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Guest of Honour

Play trailer Poster for Guest of Honour Released Jul 10, 2020 1h 45m Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
41% Tomatometer 63 Reviews 31% Popcornmeter Fewer than 50 Ratings
A father confronts his 20-year-old daughter, who is in prison for a sexual assault. Their relationship will become more complicated when the past resurfaces.
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Guest of Honour

Guest of Honour

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Critics Consensus

David Thewlis' performance aside, Guest of Honour serves as a frustratingly limited return to form for writer-director Atom Egoyan.

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Critics Reviews

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Robbie Collin Daily Telegraph (UK) Perhaps it's fitting that a film about a restaurant inspector should elicit so many sniffs of suspicion. But there's a playful spice and pungency here too. Rated: 3/5 Nov 26, 2020 Full Review Peter Rainer FilmWeek (LAist) It's kind of a mess narratively and psychologically. Jul 22, 2020 Full Review Claudia Puig FilmWeek (LAist) It feels scattershot and overwrought, unfortunately. Jul 22, 2020 Full Review Dustin Chang ScreenAnarchy Guest of Honour might not be the best thing Egoyan has made. But with David Thewlis's affecting and measured performance, it comes close to his heyday of filmmaking in the 90s. Oct 23, 2020 Full Review Dennis Harvey 48 Hills Taking place in various time periods, its tricky structure more garbled than intriguing, this is another recent Egoyan joint that's basically a trashy potboiler treated with a seriousness that only makes it all both leaden and silly. Oct 12, 2020 Full Review Joshua Brunsting The CriterionCast While it may not ultimately amount to much on a thematic level, Egoyan's latest is a fascinating experiment from a director who has seemingly found the spark once again. Sep 10, 2020 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Chris U I didn't know anything about the movie but knowing Atom Egoyan's reputation I thought it would be a movie I would like. It started out OK. Believable. As I watched, I thought the actors were competent. I know a fair amount about inspection of products including kitchen inspections. The scenes were believable. As the movie progressed I started getting confused. When the movie ended, I could not say "not for me" because it might have been so I didn't give it a rating. As I often do I come here to see if some issues would be clarified. I started to read the long plot line and was amazed to read about things I didn't see in the movie. I was alert throughout! (I sometimes fall asleep) If I missed so much in watching the movie, I can only say perhaps some scenes were cut after the plot was written. Was that why I didn't follow all elements? The rabbit's foot that was in a drawer didn't look white so I got confused as to who's foot it was. Perhaps I should watch the movie again and look for what I feel I missed. I can't do that as I don't want to stomach it again. This confirms for me that it really was not worth watching even though I have the nagging feeling that maybe I was at fault for not seeing or understanding the entire plot. No, I really can't recommend it. Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars 09/04/25 Full Review Nuri T Time and effort invested in a story that yields no return! Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars 05/24/25 Full Review jamal w Most pointless movie in the league. Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars 07/18/23 Full Review Audience Member It is an entrancing and quickly seductive picture with interesting themes/ideas and careful direction but the few flaws it has are glaring and greatly curtail the spell that director Egoyan casts onto the viewer. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/20/23 Full Review john s RABBIT EARS Used to be rabbit ears pulled in tv channels, now they are a coveted culinary delicacy. If nothing else, one always learns something from an Atom Egoyan film. Consistently fine thespian David Thewlis as a complicated health inspector, carries "Guest of Honour" with the calm assurance, refined decorum, and meticulous deduction of Sherlock Holmes. Yet it is he who is the mystery. And as wonderful a performance it is (he really does carry the movie), the convoluted and twisty plot proves too benign and lacking, to do justice to foreshadowed expectations. A forgettable and perplexing storyline involving his jailed daughter is awkwardly distracting at best, and out and out messy at worst. Slipping in a comedic Wilson brother (Luke) as a serious priest is admirable, but alas, serves to sabotage the dramatic flow. Too bad, as the movie does indeed look great, and Thewlis is excellent, a commanding screen presence, delivering a perfectly nuanced role lacking a worthy supporting cast, and more importantly, a superior written vehicle. - hipCRANK Rated 3 out of 5 stars 03/30/23 Full Review Read all reviews
Guest of Honour

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Movie Info

Synopsis A father confronts his 20-year-old daughter, who is in prison for a sexual assault. Their relationship will become more complicated when the past resurfaces.
Director
Atom Egoyan
Producer
Atom Egoyan, Simone Urdl, Jennifer Weiss
Screenwriter
Atom Egoyan
Distributor
Kino Lorber
Production Co
Ego Film Arts, The Film Farm
Genre
Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Jul 10, 2020, Limited
Release Date (Streaming)
Jul 10, 2020
Runtime
1h 45m
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