Where'd You Go, Bernadette (film)
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''Where'd You Go, Bernadette'' is a 2019 American
comedy-drama Comedy drama (also known by the portmanteau dramedy) is a hybrid genre of works that combine elements of comedy and Drama (film and television), drama. In film, as well as scripted television series, serious dramatic subjects (such as death, il ...
film directed by
Richard Linklater Richard Linklater (; born July 30, 1960) is an American filmmaker. He is known for making films that deal thematically with suburban culture and the effects of the passage of time. In 2015, Linklater was included on the annual ''Time'' 100 li ...
from a screenplay by Linklater, Holly Gent, and Vince Palmo, based on the 2012 novel of the same name by Maria Semple. It stars
Cate Blanchett Catherine Élise Blanchett ( ; born 14 May 1969) is an Australian actor and producer. Regarded as one of the best performers of her generation, she is recognised for Cate Blanchett on screen and stage, her versatile work across stage and scre ...
,
Billy Crudup William Gaither Crudup (; born July 8, 1968) is an American actor. He was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award for Best Male Lead for his performance in '' Jesus' Son'' (1999). He went on to star in numerous high-profile films, including ...
,
Kristen Wiig Kristen Carroll Wiig (; born August 22, 1973) is an American actress, comedian, screenwriter, and producer. First breaking through as a performer with the Los Angeles comedy troupe The Groundlings, Wiig achieved stardom in the late 2000s for her ...
,
Judy Greer Judith Therese Evans (born July 20, 1975), known professionally as Judy Greer, is an American actress. She is primarily known as a character actress who has appeared in Judy Greer filmography, a wide variety of films. She rose to prominence for ...
, and
Laurence Fishburne Laurence John Fishburne III (born July 30, 1961) is an American actor. Throughout his career, he has gained recognition for his roles on stage and screen as militant and authoritative characters. List of awards and nominations received by Laur ...
. ''Where'd You Go, Bernadette'' was released on August 16, 2019, by Annapurna Pictures through their
United Artists Releasing United Artists Releasing, LLC (UAR) was an American film distribution joint venture between Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and Annapurna Pictures and the successor to United Artists (UA) that operated from October 31, 2017 to March 4, 2023. Founded by form ...
joint venture. It received mixed reviews from critics.


Plot

Architect-turned- agoraphobe Bernadette Fox is settled down with her husband Elgie Branch and their 15-year-old daughter Bee in a dilapidated former schoolhouse in
Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...
. After an award-winning house Bernadette constructed was demolished, she developed severe depression and became reclusive. Despite her close relationship with Bee, Bernadette seldom leaves home and harbors a deep fear of human interaction, including with the other parents at Bee's school and especially their neighbor, Audrey Griffin. Bee requests a family trip to
Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean (also known as the Antarctic Ocean), it contains the geographic South Pole. ...
as a reward for good grades, to which her parents reluctantly agree. As the trip approaches, Bernadette’s behavior becomes increasingly erratic and she considers using various prescription drugs to control her worsening anxiety and insomnia. Audrey continually implores Bernadette to remove an invasive blackberry plant from the hillside above her house; when Bernadette complies, the hillside collapses into Audrey's garden and house during a rainstorm. Elgie accuses Bernadette of knowing that the hill would collapse without the blackberries to hold it in place. Audrey later dishonestly accuses Bernadette of driving over her foot, escalating the tension between them. One day, Bernadette returns home to find Elgie, his assistant Soo-Lin, psychiatrist Dr. Kurtz, and FBI Agent Strang at her home for an intervention. They reveal that Manjula, Bernadette's “personal assistant” in India with whom she has shared all of her personal and financial information, is actually a front for a Russian criminal organization that the FBI has been watching. Dr. Kurtz and Elgie want to commit Bernadette to a psychiatric hospital while Elgie and Bee go to Antarctica. Feeling ambushed and misunderstood, Bernadette sneaks out of the house and hides at Audrey's, who makes amends with her and helps her fly to Antarctica alone. Elgie and Bee pursue Bernadette after Agent Strang tells them that the Russian criminals, who were on their way to Seattle to defraud Bernadette while she and her family were away, have been arrested and are no longer a threat. In Antarctica, Bernadette befriends Becky, a researcher who tells her that the research station at the South Pole is in need of an architect to completely rebuild it. Bernadette sneaks off her cruise ship and into Palmer Station, and convinces the team leader to give her a spot on the next convoy to the
South Pole The South Pole, also known as the Geographic South Pole or Terrestrial South Pole, is the point in the Southern Hemisphere where the Earth's rotation, Earth's axis of rotation meets its surface. It is called the True South Pole to distinguish ...
. Elgie realizes that he has failed Bernadette by not being more supportive of her creativity. He and Bee catch up with Bernadette at Palmer Station and, seeing that her passion for architecture has been reignited, give her their blessing to spend five weeks at the Pole.


Cast


Production

In January 2013, Annapurna Pictures and
Color Force Color Force is an American independent film and television production company founded in 2007 by producer and film executive Nina Jacobson after her 2006 termination as president of Disney's Walt Disney Studios (division), Buena Vista Motion P ...
acquired the rights to the film adaptation of the novel and set Scott Neustadter and
Michael H. Weber Michael H. Weber (born January 13, 1978) is an American screenwriter and producer. He and his writing partner, Scott Neustadter, are best known for writing the screenplay for the romantic comedy film ''500 Days of Summer''. The film is based on t ...
to write the screenplay. Semple, Bryan Unkeless, and Ted Schipper executive produced. In February 2015,
Richard Linklater Richard Linklater (; born July 30, 1960) is an American filmmaker. He is known for making films that deal thematically with suburban culture and the effects of the passage of time. In 2015, Linklater was included on the annual ''Time'' 100 li ...
was announced as director of the film, and
Cate Blanchett Catherine Élise Blanchett ( ; born 14 May 1969) is an Australian actor and producer. Regarded as one of the best performers of her generation, she is recognised for Cate Blanchett on screen and stage, her versatile work across stage and scre ...
was cast as Bernadette in November. In April 2016, it was announced that Holly Gent Palmo and Vince Palmo had taken over writing duties on the film, with Linklater also receiving credit. In March 2017,
Kristen Wiig Kristen Carroll Wiig (; born August 22, 1973) is an American actress, comedian, screenwriter, and producer. First breaking through as a performer with the Los Angeles comedy troupe The Groundlings, Wiig achieved stardom in the late 2000s for her ...
joined the cast, and
Billy Crudup William Gaither Crudup (; born July 8, 1968) is an American actor. He was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award for Best Male Lead for his performance in '' Jesus' Son'' (1999). He went on to star in numerous high-profile films, including ...
was added in May, marking his second collaboration with Blanchett, after appearing with her in '' Charlotte Gray'' (2001). In June,
Judy Greer Judith Therese Evans (born July 20, 1975), known professionally as Judy Greer, is an American actress. She is primarily known as a character actress who has appeared in Judy Greer filmography, a wide variety of films. She rose to prominence for ...
, James Urbaniak, and
Laurence Fishburne Laurence John Fishburne III (born July 30, 1961) is an American actor. Throughout his career, he has gained recognition for his roles on stage and screen as militant and authoritative characters. List of awards and nominations received by Laur ...
joined the cast of the film, and Troian Bellisario came on board in July. Emma Nelson's casting was announced in June 2018.
Principal photography Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production. Personnel Besides the main film personnel, such as the ...
began on July 10, 2017. Set in
Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...
, filming took place in
Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...
and
Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...
. Scenes set in
Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean (also known as the Antarctic Ocean), it contains the geographic South Pole. ...
were filmed in
Greenland Greenland is an autonomous territory in the Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark. It is by far the largest geographically of three constituent parts of the kingdom; the other two are metropolitan Denmark and the Faroe Islands. Citizens of Greenlan ...
. Graham Reynolds was announced as the film's composer in September 2017.


Release

Originally scheduled for release in the USA on May 11, 2018, the film was later pushed back to October 19. The release date was then pushed to March 22, 2019, and then August 9, before finally settling on August 16, 2019. The film was significantly delayed for release in the UK for two years due to the film’s huge under-performance, before eventually appearing on Amazon Prime Video and other streaming services on 15 March 2021.


Reception


Box office

In the United States and Canada, ''Where'd You Go, Bernadette'' was released alongside ''
Blinded by the Light "Blinded by the Light" is a song written and recorded by Bruce Springsteen, which first appeared on his 1973 debut album ''Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J.'' A cover by British rock band Manfred Mann's Earth Band reached number one on the Billb ...
'', '' 47 Meters Down: Uncaged'', and '' Good Boys'', and was projected to gross around $5 million from 2,404 theaters in its opening weekend. It ended up making $1.2 million on its opening day, including $200,000 from Thursday night previews, and $3.5 million for the weekend, finishing 11th at the box office. By the end of its run, the film had grossed $9.2 million domestically and $11 million worldwide on a budget of $18 million.


Critical response

On
Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...
, the film holds an approval rating of based on reviews, with an average rating of . The website's critical consensus reads, "''Where'd You Go, Bernadette'' offers dispiriting proof that a talented director, bestselling source material, and terrific cast can add up to far less than the sum of their parts." On
Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...
, which uses a
weighted average The weighted arithmetic mean is similar to an ordinary arithmetic mean (the most common type of average), except that instead of each of the data points contributing equally to the final average, some data points contribute more than others. The ...
, the film has a score of 51 out of 100, based on 39 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Audiences polled by
CinemaScore CinemaScore is an American market research firm based in Las Vegas. It surveys film audiences to rate their viewing experiences with letter grades, reports the results, and forecasts box office receipts from the data. Background Ed Mintz, who ...
gave the film an average grade of "B" on an A+ to F scale, while those at PostTrak gave it an average of 3.5 out of 5 stars and a 60% "definite recommend".
Richard Roeper Richard E. Roeper (born October 17, 1959) is an American writer. He is a former columnist and film critic for the '' Chicago Sun-Times'', where he wrote for 39 years dating back to 1986 until his departure in 2025. He co-hosted the television s ...
of the ''
Chicago Sun-Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily nonprofit newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has long held the second largest circulation among Chicago newspaper ...
'' gave the film 2 out of 4 stars and wrote: "Filmed in a solid but straightforward style, populated by troubled characters who are aggressively off-putting, frustratingly passive and/or easily lampooned clichés, ''Where'd You Go, Bernadette'' is one of the most disappointing movies of 2019." In his 1/4 star review for ''
The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Newspapers in Canada, Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in Western Canada, western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of more than 6 million in 2024, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on week ...
'', Barry Hertz said, "There is, buried deep somewhere in Linklater's film or however many edits it may have undergone – the thing reeks of indecision – an insightful, even invigorating story about what happens to a creative genius once they stop creating. But the actual work presents a good argument that, for some artists, it might be best to quit while you're ahead."


Accolades


Architecture

Two of Bernadette's structures — the fictitious Twenty-Mile House and Beeber Bifocal House — were compared to the first two of 18 visions of
Bernadette Soubirous Bernadette Soubirous, Sisters of Charity of Nevers, SCN (; ; ; 7 January 184416 April 1879), also known as Bernadette of Lourdes (religious name, in religion Sister Marie-Bernarde), was a miller's daughter from Lourdes ( in Occitan), in the Dep ...
. Her final conception in the film was based on the Halley Research Station, designed in real life by Hugh Broughton Architects.


References


External links

* {{Authority control 2019 films 2019 comedy-drama films 2010s American films 2010s English-language films Fiction about agoraphobia American comedy-drama films Annapurna Pictures films English-language comedy-drama films Films about architects Films about architecture Films about families Films about missing people Films based on American novels Films directed by Richard Linklater Films set in Antarctica Films set in Seattle Films shot in Greenland Films shot in Pittsburgh Films shot in Vancouver Midlife crisis films