Taglines: Disappearances çan be deceiving.
Based on the runaway bestseller, Where’d You Go, Bernadette is an inspiring comedy about Bernadette Fox “Academy Award winner Cate Blanchett”, a loving mom who becomes compelled to reconnect with her creative passions after years of sacrificing herself for her family. Bernadette’s leap of faith takes her on an epic adventure that jump-starts her life and leads to her triumphant rediscovery.
Where’d You Go, Bernadette is a 2019 American mystery comedy-drama film directed by Richard Linklater from a screenplay by Linklater, Holly Gent, and Vince Palmo, based on the novel of the same name by Maria Semple. It stars Cate Blanchett, Billy Crudup, Kristen Wiig, Judy Greer, and Laurence Fishburne. Where’d You Go, Bernadette was released on August 16, 2019, by Annapurna Pictures through their United Artists Releasing joint venture. It received mixed reviews from critics.
About the Story
Architect-turned-recluse Bernadette Fox (Cate Blanchett) is settled down with her husband Elgin (Billy Crudup) and their daughter Bee (Emma Nelson) in a dilapidated former schoolhouse in Seattle. Bernadette hates people, hates leaving the house, hates Seattle, and more than anything, she hates the other parents at her 15-year-old daughter Bee’s school. This includes her neighbor Audrey Griffin (Kristen Wiig).
Despite her misanthropic behavior, Bernadette is exceptionally close to Bee and reluctantly agrees to go on a family vacation to Antarctica at Bee’s request. Bernadette starts to behave oddly, concerning everyone. She uses a cocktail of prescription drugs to control her anxiety and insomnia, which grows worse as the Antarctica trip nears. Her feud with Audrey grows more intense; at one point Audrey accuses Bernadette of running over her foot while speeding away in her car. Later on, the hillside above Audrey’s home which Bernadette had cleared of invasive blackberries subsides into Audrey’s garden and house during heavy rain. Although she insists that she was only complying with Audrey’s request, Elgin accuses architect Bernadette of knowing that the hill would collapse without the blackberries to hold it in place.
Bernadette has a personal assistant named Manjula in India with whom she regularly communicates. One day, she finds Elgin, Dr. Kurtz (Judy Greer), and an FBI agent at her home for an intervention. They tell her that Manjula is a front for a Russian criminal operation which has Bernadette’s personal information and is planning to defraud her family. Elgin wants Bernadette to go with Dr. Kurtz to a mental hospital to seek treatment, which horrifies her. She sneaks out of the house and finds refuge with Audrey, whom she makes amends with. With Audrey’s help, Bernadette flies to Antarctica. Elgin and Bee follow in hot pursuit, after the FBI agent tells them that the Russian criminal has been arrested and is no longer a threat.
Where’d You Go, Bernadette (2019)
Directed by: Richard Linklater
Starring: Cate Blanchett, Billy Crudup, Kristen Wiig, Emma Nelson, James Urbaniak, Judy Greer, Troian Bellisario, Zoë Chao, Laurence Fishburne, Claudia Doumit, Emma Nelson, Katelyn Statton
Screenplay by: Richard Linklater, Holly Gent, Vincent Palmo Jr., Michael H. Weber, Scott Neustadter, Maria Semple
Production Design by: Bruce Curtis
Cinematography by: Shane F. Kelly
Film Editing by: Sandra Adair
Costume Design by: Kari Perkins
Set Decoration by: Beauchamp Fontaine
Art Direction by: Gregory A. Weimerskirch
Music by: Sam Lipman, Graham Reynolds
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for some strong language and drug material.
Distributed by: Annapurna Pictures, Metro Goldwyn-Mayer
Release Date: August 16, 2019
Visits: 40
