The Boy Downstairs
| Release Date: February 16, 2018 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
59
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 11 Critic Reviews
Positive:
5
Mixed:
3
Negative:
3
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
80
Los Angeles TimesSheri LindenFeb 22, 2018
As the film moves elegantly between past and present, Brooks proves a keen observer of behavior and the pitfalls of overthinking. Finding complex beauty in what would be merely obvious in a lesser work, her delightful feature taps into a rarely broached, generally female coming-of-age dilemma: the fear of losing yourself before you know who you are. Read full review
80
The Hollywood ReporterJohn DeForeMay 22, 2017
The pic may have an unlikely story (in real-world love affairs, this kind of second chance rarely ends happily), but benefits from unusually authentic performances. Read full review
75
RogerEbert.comSusan WloszczynaFeb 16, 2018
Any movie that can bring to mind a Joni Mitchell song as the credits roll — “Don't it always seem to go that you don't know what you've got 'till it's gone” — has earned its keep. Read full review
75
The PlaylistRodrigo PerezMay 22, 2017
The Boy Downstairs straddles a patchy line between comedy and drama with mixed results, but when all is said and done, the auspicious film acts like a mature consideration of the scariness of vulnerability and laying your heart on the line. Read full review
70
VarietyOwen GleibermanMay 22, 2017
Mamet has a quick, spry reaction time and a gently forlorn focus that holds the screen, and she holds this movie together. Read full review
60
EmpireOlly RichardsJun 18, 2018
Zosia Mamet is the major selling point here. In a film that’s lovely but unlikely to prove memorable, she shows she can carry a film with immense charm. Read full review
60
Village VoiceSerena DonadoniFeb 14, 2018
The writer-director’s first feature is warmly affectionate and maddeningly vague, with half-formed characters, limp plotting, and performances of captivating delicacy, especially from Zosia Mamet as a novelist guided by uncertainty. Read full review
50
New York PostSara StewartFeb 21, 2018
More frustratingly, Brooks jumps back and forth in time between the couple’s past relationship and the current day, with nary a physical or emotive change evident in either party. It becomes a task just to figure out which timeline you’re in, and then convince yourself why you should care. Read full review
38
Slant MagazineKeith WatsonFeb 12, 2018
Endeavoring to give us a post-mumblecore spin on Annie Hall, writer-director Sophie Brooks seemingly fails to understand what made Woody Allen's film so appealing: its rich, multi-faceted characterizations. Read full review
38
Movie NationRoger Moore
There’s not much to say about the enervated romance The Boy Downstairs, except that literally every character and actor playing that character is more interesting than the leads. Read full review
30
The New York TimesBen KenigsbergFeb 15, 2018
How, and in whose apartment, Diana and Ben will confess their emotions is the subject of Ms. Brooks’s pallid dramedy, which leaves its actors looking somewhat stranded, as if waiting for Neil Simon zingers that were never written. Read full review
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