Film Review: Where’d You Go, Bernadette

It’s been a few hours since I got out of Where’d You Go, Bernadette, and the thought that I still can’t quite get out of my head is…why isn’t there a question mark at the end of that title? It just really bugs me. That could tell you a lot about the film itself, but even now, I’m still not entirely sure how I felt about it. It’s a much stranger film than I expected, both in terms of plot and tone. The film is the latest from Richard Linklater, who – along with co-writers, Holly Gent and Vincent Palmo Jr. – is adapting the book of the same name by Maria Semple.

In terms of setup, it seems innocuous and unassuming enough. A reclusive and anti-social architect, Bernadette (Cate Blanchett), who hasn’t worked in years, and is now living with her husband, Elgie (Billy Crudup) and teenage daughter, Bee (Emma Nelson) in Seattle. Through a series of events, she comes to realize how much of a problem her anxiety has been to her and her family, and proceeds to go on a journey of self-discovery by taking a solo trip to Antarctica…without informing the family.

The strange thing is the whole “leaving the family” part doesn’t really come in until about halfway through, and it’s treated almost like a mild inconvenience at best for most of the characters, except Bee, who is the only one who has a deep and loving connection with her mother. Much of the first half is committed to showing the everyday aspects of Bernadette’s life, from her many emails to her digital assistant, to her meeting old colleagues, to picking up her daughter from school, and her encounters with her arch nemesis/neighbor, Audrey (Kristen Wiig). Here, we initially see Bernadette as this almost caricature-like figure of the typical misanthropic genius archetype, but as the film goes along, it slowly reveals more and more, giving you a significantly deeper understanding of what led her to the point where she is now.

It’s arguably a lot to ask viewers to engage with a rich white lady who is trying to find herself, and for certain sections of the film, it is a bit of a struggle. However, where the filmmakers really mine something interesting out of the material is when it hones in on the idea of how an artist is driven, how an artist is motivated, and the mental state that an artist can find themselves in when all they do is linger on all their worst social impulses and habits instead of applying that energy on the very thing they love doing. Cate Blanchett is unsurprisingly wonderful in the role, as she brings the manic character to life in a way that feels more nuanced and richly detailed than it might seem on the surface. It borders on going too broad at times, but Blanchett and Linklater know just when to reign things in for a stronger emotional effect. The rest of the cast is solid, with Nelson in particular shining in a role that would’ve been way too cloying in less gentle hands.

There’s not a whole lot to cover in a film like Where’d You Go, Bernadette. It’s a fairly straightforward character study with some occasionally odd ticks and amusing banter. What does hold it back is its pacing, which lacks any sense of propulsion, making stretches feel longer than they already are. In terms of looks and aesthetics, the film is quite bland, but it’s competently put together. It’s easily one of the weaker Linklater films in recent memory. Given the nature of the book being more epistolary, it’s easy to see how such a major restructuring could’ve made certain elements get lost in translation, but the film manages to be fairly watchable, and that’s mostly due to a terrific performance from Cate Blanchett. At its worst, it’s inoffensively and forgettably amusing with a sour taste of privilege, but when it works, it’s a solid exploration of an artist reconnecting with themselves, and the drive to create.