The Party
Roadside Attractions | Release Date: February 16, 2018 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
73
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 31 Critic Reviews
Positive:
29
Mixed:
2
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Kate TaylorMar 1, 2018
With its claustrophobic unity of time and place, the disintegrating party feels highly theatrical and, of various classic screen adaptations from the stage, this wonderfully performed black-and-white film recalls in particular Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton in "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf." Yet also, Potter's comic dissection of the London intelligentsia's personal and political angst is completely of the moment. Read full review
91
TheWrapRay GreeneJan 8, 2018
For all its brittle hilarity, Potter has shot her film in black and white. In context, it plays as an avatar of artistic seriousness. Or a warning with implications worth heeding. Read full review
88
RogerEbert.comGlenn KennyFeb 16, 2018
This is a beautifully conceived and executed chamber comedy/drama with tragedy at its core. Potter’s characters are committed to a better world even as they make their own modes of living completely dysfunctional. Read full review
83
Entertainment WeeklyChris NashawatyFeb 16, 2018
It’s basically a Murderer’s Row of indie pros who play off one another like they’ve been performing this particular toxic soiree on a West End stage for years. Read full review
80
Paste MagazineAndrew CrumpFeb 23, 2018
It’s a film about pettiness couched in maturity, and a brilliantly merciless take on the comedy of manners. Read full review
80
New York Magazine (Vulture)David EdelsteinFeb 16, 2018
The Party is breathlessly well shot — and, even better, in lustrous black and white. The look conveys an unspoken message: Even playing fools, these actors are pure class. Read full review
80
Los Angeles TimesJustin ChangFeb 15, 2018
With The Party, availing herself of a zinger-heavy script and an unimprovable cast, the director has made not only her most accessible picture to date, but also a shrewd demonstration of the less-is-more principle. Read full review
80
Village VoiceApril WolfeFeb 14, 2018
Potter isn’t what you’d call subtle, but she also knows not to overstay her welcome, and this pithy comedy is a masterclass in all that a filmmaker can squeeze from the most basic theatrical concept: Put a bunch of characters with opposing motivations in a room and see what happens. Read full review
80
The GuardianPeter BradshawFeb 18, 2017
Unassuming and old-fashioned funny entertainment isn’t exactly what we associate with this film-maker, but that’s what she has very satisfyingly served up here. It’s not especially resonant or profound but it is observant and smart, with some big laughs in the dialogue. The whole thing is enjoyably absurd though not precisely absurdist. Read full review
80
Screen DailyJonathan RomneyFeb 18, 2017
The most enjoyable film yet from a director whose conceptual seriousness has often seemed daunting. Read full review
80
VarietyGuy LodgeFeb 18, 2017
Slight and self-contained, it won’t go down in cinema history as anything but, perhaps, the most purely fun film ever made by peculiar British experimentalist Sally Potter. Read full review
80
CineVuePatrick GambleFeb 18, 2017
It's a curt, nasty and deftly acted chamber piece high on laughs and savagery about frustrated idealism and how little it takes to make society fall to pieces. Read full review
80
EmpirePhil de Semlyen
Patricia Clarkson steals the show, but everyone in Potter’s gifted cast gets their moment to shine in a sharp-edged, claustrophobic parlour piece that puts the boot into middle-class mores. Read full review
80
Total FilmTom Dawson
Enjoyably acted by a fine ensemble cast, it crisply skewers the hypocrisies of its left-liberal, middle-class characters. Read full review
78
Austin ChronicleMarjorie BaumgartenFeb 28, 2018
The peerless crew of actors playing the party guests present stinging dialogue and reactions with the precision of expert marksmen. Read full review
75
ReelViewsJames BerardinelliFeb 22, 2018
The plot is sparse. This is about acting, dialogue, and character interaction, not narrative. Read full review
75
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalleFeb 22, 2018
Shot in a glossy, appealing black-and-white and filmed in a single location, The Party generates a pressure-cooker atmosphere. Read full review
75
Philadelphia Daily NewsGary ThompsonFeb 22, 2018
Potter has assembled a good cast that gives the claustrophobic material some air — the theatrical drama is set in just a few cramped rooms, including the loo. Potter also chooses black and white, suggesting stark contrasts that blend, like the viewpoints of the characters, into shades of gray. Read full review
75
Washington PostAlan ZilbermanFeb 20, 2018
This is a film that encapsulates the anxiety of the present moment, complicated by friendships that lean, at times, toward outright hostility. Read full review
75
The Associated PressLindsey BahrFeb 15, 2018
It is a fun experiment to be a fly on the wall for this bizarre night — a little dinner theater canapé that’ll make you laugh and think and be grateful (hopefully) that your friends aren’t this kooky. By the end, you’re ready to call it night too. Read full review
75
Rolling StonePeter TraversFeb 15, 2018
The laughs hurt so good, and the guests at this shindig treat each other like dartboards for 71 minutes. Yes, that's short for a movie, but your nerves couldn’t take more. Read full review
75
Slant MagazineOleg IvanovFeb 13, 2018
It captures the qualities of live theater that are rarely transmitted to film, of being immediate, alive, and spontaneous, as if the viewer is just a stone's throw away from the characters. Read full review
75
The PlaylistJessica KiangFeb 18, 2017
There is an energy to The Party, and a kind of rejuvenating bouncy glee that we haven’t seen from Potter in a long time. And after “Ginger and Rosa,” a film that felt better directed than it was written, being undermined by some very stilted dialogue, the fact the Potter also wrote the screenplay here comes as another pleasant surprise. Read full review
70
Arizona RepublicBill GoodykoontzFeb 22, 2018
Potter’s sense of timing is terrific. She never lingers on one character too long. It’s the same with the movie — you’re in and out before you realize what hit you. Read full review
70
The Hollywood ReporterStephen DaltonFeb 18, 2017
A charming little tragicomedy which flirts with savage social satire but never fully embraces it. Read full review
67
Christian Science MonitorPeter RainerFeb 23, 2018
A brisk, black-and-white, worst-possible-case dinner party scenario overflowing with good actors and bad vibes. Read full review
67
The A.V. ClubKatie RifeFeb 14, 2018
The shining star of this little community is Janet (Kristin Scott Thomas), who’s put together an intimate gathering of friends to celebrate her recent promotion to Shadow Minister for Health. Read full review
67
The Film StageRory O'ConnorFeb 18, 2017
Riotous, if undeniably stagey. Read full review
63
Boston GlobeTy BurrFeb 21, 2018
The new film is a lightly poisoned amuse-bouche that’s made with tasty high-end ingredients, but at 71 minutes it leaves you hungry for more. Read full review
60
The TelegraphTim RobeyFeb 18, 2017
It has a vigorous sense of entertainment value and a cast relishing every moment. Read full review
40
The New York TimesManohla DargisFeb 15, 2018
The Party is a brittle, unfunny attempt at comedy that features some very fine actors and a lot of empty chatter. Read full review
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