SummaryFifteen years earlier, Una (Rooney Mara) ran away with an older man, Ray (Ben Mendelsohn), a crime for which he was arrested and imprisoned. When she comes across a photo of him in a trade magazine, Una tracks him down and turns up at his workplace. Her abrupt arrival threatens to destroy Ray’s new life and derail her stability. Unspoken secrets ... Read More
Directed By:Benedict Andrews
Written By:David Harrower
Una
Metascore
Generally Favorable
62
User score
Mixed or Average
5.1
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Top Cast
Metascore
Generally Favorable
54% Positive
15 Reviews
15 Reviews
46% Mixed
13 Reviews
13 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Sep 16, 2016
91
For Rooney Mara, it’s a new high, giving a performance that can only be described as extraordinary, and she makes Una a sharp, discomforting stunner.
Sep 16, 2016
80
The film has a different though no less riveting intensity, thanks to Rooney Mara's emotionally naked performance in the title role, and unflinching support from Ben Mendelsohn.
User score
Mixed or Average
42% Positive
10 Ratings
10 Ratings
21% Mixed
5 Ratings
5 Ratings
38% Negative
9 Ratings
9 Ratings
Jan 8, 2018
9
I highly recommend seeing this, but it is an uncomfortable watch as it should be given the topic. Both Mara and Mendelsohn are terrific exploring the range of emotions and justifications connected to such a disturbing adult/child relationship. That there is any ambiguity at all in how we respond to Ray's character is testament to the writing and the work of Mendelsohn. This movie has not left my mind for several days since watching it.
Nov 26, 2021
7
This is a somewhat hard hitting film about a tough, fairly taboo subject - child abuse. Its sobering and perhaps thought provoking at times. It mainly concentrates on the victims side of the story - quite rightly so, although I suppose it inevitably leaves the viewer with unanswered questions. I felt aspects of the plot weren't fully developed which was a shame as for the most part, like I say it was quite hard hitting. The performances are quite good and so I'd say its worth a watch but it certainly isn't perfect either.
Oct 19, 2017
70
These are fantastic performances, even if they’re painful to watch. Una isn’t pretty, but it is powerful.
Oct 2, 2017
63
The film gives Una a little more agency, but director Benedict Andrews often invalidates such empowerment.
Oct 3, 2017
60
Rooney Mara and Ben Mendelsohn bring a controlled intensity and force – and even a twisted kind of chemistry – to this disturbing if structurally flawed movie.
Oct 5, 2017
50
The scenes that leave Ms. Mara and Mr. Mendelsohn alone are, tellingly, the most interesting and effective ones. Their performances are tightly focused and unflinching; too bad they are surrounded by a lot of heavy-handed, poorly aimed cinematic showing off.
Jan 10, 2021
7
A good movie that is an uncomfortable watch at times. Mara & Mendelsohn are great in the lead roles.
Apr 14, 2018
6
They could have cut another 20 minutes out of this movie and not miss a beat. There's a lot of needlessly long sex scenes, Lots of long walking shots with no dialogue. I will say this though; Rooney Mara and Ben Mendelsohn give amazing performances, Especially Ben. The writer does a great job at making both victim and abuser sympathetic. If not for the huge gaps of no dialogue and silly subplots, This would be a great movie. It's well worth checking out though, Even if just for the performances.
Jan 12, 2018
1
It’s a little strange for me to read any reviews stating how "wonderful" and "artistic" this film is.... I didn’t get that. I found it to be incredibly boring and dull. SOOOO many looong shots of nothingness. I’m talking about no movement- not even from the actors. At one point, I thought my device had frozen– I had to check to make sure it was still playing. (It was). Yes... THAT boring and slow. There were a couple dozen scenes that could’ve easily been condensed down into more tolerable levels of nothingness, which would’ve cut the runtime in half. I found myself skipping through these sections at several different points. And I didn’t miss anything as a result. Maybe it’s just me, but I can only take SO MANY long stares with no dialogue or anything else happening before I lose interest. For example- if they’re going to show a scene of really long grass blowing in the wind, after about (what FEELS LIKE) two full minutes- I’m expecting SOMETHING to pop up out of that grass– or maybe a pan over to where I can faintly hear people talking and birds singing... something. Something...?!? ANYTHING...?!? Or really long and drawn-out shots of trees... I found myself wondering what type of trees they were instead of thinking about the story or the characters. I don’t think that’s what the filmmakers were aiming for, but I could be wrong. And the ending— well... no need to give a "spoiler alert" because there’s nothing to spoil. Boring. Mind-numbingly boring.
Production Company:
- BRON Studios
- Creative Wealth Media Finance
- Film4
- Jean Doumanian Productions
- WestEnd Films
Release Date:Oct 6, 2017
Duration:1 h 34 m
Rating:R
Tagline:Absence Makes the Hurt Grow Stronger.
Awards
BFI London Film Festival
• 1 Nomination
Indiewire Critics' Poll
• 1 Nomination
Sydney Film Festival
• 1 Nomination
