X
  • 2022
  • IFC Midnight
  • 1 h 37 m
  • 2022
  • IFC Midnight
  • 1 h 37 m

Summary Widowed mother Holly (Sienna Guillory) is radically tested when her teenage daughter Betsey (Jessica Alexander) experiences a profound enlightenment and insists that her body is no longer her own, but in service to a higher power. Bound to her newfound faith, Betsey refuses to eat but loses no weight. In an agonizing dilemma, torn betwee...

Directed By: Ruth Paxton

Written By: Justin Bull

  • 2022
  • IFC Midnight
  • 1 h 37 m
  • 2022
  • IFC Midnight
  • 1 h 37 m

A Banquet

Metascore Mixed or Average Based on 15 Critic Reviews
59
User Score Mixed or Average Based on 5 User Ratings
5.2
My Score
Hover and click to give a rating Saved

Where to Watch

Summary Widowed mother Holly (Sienna Guillory) is radically tested when her teenage daughter Betsey (Jessica Alexander) experiences a profound enlightenment and insists that her body is no longer her own, but in service to a higher power. Bound to her newfound faith, Betsey refuses to eat but loses no weight. In an agonizing dilemma, torn betwee...

Directed By: Ruth Paxton

Written By: Justin Bull

Where to Watch

Top Cast

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Critic Reviews

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Metascore
Mixed or Average Based on 15 Critic Reviews
59
40% Positive
6 Reviews
60% Mixed
9 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews

  • All Reviews
  • Positive Reviews
  • Mixed Reviews
  • Negative Reviews

Critic Reviews

 View All
Metascore
Mixed or Average Based on 15 Critic Reviews
59
40% Positive
6 Reviews
60% Mixed
9 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews

  • All Reviews
  • Positive Reviews
  • Mixed Reviews
  • Negative Reviews
80
Mar 9, 2022
Paxton’s movie sketches out the sinister dread just under the happy-family surface; she is in expert control of her film, achieving her effects with economy and force. It is really unnerving.
By Peter Bradshaw FULL REVIEW
80
Sep 17, 2021
An intense combination of apocalyptic nightmare and family psychodrama. ... A provocative, rigorously composed film that confirms Paxton as a singular talent after a string of award-winning shorts.
By Allan Hunter FULL REVIEW
63
Feb 18, 2022
Director Ruth Paxton puts you on edge from the beginning in “A Banquet,” and holds that unsettling mood throughout. But because the sound design is so vivid and Paxton’s eye for disturbing detail is so creative, it’s even more frustrating that the payoff is so unsatisfying.
By Christy Lemire FULL REVIEW
60
Feb 24, 2022
A Banquet is a beautifully made psychological thriller with nuanced performances and a gross hook.
By Nadir Samara FULL REVIEW
60
Sep 17, 2021
The filmmakers raise some interesting points, but it becomes an exercise in frustration to interpret the calculated connection between disordered eating, the metaphysical, and religious, medieval martyrdom. With nary any tangible scares, or much to truly unnerve or unsettle except from an empathetic humanistic standpoint, this feature-length directorial debut is assured, but far too ambiguous for its own good.
By Courtney Howard FULL REVIEW
50
Feb 16, 2022
There are glimpses of comparably daydreamy thrillers like Come True or The Feast that give themselves to the fantasy of mania, but A Banquet fails to grab attention like these more ambitious companions. It all builds up to a cinematic Irish exit.
By Matt Donato FULL REVIEW
40
Sep 17, 2021
Justin Bull’s screenplay comes up short, failing to adequately capture the depth of its teen’s encounter with the abyss — her anorexia is the aftermath of an apocalyptic revelation — and to integrate it into the more comprehensible domestic tensions that serve as the plotless film’s only framework.
By John DeFore FULL REVIEW

User Reviews

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User Score
Mixed or Average Based on 5 User Ratings
5.2
0% Positive
0 Ratings
100% Mixed
5 Ratings
0% Negative
0 Ratings

User Reviews

 View All
User Score
Mixed or Average Based on 5 User Ratings
5.2
0% Positive
0 Ratings
100% Mixed
5 Ratings
0% Negative
0 Ratings

There are no user reviews yet. Be the first to add a review.

Details

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Production Company Tea Shop Productions, Riverstone Pictures, Reliance Entertainment Productions 8
Release Date Feb 18, 2022
Duration 1 h 37 m
Genres
Tagline Family or Famine
Website https://www.ifcfilms.com/films/a-banquet
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Awards

ReFrame
• 1 Win & 1 Nomination

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