Life Itself

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2:26

Life Itself

R

2018

1h 58m

Comedy

Drama

Romance

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

13%

Tomatometer

154 Reviews

83%

Popcornmeter

1,000+ Ratings

College sweethearts Will and Abby fall in love, get married and prepare to bring their first child into the world. As their story unfolds in New York, fate links them to a group of people in Seville, Spain, including a troubled young woman, a man and his granddaughter, a wealthy landowner and a plantation manager.

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Critics Consensus

A mawkish melodrama that means less the more it tries to say, Life Itself suggests writer-director Dan Fogelman's talents are best suited to television.

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Robbie Collin

Kermode & Mayo's Film Review

Every big dramatic moment is sapped of all its energy entirely.

Jan 12, 2019

Full Review

Tim Robey

Daily Telegraph (UK)

The film's indulgences are so heart-on-sleeve that it's hard to differentiate watching it from hearing someone pitch their very bad screenplay ideas with no attempt to read the room...

Rated: 1/5

Jan 6, 2019

Full Review

Wendy Ide

Observer (UK)

Despite the suffering ladled on to the characters, I remained stonily unmoved throughout.

Rated: 1/5

Jan 5, 2019

Full Review

Calum Cooper

Source (Scotland)

The film is trying to show how one thing can impact several lives for better and for worse. This isn’t a bad idea, and there are occasional bursts of appeal scattered about. But the execution is hopelessly barbaric.

Rated: 1/5

Jul 14, 2024

Full Review

Ryan McQuade

InSession Film

The most insulting and manipulative movie of the year.

Rated: F

Apr 3, 2024

Full Review

M.N. Miller

Ready Steady Cut

Life Itself is too self-indulgent, sappy, and overly sentimental for its own good. By the last third, it becomes manipulative and even tedious.

Rated: 1.5/5

Aug 16, 2022

Full Review

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Phil B.

At the very least it’s absolutely worth watching. Not getting the credit it deserves

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

10/22/25

Full Review

Daniel U

Una historia conmovedora, con una intención buena pero una ejecución que se siente aletargada y en momentos cancina, el primer tercio brillantemente enganchante, segundo tercio baja el ritmo y se siente de relleno, lo último meramente predecible pero a su vez cálido

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

09/09/25

Full Review

Morgan G.

The first 30 minutes of this is iconic. The rest is just an added bonus. We laugh, we cry, we relate. I have watched this movie a dozen times and I still love it.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

08/06/25

Full Review

Joseph M

Here's the thing about "Life Itself"—it is an unabashed, Bildungsromanesqe melodrama. Reviewers seem to balk at melodrama as a generic convention. Have they liked a melodrama since "Moulin Rouge!"? The cinematography is good-looking, the colors are lovely, I'm a sucker for multigenerational stories (despite that "This Is Us" is a waste of primetime, Milo Ventimiglia, and Sterling Brown, whose storylines were the only thing dragging me through that first season). It's not perfect, but I enjoyed it. Give it a try.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

06/29/25

Full Review

Michael O

Critics wre expecting too much. It's a romantic movie that hits you right in the feels. One of my favorites!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

04/28/25

Full Review

Pip S

One of the most beautiful romantic-drama movies I've seen.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

01/23/25

Full Review

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Dan Fogelman

Director

Oscar Isaac

Will Dempsey

Olivia Wilde

Abby Dempsey

Antonio Banderas

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Life Itself: Trailer 1

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Life Itself: Teaser Trailer 1

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Synopsis

College sweethearts Will and Abby fall in love, get married and prepare to bring their first child into the world. As their story unfolds in New York, fate links them to a group of people in Seville, Spain, including a troubled young woman, a man and his granddaughter, a wealthy landowner and a plantation manager.

Director: Dan Fogelman
Producer: Marty Bowen, Wyck Godfrey, Aaron Ryder, Dan Fogelman
Screenwriter: Dan Fogelman
Distributor: Amazon Studios
Production Co: FilmNation Entertainment, Temple Hill Entertainment
Rating: R (Language|Brief Drug Use|Sexual References|Some Violent Images)
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Sep 21, 2018, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Dec 22, 2018
Box Office (Gross USA): $4.1M
Runtime: 1h 58m

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