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White Noise

Mystery. Thriller. Drama. Horror White Noise tells the story of Jack, his fourth wife, and four ultra­modern offspring as they navigate the rocky passages of family life to the background babble of brand-name consumerism. When an industrial accident unleashes an “airborne toxic event,” a lethal black chemical cloud floats over their lives. The menacing cloud is a more urgent and visible version of the “white noise” engulfing their radio transmissions, sirens, ... [+]
Media Author Review
United Kingdom
The Guardian
"A blackly comic blast (...) Baumbach has landed a sizeable white whale in his tremendously elegant and assured adaptation (...) It is such a fascinating, invigorating spectacle (...) Rating: ★★★★★ (out of 5)" 
United States
The Hollywood Reporter
"Adam Driver and Noah Baumbach take a bold stab but Don DeLillo's novel still seems unfilmable (...) Despite the movie's inconsistency, at least it sends you out on a high" 
United States
Variety
"The kind of movie that a gifted director makes when he's coming off a celebrated success and feeling his power in the industry, wanting to elevate his artistry to the next level" 
United States
Collider
"'White Noise' has an impressive look, but ends up being guilty of what it criticizes (...) A very busy movie —both verbally and visually" 
United States
IndieWire
"Noah Baumbach's adaptation is inspired —and exasperating (...) Baumbach is ultimately too in sync with DeLillo for 'White Noise' to escape from the shadow of its monolithic source material" 
United Kingdom
Total Film
"Undoubtedly Baumbach's most idiosyncratic work (...) As a director who made his name on mumblecore indies, there's often a true joy in seeing [him] operate on a much grander scale (...) Rating: ★★★★ (out of 5)" 
United States
Deadline
"A science fiction of sorts that has almost become a documentary for a world that can't tell the truth from the lies (...) This is Baumbach unleashed, and actually unexpected" 
United Kingdom
Screendaily
"'White Noise' paints a beautifully arch and sometimes genuinely funny picture of a world out of joint (...) A film that never quite achieves real closure" 
United States
Slant
"Baumbach doesn't have a firm grasp on how to instill much excitement into this narrative (...) Rating: ★½ (out of 4)" 
United Kingdom
Telegraph
"For this usually understated filmmaker, it's a madcap outlier, and often resembles an early Steven Spielberg film having a nervous breakdown (...) Rating: ★★★★ (out of 5)" 
United States
The Film Stage
"The director, fearlessly stretching out new areas of his craft, is a strong conduit for DeLillo's still-unsettlingly vital ideas, even if he can't broadcast them with the same pensive eloquence" 
Canada
Screen Rant
"Bogged down by uneven plotting & genre changes, 'White Noise' loses itself in the chaos of what it's trying to say and fails to become fully realized (...) Rating: ★★ (out of 5)" 
United States
SlashFilm
"The movie's comedic elements, eccentric cast, and overall production design end up working as a salve for the audience" 
United States
The Wrap
"The reverent, stylish tribute to a great comic novel about American panic isn't always the post-pandemic release you need, but it entertains" 
United States
Decider
"This film may initially strike as messy, but Baumbach's sturdy direction and fearless writing will captivate anyone game for the challenge of keeping up" 
United States
Entertainment Weekly
"Intriguing but uneven adaptation" 
United States
The Playlist
"Baumbach brings us his canny but callow adaptation of that landmark novel, turning it into an amusingly curated museum of pre-millennial neurosis – one that’s undeniably enjoyable to walk around, freakishly well-made" 
United States
Vanity Fair
"The director can't quite crack his first-ever adaptation (...) It's through Driver that [it] most closely approximates a message, a shaggy portrait of humanity in flux that sees helplessness reframed as something like freedom" 
United States
IGN
"There's both terror and humor at the heart of 'White Noise', and that's the whole point" 
Canada
Screen Anarchy
"One may emerge from this film feeling as though they’ve seen stranger things, but nothing much is as gloriously, jocularly confounding as whatever this is" 
United States
Ready Steady Cut
"Noah Baumbach and the cast are all at their best in one of the best films of the year (...) Rating: ★★★★½ (out of 5)" 
United Kingdom
NME
"Brilliant new satire, you'll laugh and wince in one breath (...) Rating: ★★★★ (out of 5)" 
United States
Austin Chronicle
"The crescendo of the second act makes way for a muted ending (...) Still, the entire cast is pitch-perfect, everyone inhabiting their roles with an expert ease (...) Rating: ★★★½ (out of 5)" 
United States
Mashable
"Amid the rapid-fire banter, ferocious philosophizing, and scattershot plotting, [Gerwig] and Driver are compelling scene partners. So why did 'White Noise' leave me cold?" 
United States
Paste Magazine
"In my sincere appreciation for it, I fear the wrath of all who’ve read the book (I have not). But to those who haven’t, I can confidently say you’re in for a treat" 
United States
Decider
"It works as much as it doesn’t work. It’s brilliant, but impossible. It’s a challenge. STREAM IT, but only if you know what you’re getting into" 
United Kingdom
Radio Times
"An engrossing, cerebral black comedy (...) that features masterclass performances from Adam Driver and Don Cheadle (...) Rating: ★★★★ (out of 5)" 
United States
Chicago Reader
"Happily for Noah Baumbach, he’s chosen a flawed novel by a great writer and added a joyful sensibility absent from Don DeLillo" 
United States
Polygon
"It’s a messy movie that can’t quite find the thread to make sense of DeLillo’s vision or the reality of his characters(...) But it has been made with wit and an infectious relish" 
United States
Rolling Stone
"Baumbach overreaches in 'White Noise'. The movie is unsuccessful because its various energies eventually begin to feel mismeasured (...) There are ideas in the movie’s most spectacular failures, nevertheless" 
Canada
JoBlo
"If you asked me whether it was a successful or even a particularly good movie, I would say no. However, (...) this may be a film that will age well, and possibly become a cult classic down the line" 
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Love Me Like I Do
1970
Jean Van Hearn
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