A compelling, if well worn , topic — work/life balance — is brought vividly to life by a great Binoche performance.
What are people saying?
What are critics saying?
Poppe's closeness to the material ensures a level of passion, but he still fails to create a truly specific dynamic for Rebecca and Marcus's family, settling instead for a catch-all representation of the difficulties of maintaining a healthy home life while working in a dangerous profession.
It’s as handsomely shot as any film about an ace shutterbug ought to be, and Binoche infuses familiar internal crises with palpable pain and urgency.
A film that, while often beautiful to look at, feels oddly bloodless in execution.
Binoche's potent performance [cuts] to the quick of the struggle to balance a passion for work with a commitment to family.
The Hollywood Reporter by John DeFore
An affecting drama made more poignant by honest-feeling autobiographical elements.
The Guardian by Peter Bradshaw
Binoche's performance – tiresomely radiating a martyred integrity – is mannered and self-conscious, and her character's professional work is naively imagined.
Deftly sidestepping both melodrama and family-values messaging, Poppe imbues the film with enormous emotional resonance, brilliantly grounded by his leading lady.
Director Erik Poppe’s worthy intentions are nearly undone by an undisciplined screenplay. Still, he marshals two strong performances.
The film has limitations. But it has Binoche, and that’s almost enough.