Summary1921. In search of a new start and the American dream, Ewa Cybulski (Marion Cotillard) and her sister Magda (Angela Sarafyan) sail to New York from their native Poland. When they reach Ellis Island, doctors discover that Magda is ill, and the two women are separated. Ewa is released onto the mean streets of Manhattan while her sister is quarantin... Read More
Directed By:James Gray
Written By:James Gray, Ric Menello
The Immigrant
Metascore
Generally Favorable
77
User score
Generally Favorable
7.2
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Top Cast
Metascore
Generally Favorable
85% Positive
29 Reviews
29 Reviews
15% Mixed
5 Reviews
5 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
May 15, 2014
90
What really sets The Immigrant apart is how urgent it feels. Historical dramas often have a reserve that comes with perspective, but nearly a full century removed from this story, Gray seems, if anything, more emotionally invested here than in his contemporary dramas.
User score
Generally Favorable
69% Positive
62 Ratings
62 Ratings
24% Mixed
22 Ratings
22 Ratings
7% Negative
6 Ratings
6 Ratings
May 16, 2014
9
Beautifully filmed and featuring 3 superb performances from Marion Cotillard, Joaquin Phoenix, and Jeremy Renner. Not everyone will enjoy the pace, but the film is most rewarding to people who pay close attention to its details. Films just aren't made like this anymore. I consider it to be one of Grays best, and with career-best performances from Cotillard and Renner. I think there's a chance that the audience for this kind of film will be smaller than others, slow building melodramas typically are these days, but Gray has made a masterpiece of his.
May 22, 2014
88
The characters look as if they’d be more comfortable with intertitles than spoken dialogue. And the faces — Marion Cotillard as Ewa, the beleaguered Polish immigrant of the title, holds a close-up as well as Lillian Gish or Louise Brooks.
May 17, 2014
80
The strength of Gray’s movie lies in showing the connection between people in a place without rules.
May 22, 2014
75
This is the first film Gray has made with a female protagonist — he wrote the part specifically for Cotillard — and he gives the character the same resilience and resourcefulness usually reserved in movies for men.
May 14, 2014
63
Phoenix, who was so subtle in “Her” and brilliantly tortured in “The Master,” has lapsed back into the shouty bombast style of his “Gladiator” days, but his efforts to make the character seem layered are to little avail, especially given that Gray waits until the end to try to make him a tragic figure instead of merely a sleazy one.
May 26, 2013
40
Dialogue aside, the craftsmanship is unimpeachable, and Gray takes a timeless approach to pacing and camerawork: even the sunlight is sepia-tinted. But the grand themes of loyalty and ambition never catch fire, and the film’s few truly memorable moments are invariably its smallest.
Jun 12, 2016
8
Life was brutal back then, and maybe still is. A pretty immigrant is "picked" by a pimp because of her circumstances to join his "lovely doves." Not unlike the sex trafficking going on today, but it was out in the open back then. A lot is involved with these 2 main characters and their personal lives.
Nov 7, 2021
6
This film has some good potential but it's as if it can't make the most of it. The direction of Gray as usual is excellent, Phoenix and Cotillard are great actors and act wonderfully in this film too but perhaps the script did not convince me. The character of Phoenix (Bruno) in its ambiguity is written in a fallacious way. This character is first portrayed as a selfish, devious and evil exploiter and then at the end of the film it seems as if the director wants to show some good in the soul of this character, as if asking the audience to forgive him. I therefore found the first three quarters of the film inconsistent with the ending but overall the movie remains a watchable one.
Jul 25, 2015
6
This was a nice film to watch, with some fantastic performances (particularly by the lead performers). But there just seemed to be something missing - I think it might have been edited too much and a lot ended up on the cutting room floor unnecessarily.
Jun 1, 2014
3
A plodding, directionless period piece melodrama whose meandering script and largely one-dimensional characters are unable to elevate this film to the loftiness to which it aspires. Regrettably, its exquisite cinematography and fine production values aren't enough to salvage this otherwise-mediocre offering.
Dec 23, 2014
1
The Immigrant is nothing more than a horrible soap-opera. The storytelling is clumsy to say the least and the characters are as shallow as a puddle. Its a movie with no point and no direction.
Production Company:
- Worldview Entertainment
- Keep Your Head
- Kingsgate Films
Release Date:May 16, 2014
Duration:2 h
Rating:R
Awards
International Online Cinema Awards (INOCA)
• 2 Wins & 7 Nominations
International Cinephile Society Awards
• 1 Win & 5 Nominations
Village Voice Film Poll
• 1 Win & 3 Nominations
