A Master Builder

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A Master Builder

2013

2h 7m

Drama

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

82%

Tomatometer

33 Reviews

56%

Popcornmeter

250+ Ratings

A young woman (Lisa Joyce) confronts a gravely ill architect (Wallace Shawn), claiming that he seduced her when she was just an adolescent, but he has no recollection of the encounter.

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Anthony Lane

The New Yorker

Sep 22, 2014

There is muscle and volume in the performances; but had Demme hung back, and kept things cooler and quieter, the mastery of what Ibsen built, and the agon of his extraordinary hero, would have cast a more looming shadow.

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Stephanie Merry

Washington Post

Sep 18, 2014

2.5/4

For a movie that lasts longer than two hours and is made up solely of talking, it's impressive that the story never seems to drag.

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Jonathan Romney

Film Comment Magazine

Sep 15, 2014

Filmed theater? Absolutely, but also, to my complete surprise, something else again.

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Nicholas Bell

IONCINEMA.com

Oct 27, 2020

3/5

Though not as celebrated as the previous efforts of Shawn and Gregory, it's a notable title, at last made worthy of reconsideration following its paltry release.

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C.J. Prince

Way Too Indie

Jun 18, 2019

5.7/10

The film's themes of guilt shine through, but the flawed final product makes A Master Builder frustrating to watch.

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Nathanael Hood

The Retro Set

Dec 28, 2018

7/10

Hagerty and Joyce are revelations; the beating hearts of the film.

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Apr 29, 2017

Great work from Gregory and Shawn but Demme, God rest his soul, doesn't bring any of his genius to the material here.

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Oct 23, 2016

There's nothing to the direction, but the acting and the play itself do more than enough to carry this movie.

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Nov 4, 2015

Perhaps this works better for a true lover of theater, but for me it was mostly dull despite great performances from Wallace Shawn and Lisa Joyce. Interesting, literary dialogue, but too theatrical and stagey for me.

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Oct 10, 2014

Incredible performances.

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Jul 25, 2014

Demme doesn't add many visual flourishes, outside of his generous use of close-ups, but rather allows Ibsen's sharp-tongued dialogue to take center stage in a film that rewards patience.

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Jonathan Demme

Director

Wallace Shawn

Halvard Solness

Andre Gregory

Brovik

Julie Hagerty

Aline

Lisa Joyce

Hilda Wangel

Emily Cass McDonnell

Kaia Fosli

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Synopsis

A young woman (Lisa Joyce) confronts a gravely ill architect (Wallace Shawn), claiming that he seduced her when she was just an adolescent, but he has no recollection of the encounter.

Director: Jonathan Demme
Producer: Rocco Caruso, Andre Gregory, Wallace Shawn
Screenwriter: Wallace Shawn
Production Co: Westward Productions, Ibsen Project
Genre: Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Streaming): Mar 17, 2017
Box Office (Gross USA): $46.9K
Runtime: 2h 7m

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