Time Out
The shock of the old made new, a miracle achieved, a great movie rising before me-like a delusion, like a dream.
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The Immigrant
Joaquin Phoenix and Marion Cotillard lead this portrait of prohibition-era Manhattan. Based on the stories and experiences told to director James Gray (We Own the Night) by his grandparents, this Palme d'Or-nominated tragedy follows a Polish immigrant who falls prey to a charming but wicked businessman who leads her into prostitution.
"Young Polish immigrant Ewa (Cotillard), after being separated from her sister at Ellis Island, finds herself caught in a dangerous battle of wills with a shady burlesque manager (Phoenix)... [director] Gray imagines 1920s Manhattan as a dusty, sepia-toned dreamworld, sometimes faintly luminous but often dejectedly burnt-out. The same could be said of the film's heroes: after a charismatic magician (Jeremy Renner) starts to compete for Ewa's affections, The Immigrant builds steadily to its devastating climax. The film is also a morally ambiguous, open-ended reflection on family loyalty, urban disillusionment, and the unpredictable twists and turns of human motivation." (New York Film Festival)
This is the third collaboration between Gray and Phoenix, after crime saga We Own the Night (2007) and romance Two Lovers (2008). Both are also set in New York.
Less2013Rating: M120 minsUSA
DramaRomanceHistorical
- Director:
- James Gray ('We Own the Night', 'Two Lovers')
- Writer:
- James GrayRic Menello
- Cast:
- Marion CotillardJoaquin PhoenixJeremy RennerDagmara DominczykJicky SchneeMaja WampuszycIlia VolokAngela Sarafyan
The Immigrant | Reviews
85%113 reviewsRotten Tomatoes® Score
All reviews on Rotten Tomatoes
The New York Times
Earnestly and unabashedly melodramatic to an extent that may baffle audiences accustomed to clever, knowing historical fictions. But it also has a depth and purity of feeling...
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Hollywood Reporter
Quietly wrenching... sensitively observed melodrama. A splendidly atmospheric recreation of the Lower East Side, the intimately focused work is anchored by another superior performance Cotillard.
Full reviewThe Immigrant | Release Details
The Immigrant is available to stream in New Zealand now on Google Play and Apple TV.