AVClub: By The Sea, the new vanity project from celebrity power couple Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, is full of beautiful people, beautiful scenery, beautiful music, beautiful clothes, beautiful cars, and beautiful hotels full of beautiful furniture on which these beautiful, famous posteriors can rest. But despite being surrounded by deep blue Maltese waters, quaint taverns operated by quainter barkeeps, and perfectly photogenic baguettes dusted with just the right amount of flour, no one in this movie is happy. If they are, just wait.
Dana Abercrombie from The Koalition writes:
"Missing out on a multitude of opportunities to make the narrative stronger, Jolie-Pitt settles for a pretty-looking film minus any heart or feeling. Stale, just like their marriage, the characters never do anything worthy of interest. The plot doesn’t have anything to say, and when the revelation is made at the end of the film, the audience is so physically drained from boredom it’s impossible for it to have an impact."
We Got This Covered
After a decade of professional separation post Mr. And Mrs. Smith, Brad and Angelina Jolie Pitt have reunited on the big screen in By The Sea – Jolie Pitt’s directorial followup to last year’s Unbroken. Both written and directed by the once tomb-raiding vixen, her latest is no happy-go-lucky romance brought upon by marital bliss, nor is it the heartfelt vanity project initially teased.
Quite a weird cinematic honeymoon for Brad and Angelina, but the subject matter is a rather gripping one, if not a bit ham-fisted in its reveal. It's a film to admire, but it's a shame that real life probably provides more restraint in their performance in actuality.
Dana Abercrombie from Film Takeout writes:
"By the Sea puts the “boring” and “pretty” in “pretty boring.” This would have worked better as a silent, visual film. This way, the audience would be safe from the silent screams of their souls slowly dying from the time wasted watching a film that has nothing to say."
