Cate Blanchett is great but the movie is not. It has a decent message but its story is a little too messy.
First part: We witness the emotional explosion of the protagonist, Cate Blanchett, fabulous in a character who decides to alienate herself ("popularity is overrated"). We think about the process of creation and how it can lead to self-destruction. Part Two: When the story reaches the limits of mental illness, Richard Linklater decides to turn it into a family comedy that seems destined for teenage audiences.
I found this story to be quite accurate in its premise. Anyone with mental health issues realizes that while we may see the world in one way, invariably, others will see it differently. I believe that finding our mental health is about establishing balance between these differing worldviews. This film did a particularly strong job of showing how individual instances can be misinterpreted in ways that may make us appear less mentally fit than we actually are. It also did great service to show how that, coupled w/ actual mental health issues, can be compounded together to create a partially fictional narrative.
Cate Blanchett was, as always, terrific in her role. Billy Crudup, who I feel is one of the most vastly underrated actors working today, really did well in his role as the husband to a woman searching for her mental fitness. And, Emma Nelson was tremendous as the loving, concerned daughter who never gave up on her mother. I'm really hoping to see more from her in the near-future.
just not one bit interesting
Where'd You Go, Bernadette? Well, apparently baby girl should have gone to Russia because Americans are obsessed with this country. Russia! Russia! Soviet prisoners! Russian mafia! THE RUSSIANS!!!! I mean seriously, Russian mafia? Really?
Anyway, Where'd You Go, Bernadette? is so bland, absolutely nothing special in it, a pristine example of a film that doesn't know what to do with itself. This is one of the most incoherently written movies I’ve ever seen. Takes too long for the plot to get going. The tone is somewhere between Disney Channel and Hallmark Channel. It even has the shitty generic piano score. The script is a total mess, but the dialogue, in particular, is terrible and cringe-worthy.
The characters are all painfully clichéd and flat, never breaking beyond the surface level to capture your attention or make you care about what they were going through. Just a boring protagonist with an extremely boring husband, and boring but just perfect daughter. I hate the standard Hollywood 'smart child' with all their knowledge from non-existent live experience and dialogue that no child would ever say.
What is this movie even supposed to be about? Who is it even for? It's allegedly a comedy but is missing one important ingredient for any comedy: anything remotely funny. Not thrilling. Not action packed. Not real drama. Nothing. Stopped watching at 45 minutes.
This definitely falls on the "lesser" end of the Richard Linklater spectrum. Now that I think about it... this is probably my least favorite Linklater film. The actors involved are great but the story is all very... disjointed. Is it about overcoming creative droughts? Is it about carving a niche in a place you feel you don't belong? Is it a look at how relationships change over time? Is it a swipe at how success breeds disconnection? It's got a little bit of each, but not enough of any to really make you feel invested. To top it off, the tone of the film changes quite significantly about 2/3 through, making the final act seem rather... unrelated to the rest of the film. Watch any other Linklater film before you try this one; they're all better.
I stopped paying attention midway. It's an okay movie if you just want something to pass the time.
A good film overall and I enjoyed it. It was sometimes hard to relate to Blancett's character, however, and this undermined it a little. That's only a small gripe though, as it is worth watching.
Rick folks problems... really Boring.
This had a great director, good cast, but unfortunately, it just falls flat. It never really takes off to be honest. I think the movie fails in figuring out what it wants to be: a comedy or a drama. I haven't read the book, so I can't speak on if it's supposed to be like this, but from what I saw I was disappointed. It's all pretty forgettable. The movie itself felt really similar to The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, in which case I would rather watch that.
Ever since I saw her in Elizabeth I am a fan of Cate Blanchett. I watch movies with her in it that I would otherwise not have. This movie falls in that category (after the fact, so to say).
I liked her play and the story is something to think about. But I couldn't make a connection. Took me a while to get into it, to figure out what this movie wants to be. I don't think it's a comedy althought it has some fun parts. It's more a light drama and maybe that's my problem. That I couldn't take it seriously enough. And the whole idendity theft part felt completely out of place.
I never regret watching a movie with Cate but this one I won't be watching again.
Shout by emilyBlockedParent2019-08-21T04:06:07Z
I went into the theatre not knowing what this movie was about but knowing Cate Blanchett would do a good job either way & that turned out to be very true. I found Cate's character to be relatable in several ways and she did a great job portraying the many emotions of Bernadette. I thought the movie would spend more time showing Bernadette's journey in Antarctica but I loved it nonethless and some great cinematography here. Emma Nelson as Bree Branch should be commended here as her character was a joy to watch as was her bond with her mother - and it didn't feel forced. The only real flaw this movie had was those shoddy photoshops showing Bernadette's early life - really?! Should have asked Cate's fandom on twitter, they'd have provided hundreds for fun.