Metascore

Generally favorable reviews - based on 17 Critics What's this?

User Score

Generally favorable reviews- based on 6 Ratings

  • Summary: Grégoire, a Parisian film producer, has it all — a beautiful wife, three adorable daughters, wealth and a buzzing career. On the surface he seems invincible, maintaining humor and charm as he tirelessly juggles the demands of his production company with his family's needs. But when Grégoire'ire's reserves — both financial and emotional — reach a dramatic breaking point, his family's love and resilience is
    tested. (IFC Films)
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Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 14 out of 17
  2. Negative: 0 out of 17
  1. It isn't saying too much, though, to call Mia Hansen-Løve's French-language drama beautiful, profound and, given the gathering tensions of its story, phenomenally full of life.
  2. What French writer-director Mia Hansen-Love has created is an extraordinarily empathetic humanistic drama, a film of love, joy, sadness and hope that understands how complex our emotions are and does beautiful justice to them.
  3. 80
    Hansen-Løve’s gifts for mood and eliciting controlled, empathetic performances are well-suited to her sensitive material, and ultimately overshadow the film’s difficult and uneven central characterization.
  4. When The Father of My Children shifts focus to Grégoire’s wife (Caselli) and children (the eldest is beautifully played by De Lencquesaing’s actual daughter, Alice), Hansen-Løve’s hand steadies, and she reveals a true talent for intimate, behavioral observation.

See all 17 Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1 out of 1
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 1
  3. Negative: 0 out of 1
  1. It was fairly low key, and its focus on intimate details kept my attention almost the whole time. Maybe in the last 15 minutes there were a few scenes I found unnecessary. After watching it I was guessing the director was a woman-- maybe from some delicate quality of the storytelling. Charming piece of work. Expand