SummaryMadeline (Helena Howard) has become an integral part of a prestigious physical theater troupe. When the workshop's ambitious director (Molly Parker) pushes the teenager to weave her rich interior world and troubled history with her mother (Miranda July) into their collective art, the lines between performance and reality begin to blur. The result... Read More
Directed By:Josephine Decker
Written By:Josephine Decker, Gail Segal, Sharon Mashihi, Alexandra Tatarsky, Donna di Novelli
Madeline's Madeline
Metascore
Universal Acclaim
82
User score
Generally Favorable
6.6
My Score
Drag or tap to give a rating
Hover and click to give a rating
Not available in your country?
ExpressVPN
Get 3 Extra months free
$6.67/mth
Top Cast
Metascore
Universal Acclaim
82
84% Positive
26 Reviews
26 Reviews
16% Mixed
5 Reviews
5 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Sep 12, 2018
100
In a way I’ve never before seen done onscreen, Madeline’s Madeline fuses triumph and tragedy until the two feel strong and indistinguishable.
100
It’s a distinctive world that Decker and her team have created. Among this year’s coming-of-age films, it’s got to be one of the most original. But it’s also one of the more perplexing.
Aug 10, 2018
85
A tense, loopy look at acting and writing, the movie is at times deliberately off-putting. But it’s anchored by a star-making turn from Helena Howard, who plays the fascinating, inscrutable figure at the story’s center.
May 14, 2019
80
The dilemma she presents is ethical: is it fair to ask someone to traumatise (or retraumatise) themselves for the sake of art? Rather boldly, it seems as though Decker is also asking the question of herself.
Aug 23, 2018
75
Even if it’s a film that will challenge any viewer, it benefits from a strong premise, a story line that more or less holds up, and three knockout performances. Rarely has the acting process been explored in such a cinematically provocative way.
Aug 23, 2018
63
Decker evolved her project with her actors over five months, and it’s both pro and con that, boy howdy, it sure feels improvised.
Aug 29, 2018
40
Unfortunately, what should have naturalistic depth seems oddly superficial, and an attempt to dispose of traditional structure becomes episodic. As with many failed experiments, there are still, at least, some interesting takeaways.
User score
Generally Favorable
6.6
55% Positive
12 Ratings
12 Ratings
41% Mixed
9 Ratings
9 Ratings
5% Negative
1 Rating
1 Rating
Mar 24, 2025
5
I watched Madeline's Madeline, mainly because I liked Josephine Decker's later film Shirley. This one's trying to do a lot—race, mental health, coming of age, mother-daughter tensions, plus a whole meta-theatre layer—whilst bold, it often felt like it was trying too hard to be important. That said, Helena Howard is phenomenal. It's a breakout performance full of rawness and intensity; she holds the whole chaotic thing together. Miranda July felt oddly constrained by the direction, somewhat hemmed in a film that encourages improvisation and emotional looseness, which is her bread and butter but denied to her here. There's no shortage of ideas here, and it's definitely interesting. Still, it left me admiring the ambition rather than enjoying the ride.
Production Company:
- Parris Pictures
- Forager Films
- Bow and Arrow Entertainment
Release Date:Aug 10, 2018
Duration:1 h 33 m
Awards
Chlotrudis Awards
• 8 Nominations
International Cinephile Society Awards
• 1 Win & 4 Nominations
Gotham Awards
• 3 Nominations
