Oscar-nominated THE SQUID AND THE WHALE with another bitingly funny and painfully honest dissection of family life. This time around, the topic is... Writer-director Noah Baumbach follows up his Oscar-nominated THE SQUID AND THE WHALE with another bitingly funny and painfully honest dissection of family life. This time around, the topic is sisterhood. Margot (Nicole Kidman) and her adolescent son Claude (Zane Pais) take a train from New York City to Long Island, where Margot's sister Pauline (Jennifer Jason Leigh) is about to get married to Malcolm (Jack Black). Even though Margot is a successful writer with a compassionate husband (John Turturro), she is repressed, bitter, insecure, and angry, and she takes out her frustrations on anyone and everyone around her. Pauline is initially happy that her sister has decided to come to the wedding, but she quickly realizes that Margot is still her terrible old self. Over the course of a few days, past conflicts erupt and present conflicts explode, threatening not only to put a damper on the wedding, but to ruin it completely. Baumbach's gift for dialogue is unmatched. His seemingly effortless ability to blend humor with seriousness makes it difficult to categorize MARGOT AT THE WEDDING as a drama or a comedy, for it is both. Kidman proves that her Academy Award wasn't a fluke, delivering a fearless performance that is at times difficult to watch in its virulence. Baumbach's wife, Leigh, is her typically exceptional self, but it's Black who is the film's true revelation, playing it straight like never before, to heartbreaking effect. Featuring stark naturalistic photography by the great Harris Savides (GERRY, ZODIAC), MARGOT AT THE WEDDING is another major accomplishment from Baumbach. [More]

Starring: Nicole Kidman, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Jack Black, Ciaran Hinds

Starring: Nicole Kidman, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Jack Black, Ciaran Hinds, John Turturro, Zane Pais

Director: Noah Baumbach

Director: Noah Baumbach
Screenwriter: Noah Baumbach
Producer: Scott Rudin
Studio: Paramount Vantage

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Reviews for Margot at the Wedding

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1 - 20 (sorted by rotten rating; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 >> >|
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Full Review Source: Screen International | comment Comment
09/15/07
Screen International

This largely po-faced comedy drama has an annoying, self-congratulatory tone.

Full Review Source: Sun Online | comment Comment
02/29/08
Sun Online

Of course, we get nothing so false as an “emotional journey” for anyone. But as the film abruptly ends, you can’t help feeling a little less ice would go a long way.

Full Review Source: thelondonpaper | comment Comment
02/29/08
thelondonpaper

Dramatically and visually, there's no relief to be had in this self-indulgent downer.

Full Review Source: Independent | comment Comment
02/29/08
Anthony Quinn
Anthony Quinn
Independent

A big-name cast including Nicole Kidman, Jack Black and Jennifer Jason Leigh wrestles with a storyline containing industrial-sized quantities of misery and a plot that leaves too many loose ends hanging.

Full Review Source: Daily Mirror [UK] | comment Comment
02/29/08
David Edwards
David Edwards
Daily Mirror [UK]

Those expecting fresh Squid will be disappointed. With few laughs and much whining, Margot takes the fun out of dysfunctional. It’s a damp squib with lots of wail.

Full Review Source: Sky Movies | comment Comment
02/28/08
Elliott Noble
Elliott Noble
Sky Movies

There is such a thing as binge pessimism. It happens when one living disaster area, considered insufficient in a story, is served up with several others, causing audience braincells to swirl, stagger and collide against thalamic lampposts.

Full Review Source: Financial Times | comment Comment
02/29/08
Nigel Andrews
Nigel Andrews
Financial Times

Humourless (though supposedly a comedy) and pretentious, almost a parody of the self-indulgent Sundance festival film, right down to the washed-out colours, droning dialogue and the title in big sans-serif capitals.

Full Review Source: Guardian [UK] | comment Comment
02/29/08
Peter Bradshaw
Peter Bradshaw
Guardian [UK]
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

With superb acting and great dialogue, this acerbic comic drama has some excellent moments, but it too often feels like being on an enforced holiday with people you'd rather not spend any time with.

Full Review Source: Channel 4 Film | comment Comment
02/29/08
Saxon Bullock
Saxon Bullock
Channel 4 Film
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Never fully coheres or convinces.

Full Review Source: Daily Telegraph | comment Comment
02/29/08
Sukhdev Sandhu
Sukhdev Sandhu
Daily Telegraph
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Some of the dialogue is well-crafted and the performances are generally strong (although Black hams shamelessly at times) but the characters are so loathsome that you long for a hurricane to sweep away this wedding party.

Full Review Source: Times [UK] | comment Comment
02/29/08
Wendy Ide
Wendy Ide
Times [UK]
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Magnetic, subtly tragic and ultimatley sympathetic, worth a watch if only to remind yourself why you don't go home for Christmas anymore.

Full Review Source: Little White Lies | comment Comment
02/29/08
Little White Lies

Baumbach’s interest in families – a distinct Baumbachian sort of family – is acute and his observations often painful and delivered with a dry wit.

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
02/28/08
Dave Calhoun
Dave Calhoun
Time Out
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Doesn't quite measure up to its predecessor but it is still an often painfully accurate study of fractured family relationships.

Full Review Source: This is London | comment Comment
02/29/08
Derek Malcolm
Derek Malcolm
This is London

A sharply observed but bleak examination of family dysfunction, anchored by solid performances.

Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
02/28/08
Liz Beardsworth
Liz Beardsworth
Empire Magazine
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Margot oozes poison from start to finish, challenging you to give a damn.

Full Review Source: BBC | comment Comment
02/26/08
Matt McNally
Matt McNally
BBC
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Enjoyably spiky family drama with a sharply written script and strong performances from its two leads.

Full Review Source: ViewLondon | comment Comment
02/28/08
Matthew Turner
Matthew Turner
ViewLondon

Enjoyably spiky family drama with a sharply written script and strong performances from its two leads.

Full Review Source: ViewLondon | comment Comment
02/29/08
Matthew Turner
Matthew Turner
ViewLondon

Emotional car-crash cinema at its best, packed with characters you’d hate to meet but who are riveting to watch. Baumbach’s barbed cynicism won’t be to everyone’s taste, but those still suffering the aftermath of a family Christmas will grin in grim recog

Full Review Source: Total Film | comment Comment
02/28/08
Philip Kemp
Philip Kemp
Total Film

The script is a bit over-packed with secrets and revelations, quirks and wrinkles, but it's so vividly played out that we can't take our eyes off the screen.

Full Review Source: Shadows on the Wall | comment Comment
11/15/07
Rich Cline
Rich Cline
Shadows on the Wall
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by rotten rating; UK critics are listed first)
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Latest News for Margot at the Wedding

February 18, 2008: RT on DVD: Cram For The Oscars With Michael Clayton, In The Valley of Elah, And More Out This Week
Ready those Oscar ballots! With the Academy Awards around the corner, it's time to start catching up on what you missed in theaters. Snap up this week's offerings for... More...

November 15, 2007: Critical Consensus: Beowulf is Certified Fresh; Magorium Short on Magic; Cholera is Under the Weather
This week at the movies, we've got epic poems come to life (Beowulf, starring Ray Winstone and Angelina Jolie), a magical toy shop (Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium, starring... More...

October 25, 2007: Scripts Online for Oscar Hopefuls Into the Wild, Kite Runner, and More!
The folks at Paramount Vantage are wearing their Oscar contender hopes on their sleeves, posting the scripts for four of their strongest 2007 films online for public consumption. More...

September 13, 2007: Toronto Film Fest: Margot at the Wedding, Nothing is Private Reviews
Margot at the Wedding: "Brings out writer/director Noah Baumbach's misanthropy at its most unsalvageable." Nothing is Private: "[Its] reputation as Toronto's most subversive... More...

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