Where’d You Go, Bernadette (2019)

Directed by: Richard Linklater | 105 minutes | comedy, drama | Actors: Cate Blanchett, Billy Crudup, Emma Nelson, Kristen Wiig, Patrick Sebes, Zoe Chao, Lee Harrington, David Paymer, Megan Mullally, Laurence Fishburne, Steve Zahn, Patrick Jordan, Shaun Cameron Hall, Kathryn Feeney, Richard Robichaux, Amy Rayko

When one of the greatest directors of his day (Richard Linklater) makes a film starring one of the most accomplished actresses of her generation (Cate Blanchett), it’s an understatement to say that expectations are high. Many film buffs will have become enthusiastic when they hear about the news of this collaboration. After all, a Linklakter movie starring Blanchett should be a huge success under any circumstance, right? ‘Where’d You Go, Bernadette’ proves the opposite in that respect.

The idea behind ‘Where’d You Go, Bernadette’ is interesting – the once successful architect Bernadette Fox (Blanchett) hates her contemporary existence. She is annoyed by the city where she lives with her family, her old colleagues, her neighbors and especially the parents of the children who go to school with her daughter Bee (Emma Nelson). Bernadette also suffers from anxiety and sleep disorders, as she spends most of her day at home sending her virtual assistant Manjula all sorts of nonsensical orders. Husband Elgie (Billy Crudup) thinks it’s high time for an intervention. To his regret, however, it does not come to that, because Bernadette disappears without a trace. Daughter Bee desperately tries to figure out where she went. During this quest, she discovers that her mother led a very secret life that she knew nothing about.

Richard Linklater has earned his fame as a director mainly through the films in which it seems as if he just lets the lives of his characters quietly ripple on the big screen. In ‘Dazed and Confused’ (1993), his story focuses on a group of high school graduates who use their newly acquired freedom to party. In his three-part ‘Before’ series to date, he follows Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy as Jesse and Céline over one day and observes how their love story develops. And in ‘Boyhood’ (2014), Linklater shows the process of a boy growing up over a period of no less than twelve years, in which he, like his actors, grew older every time. His latest film ‘Where’d You Go, Bernadette’ is probably the film that bears his signature the least. The film is a careful book adaptation of Maria Semple’s bestseller. It’s hard to determine why Linklater wanted to make this book into a movie, but it’s clear that a lot was lost in the editing.

Linklater has taken too much on his fork with this film adaptation. There is not one story element here that gets a full treatment. ‘Where’d You Go, Bernadette’ is a film that moves in all directions as a result. On the one hand, it is a drama about a family that has fallen apart, but on the other it is also a comedy with quirky slapstick moments. A Linklater film usually contains significantly more and better humor. Cate Blanchett nevertheless tries to deliver a good acting role due to the flaws of the script. Surprisingly enough, she succeeds in this. She knows how to perfectly express the eccentricity and tragedy of her character. At times the role seems a bit like her Oscar-winning role in ‘Blue Jasmine’ (2013), but she does it so well that she can be forgiven. A less good argument can be made for Linklater. Linklater, whose oeuvre is mainly characterized by little plot and many dialogues, negligently gives up his greatest strength here. The filmmaker has more to offer.