30
The disparity between the inherently trashy appeal of the story and the self-serious way it's presented cripples much of the potential for enjoyment. The setup screams pulp, but the film doles out stately drama.
What are people saying?
What are critics saying?
50
The A.V. Club by Ben Kenigsberg
The setup promises more intrigue than the film ultimately delivers.
60
Los Angeles Times by Betsy Sharkey
It's a challenging film, but maybe not as challenging as it should be.
80
An incredibly provocative piece of work, featuring a brave and vulnerable performance by Naomi Watts (who seems perhaps a little too young) and a career-high acting masterclass from Robin Wright (who is cast perfectly).
30
The Hollywood Reporter by David Rooney
Everything is spelled out literally and at a stultifying pace, in a story that might have worked onscreen as either heightened melodrama or farcical comedy. Instead Fontaine, who is not exactly blessed with a light touch, opts for misplaced sincerity.
30
A ludicrous melodrama that begs to be handled as an over-the-top sex farce is instead treated with the solemnity of a wake, albeit one with a rather lenient dress code.
60
You can barely stifle a laugh, and the way Wright and Watts deliver rote, morally searching dialogue with deer-in-the-headlights stoicism (“We’ve crossed a line,” Lil blankly notes) doesn’t help matters.
40
Given the level of sophistication at which the movie operates, they might as well have called it Motherlover, after the Lonely Island video in which Andy Samberg and Justin Timberlake sing about the exact same taboo foursome. The only significant difference is that the comedy in “Motherlover” is fully intentional.
42
Entertainment Weekly by Owen Gleiberman
Adore has the distinction of featuring some of the most laughable dialogue in any movie this year.
63
McClatchy-Tribune News Service by Roger Moore
As edgy female wish-fulfillment fantasy, showing that fantasy’s consequences, Adore engrosses and engages, never titillates and never betrays even the tiniest hint of revulsion.