Life Itself

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2:26

Life Itself

R

Released Sep 21, 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

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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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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

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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

Shoshana L

I watch this movie every few months. It is so good!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/19/25

Full Review

William D

Absolutely killer movie. Great screenplay with raw emotion.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

11/05/24

Full Review

Caroline N

This movie is a masterpiece! I have watched it countless times and it'll never get old. It's humanity at its most raw form. It'll make you giggle, think, but most importantly cry your heart out. I cannot fathom why "critics" would rate this so low, but as always, they are wrong. I recommend this movie to everyone, and I predict in due time it'll become cult classic.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

09/23/24

Full Review

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Dan Fogelman

Director

Oscar Isaac

Will Dempsey

Olivia Wilde

Abby Dempsey

Antonio Banderas

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Annette Bening

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Life Itself: Trailer 1

2:26

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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