60
Metascore
15 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 83The Film StageJordan RaupThe Film StageJordan RaupTo the Stars is quaint in its aims, but this compact focus brings an enveloping level of intimacy.
- 80Screen DailyTim GriersonScreen DailyTim GriersonA simple story celebrating the importance of showing resilience and goodness in the face of intolerance, To The Stars never shouts to make its points. All the better that it forces you to lean in so you can really hear.
- 70The Hollywood ReporterSheri LindenThe Hollywood ReporterSheri LindenDirector Martha Stephens' atmospheric period piece is in many ways its own planet: The world it conjures is a woman's world — not a world that women created or rule, but one where their longings, dissatisfactions and sorrows are center stage, and most of the story's men and boys look on from the periphery, when they're not lashing out.
- 70Los Angeles TimesKevin CrustLos Angeles TimesKevin CrustIt is a movie that will reward your patience.
- 63ReelViewsJames BerardinelliReelViewsJames BerardinelliFor roughly the first two-thirds of its 109-minute running length, To the Stars is an effecting and effective tale of female bonding. Unfortunately, the wheels come off toward the end as melodramatic contrivances result in an unlikely climax and unsatisfying denouement.
- 50The PlaylistJordan RuimyThe PlaylistJordan RuimyThe meaningful topics of female sexual expression, repression, and desire for acceptance that “To the Stars” portrays are relevant, but it’s a shame they’re not more poignant and persuasive.
- 50The New York TimesManohla DargisThe New York TimesManohla DargisIt’s always nice to see characters break free, but you need to care whether they do. One insurmountable problem with this story is that Iris just isn’t interesting enough and certainly not developed enough either as a character or in terms of the performance.
- 50The A.V. ClubKatie RifeThe A.V. ClubKatie RifeAs writer Shannon Bradley-Colleary and director Martha Stephens embark on a love story so subtle, it isn’t really a love story at all. In some hands, that would be intriguing. Here, however, it’s just lukewarm.
- 50Wall Street JournalJoe MorgensternWall Street JournalJoe MorgensternStill, the two main performances count for a lot. Ms. Hayward, who was so endearing as Suzy, the tween lover in “Moonrise Kingdom,” is touchingly winsome as Iris, though she’s sometimes allowed or encouraged by her director to be busier than an actor need be. Ms. Liberato has the best of both worlds, and makes them better; a natural at comedy, she’s adept at serious drama.
- 40VarietyDennis HarveyVarietyDennis HarveyTo the Stars needn’t have taken itself so seriously, but the fact that it ultimately does is exactly what turns it from a potentially charming, bittersweet fable to a pretentiously overblown yet undercooked Amerindie soap opera.