58
Metascore
4 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 70Los Angeles TimesMichael RechtshaffenLos Angeles TimesMichael RechtshaffenWith its probing camera and spare piano score, the film effectively creates a clinically sterile environment that’s as spiritually devoid as the soul of its protagonist, and while the inevitable twist ending doesn’t land with the unsettling thud it might have, getting there is quite the page-turner.
- 70Film ThreatAlan NgFilm ThreatAlan NgThe Motive is a fun, light film with a sad sack lead we can love and good laughs sprinkled throughout.
- 60The Hollywood ReporterJonathan HollandThe Hollywood ReporterJonathan HollandA high-risk shot at a screen adaptation of a novel within a novel, The Motive is entertaining and buzzes with fun ideas, but as an involving drama, it never gets past the first chapter.
- 50VarietyDennis HarveyVarietyDennis HarveyWhatever attracted Cuenca (“Cannibal”) to this material is seldom evident in his handling of it. Yet the material itself still lends the film its genuine if all-too-modest pleasures.