71
Metascore
13 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 100VarietyJessica KiangVarietyJessica KiangThis is the rare debut that derives its freshness not from inexperience but from a balance between compassion and restraint that most filmmakers take decades to achieve.
- An unabashedly reticent arthouse film, The Third Wife takes its time drifting through May’s coming of age, which will try the patience of some audiences. But those open to the seduction of Mayfair’s understated drama and its beautiful natural imagery will be handsomely rewarded.
- 83The Film StageJared MobarakThe Film StageJared MobarakIt’s a mesmerizing look behind a curtain torn away so Mayfair can reveal an authenticity too often masked by historical precedent and conservative acquiescence. Love is created in rebellion, but ultimately stifled by the need for survival.
- 83The PlaylistAndrew BundyThe PlaylistAndrew BundyAsh Mayfair’s debut film is an astonishing achievement for a first feature, one not every film-goer will be able to stomach, but a work every caring cinephile should see.
- 80Screen DailyJohn BerraScreen DailyJohn BerraIf this focus on fleeting pleasures occasionally risks exoticizing the subject, Mayfair’s sensory approach to illustrating an almost unbearable absence of female fulfillment achieves a powerful universal resonance.
- 75Film ThreatAlan NgFilm ThreatAlan NgMayfair’s The Third Wife is a powerful reminder that the oppression of women is not strictly a Western problem and everyone—women or men—want to be free to choose their own path in life.
- 75San Francisco ChronicleG. Allen JohnsonSan Francisco ChronicleG. Allen JohnsonWhat we have here is a small, delicate mini-masterpiece, and bright new talent behind the camera.
- 70Los Angeles TimesRobert AbeleLos Angeles TimesRobert AbeleThere is much that is finely wrought here as a tactile slice of women’s history told in careful observances, hidden textures and the sights and sounds of nature unbound.
- 60The New York TimesA.O. ScottThe New York TimesA.O. ScottIt’s too cool for melodrama and too pretty for politics, and the drama of May’s experience occupies a middle ground between pity and indignation.
- 50The Hollywood ReporterNeil YoungThe Hollywood ReporterNeil YoungMayfair's picture feels like the work of a seasoned veteran rather than a newcomer, but this isn't necessarily a compliment. It's sensitively poetic and tremulously delicate to a fault, with every beat seemingly accompanied and underlined by an intrusive score from Ton That An which is heavily freighted with plangent strings and mournful piano notes.