66
Metascore
36 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 91The PlaylistJordan RuimyThe PlaylistJordan RuimyTurtletaub does have a hard time finding a way to conclude Agnes’ story, but he ends Puzzle on such a delightful note of simplicity, that this near-perfect movie nevertheless stuns.
- 83IndieWireKate ErblandIndieWireKate ErblandPuzzle toes a tough line, managing to stay relentlessly good-hearted and deeply humane, even as Agnes herself plunges into deeper, more dramatic waters. It’s the kind of mid-life crisis story that so rarely centers on a woman and Macdonald shines in the role, riveting even in the quietest of moments.
- 75The Film StageJordan RaupThe Film StageJordan RaupAn earnest, clear-cut drama about the struggle for one woman’s liberation from the shackles of domesticity, Puzzle does what it sets out to do remarkably well.
- 75Movie NationRoger MooreMovie NationRoger MooreThanks to its most engaging, sympathetic stars, even the over-familiar path it takes lets us find the warmth in the predictable first steps its characters take toward a richer life.
- 70The Hollywood ReporterLeslie FelperinThe Hollywood ReporterLeslie FelperinThis directing debut for experienced producer Marc Turtletaub (Little Miss Sunshine, Loving) ticks along pleasantly, driven by an efficient if slightly bland script by Oren Moverman and Polly Mann.
- 60VarietyPeter DebrugeVarietyPeter DebrugeWe should be grateful that it exists, if only because it affords a long-overdue leading role to Kelly Macdonald.
- 50Slant MagazineJosh WiseSlant MagazineJosh WiseThe film buoyed by Kelly Macdonald, who's a master of understated vulnerability, but she can't steer it out of the doldrums.
- 50The A.V. ClubJesse HassengerThe A.V. ClubJesse HassengerIt’s hard to fault Puzzle for going in a more rigorous, serious-minded direction... until it trudges in that direction with such repetition. Turtletaub and his screenwriters lay the borderline-anachronistic details of their heroine’s oppressive life on so thick that the movie starts to sag.
- 50Village VoiceAlan ScherstuhlVillage VoiceAlan ScherstuhlSince it’s hard to buy the character, it’s hard to buy the story, no matter how good Macdonald is.