A Master Builder

2013

2 hr. 7 min.

Drama

List

82%

33 Reviews

Tomatometer

55%

250+ Ratings

Audience Score

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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Audience Member

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

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

01/14/23

Full Review

Audience Member

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

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

01/13/23

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Audience Member

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.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

02/16/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Incredible performances.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/04/23

Full Review

Audience Member

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.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

01/25/23

Full Review

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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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Anthony Lane

New Yorker

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.

Sep 22, 2014

Full Review

Stephanie Merry

Washington Post

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.

Rated: 2.5/4

Sep 18, 2014

Full Review

Jonathan Romney

Film Comment Magazine

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

Sep 15, 2014

Full Review

Nicholas Bell

IONCINEMA.com

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.

Rated: 3/5

Oct 27, 2020

Full Review

C.J. Prince

Way Too Indie

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

Rated: 5.7/10

Jun 18, 2019

Full Review

Nathanael Hood

The Retro Set

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

Rated: 7/10

Dec 28, 2018

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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
Executive Producer: Ronald M. Bozman, Beau Willimon, Jordan Tappis, Declan Quinn, Scott Griffin
Screenwriter: Wallace Shawn
Production Co: Westward Productions
Genre: Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Streaming): Mar 17, 2017
Box Office (Gross USA): $46.9K

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