Plaza is wonderful in the role of Alison, going from slithery, diffident cool girl in the first vignette to howlingly paranoid wronged wife in the second.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Sep 23, 2024

Black Bear does, after all, stink of men writing women as cute dolls to be played with. It’s the sardonic, versatile Plaza performance that saves Levine’s Black Bear.

| Feb 6, 2024

Black Bear is an enveloping experience that shines because of the shameless commitment of its stars and the privileged view it provides on the abusive bond between artists. Just do not try to find an answer to everything you see on screen.

| Original Score: B | Mar 20, 2023

Black Bear is a fascinating study of the subjectivity of art and a fantastic showcase for a trio of actors working at the top of their game.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Nov 12, 2022

Most critics are using the tagline to describe Black Bear as a lot to unpack, and it is. Though, it is kind of like unpacking a bag you did not put together and then putting it back into a suitcase that looks awfully similar.

| Original Score: 3.5/5 | Sep 9, 2022

As a black comedy with dramatic ink, it seems to me somewhat hackneyed when it remains subject to superficial situations. [Full review in Spanish]

| Original Score: 6/10 | Aug 27, 2022

The two halves, though cleverly explained in the final frames, clash more than connect. Both have similar toxic underpinning, but only one grabbed my attention and left me feeling something.

| Original Score: 2.5/5 | Aug 19, 2022

A fun and ultimately devastating exploration of the creative process and all of its unforgiving, unyielding qualities.

| Original Score: 8/10 | Jul 6, 2022

The film is an overdose of emotional terror...

| Original Score: 5/5 | May 24, 2022

Black Bear isnt a film to watch idly on a Saturday night, occasionally glancing at your phone. Its meant to be studied, absorbed, and discussed for about an hour afterwards.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Mar 2, 2022

A provocative film that holds our interest.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Feb 26, 2022

An arduous but rewarding watch, and you don't have to have sat on a dock in a red bathing suit and all that to appreciate its unusual angles on the art of making art.

| Jan 13, 2022

A shadow version of 'Day for Night.' As the layers of reality get stripped away, and the film reveals itself more and more deeply, we get to see deeper and deeper into the Plaza character's mind. It is superb.

| Sep 13, 2021

It might be a film about an artist in creative flux, but it transforms that flux into something slippery, beguiling and utterly enthralling.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Jul 29, 2021

Even if you spot the final twist coming a mile off, there are a few mysteries left to ponder -- and on the other hand, there can be little doubt that Plaza's performance is a tour de force.

| Original Score: 3.5/5 | Jul 16, 2021

Black Bear offers a singular viewing experience. The film morphs and mutates before our very eyes, spinning and whirring towards its bewildering conclusion.

| Original Score: 3.5/5 | Jun 25, 2021

Black Bear refuses to give you a simple answer to its own mystery-instead, it engulfs you in its surreal nightmare, wholly and without compromise.

| Jun 23, 2021

Compelling actors and the odd biting one-liner keep the film sporadically entertaining, but there's a more rewarding experience somewhere beneath the surface, itching to get out.

| Original Score: 2/5 | May 19, 2021

It's a lot easier to switch channels than walk out of a screening. Viewers looking for an easy watch with the guy from Girls and the girl from Parks and Rec are in for a rude awakening. But it's worth it.

| Original Score: 4/5 | May 17, 2021

Aubrey Plaza is an unpredictable powerhouse in writer-director Lawrence Michael Levine's two-part negotiation of the untrustworthy power dynamics of a filmmaking couple.

| May 11, 2021