X
- 2019
- PG-13
- Sony Pictures Classics
- 1 h 52 m
- 2019
- PG-13
- Sony Pictures Classics
- 1 h 52 m
Summary Isabel (Michelle Williams) has dedicated her life to working with the children in an orphanage in Calcutta. Theresa (Julianne Moore) is the multimillionaire head of a media company who lives with her handsome artist husband (Billy Crudup) and their two adorable twin boys in New York. When word comes to Isabel of a mysterious and generous...
Directed By: Bart Freundlich
Written By: Susanne Bier, Anders Thomas Jensen
- 2019
- PG-13
- Sony Pictures Classics
- 1 h 52 m
- 2019
- PG-13
- Sony Pictures Classics
- 1 h 52 m
After the Wedding
50
5.9
Where to Watch
Summary Isabel (Michelle Williams) has dedicated her life to working with the children in an orphanage in Calcutta. Theresa (Julianne Moore) is the multimillionaire head of a media company who lives with her handsome artist husband (Billy Crudup) and their two adorable twin boys in New York. When word comes to Isabel of a mysterious and generous...
Directed By: Bart Freundlich
Written By: Susanne Bier, Anders Thomas Jensen
Where to Watch
Top Cast
Metascore
Mixed or Average
Based on 33 Critic Reviews
50
33% Positive
11 Reviews
11 Reviews
58% Mixed
19 Reviews
19 Reviews
9% Negative
3 Reviews
3 Reviews
Metascore
Mixed or Average
Based on 33 Critic Reviews
50
33% Positive
11 Reviews
11 Reviews
58% Mixed
19 Reviews
19 Reviews
9% Negative
3 Reviews
3 Reviews
Granted, Freundlich has the benefit of Bier’s screenplay contributions to guide him, but in his particular execution, the story feels grounded for a very different strategy from Bier’s: Rather than going out of his way to include recognizable human moments, he strips away anything excessive, allowing subtext to surface in the quiet spaces between dialogue.
It’s a movie about hidden family secrets, with a comical amount of twists, and it plays more as melodramatic schlock. And I just happened to really be in the mood for melodramatic schlock.
User Score
Mixed or Average
Based on 17 User Ratings
5.9
35% Positive
6 Ratings
6 Ratings
59% Mixed
10 Ratings
10 Ratings
6% Negative
1 Rating
1 Rating
User Score
Mixed or Average
Based on 17 User Ratings
5.9
35% Positive
6 Ratings
6 Ratings
59% Mixed
10 Ratings
10 Ratings
6% Negative
1 Rating
1 Rating
I'm always astonished when critics who love TV dramas which relieve the viewer of any need to think, approach films like this with a bit of bafflement and dismissive cynicism. Even Anthony Lake, an otherwise intelligent reviewer entirely misses one of the central plot points of the film. In fact, what Lake misses is what makes the film so good: what Therea knows about Isabelle. (C'mon, Anthony, you gotta pay attention). Anyway, it's made me want to see the Danish 2007 original, despite the fact that, it seems, it was filmed in "shaky cam" style. (Dramamine can overcome that little problem - though not my dislike of a DP's need to keep moving the camera to remind you he's there. But I digress). The plot is beautifully thought out and the acting is perfectly underdone. The main trio of Moore, Williams and Crudup is not only in fine form but in perfect synch with one another.
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This story of motherhood and moral conundrums, of privilege and philanthropy and “worthy causes” is one whose dramatic twists and soapy reveals feel at odds with the cultivated tone of serious, muted elegance.
The cast is made up of some of the finest and most interesting actors working in film today. And for the most part they’re doing thoughtful work. Unfortunately, there’s only so much they can do. The film doesn’t go emotionally deep enough to pay off.
This is Williams’ spotlight, and it’s worth slogging through some of the soapier-to-sludgier aspects to watch her ply her craft
None of the characters has a true home. Comedies end with weddings, with order replacing chaos, but After the Wedding is not a comedy and weddings don’t fool anyone.
The mystery has been dialled down, the treacle dialled up, and what we are left with is basically Eat Pray Love 2.
"After the Wedding" is a remake of the 2006 acclaimed Danish film of the same name
written by Susanne Bier. This new version, with an adapted screenplay by Bart Freundlich, who also directed the film, stars Mr. Freundlich's wife,
Julianne Moore, and Michelle Williams, Billy Crudup and Abby Quinn.
Remembering the old adage, "if it ain't broken, don't fix it", I found the film
to be interesting and, in the case of Ms. Moore, extremely well acted, but
that's where the accolades end. Although only 110 minutes in length, it
seemed longer. Also, Ms. Williams' performance was under stated
and so low key that it looked like she "phoned it in" for it lacked the
emotional dedication that one would expect from someone playing
her character.
I give the film a 7 with a suggestion to Mr. and
Mrs. Freundlich that it's sometimes better for an artist to create
an entirely new work of art than to try and touch-up an old
painting.
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In this case, we get a cast (most notably Julianne Moore), who are capable of so much more than what has been written for them in this otherwise subpar, lackluster production.
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A lot of “acting” went on in this film, but it never came to much. All the actors were far more than competent, so why didn’t I care about what happened? And a lot of things simply did not fit and were very distracting – like how did Michelle Williams manage to keep her perfectly coiffed (and insanely expensive) hairdo while running a poverty-stricken orphanage in India???? Never a hair out of place. The script was workmanlike, as was the direction, but all the wonderful actors in this film kept me constantly hungry for more – hungry for things like real emotion and gripping drama. Sadly, this made the movie a huge disappointment.
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Production Company
Ingenious Media,
Joel B. Michaels Productions,
Riverstone Pictures,
Rock Island Films,
Magaritz Productions,
FortySixty,
Cornerstone Films,
Endeavor Content
Release Date Aug 9, 2019
Duration 1 h 52 m
Rating PG-13
Genres
Tagline Every family has a secret.
