--- title: "Margaret" year: 2011 kind: "film" canonical: "https://film.one/film/margaret" fi1m_score: 78 critics_score: 67 critics_reviews: 18 published: "2026-09-16T13:25:12.628013+00:00" updated: "2026-09-16T13:25:13.168737+00:00" region: "US" licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Margaret (2011) Directed by Kenneth Lonergan · 2h 30m · MPA R · Drama **Fi1m score: 78** · Critics 67 from 18 reviews *In a sentence:* Anna Paquin makes us care about a teenager we would struggle to finish a conversation with > Kenneth Lonergan’s *Margaret* is worth the hard work it sometimes makes of watching. Anna Paquin gives its quarrelling teenager a painful credibility, though the crowded story and uneven editing can make 150 minutes feel longer. ## Synopsis In New York, teenager Lisa Cohen (Anna Paquin) helps to cause a fatal accident and begins to pursue justice. Her own responsibility leaves her struggling to decide what she can put right and what she wants from the people around her. Joan (J. Smith-Cameron), Maretti (Mark Ruffalo) and Emily (Jeannie Berlin) are among those whose lives intersect with hers. As Lisa Cohen tries to make herself understood, guilt and anger complicate the conversations. Other people have their own claims to make, and her determination to be heard does not help her listen. ## Review Kenneth Lonergan’s *Margaret* is a good, demanding drama about a teenager who wants justice before she quite understands what she is asking for. A teenager in New York helps to cause a fatal accident, then pursues justice while struggling with her own guilt. At 150 minutes, the film has room for several people’s troubles, and sometimes seems determined to give everyone equal speaking time. It rewards patience chiefly because Anna Paquin keeps Lisa Cohen’s distress believable through some punishing stretches of argument. Anna Paquin makes Lisa Cohen’s arguments sound urgent enough that disagreement seems to wound her. The performance can be abrasive, and Kenneth Lonergan does not keep supplying excuses for her. We felt sorry for her even when we wanted her to stop talking. Her certainty keeps slipping into hurt, and Anna Paquin makes that change painfully visible without asking us to approve of everything Lisa Cohen says. Jeannie Berlin is especially valuable as Emily, giving another person’s feelings enough force to interrupt our concentration on Lisa Cohen. She does not seem to be waiting for the lead to finish before doing her own acting. That matters in a drama which keeps asking who is entitled to speak for somebody else’s suffering. Kenneth Lonergan’s writing gives competing claims enough weight that we cannot simply choose our favourite person and let that settle every disagreement. Ryszard Lenczewski’s cinematography makes New York feel too busy to organise itself around one person’s distress. We believe in the lives going on around these characters, which is partly a credit to Dan Leigh’s unobtrusive production design. These contributions keep the crowded story from feeling as though everybody has been assembled solely to debate Lisa Cohen’s predicament. Nico Muhly’s music has less hold on us than the voices; we have plenty to attend to whenever these people start talking. The editing is harder to defend. Anne McCabe and Mike Fay have to keep a crowded story legible, and too often the change from one scene to the next feels like an interruption. A conversation can leave us wanting to sit with what has just been said, only for another concern to take over before its importance is clear. We do not need every loose end tidied away, but there are passages in which the film makes us work too hard to remember which dispute we are following. As a coming-of-age drama, *Margaret* is unusually reluctant to make growing up look orderly. Lisa Cohen can recognise something about herself without immediately becoming easier to live with, and Kenneth Lonergan allows that awkwardness to persist. There is wit in the overconfidence of people who think saying something clearly will make everybody else accept it. The limitation is that repetition sometimes replaces further understanding; another quarrel does not always tell us more than the previous one. The right company for *Margaret* is somebody who can bear an argument without immediately deciding who has won. Its length requires patience, and a taste for difficult conversations helps considerably. We would not choose it for an evening that needs cheering up. Choose it when there is time afterwards to disagree about Lisa Cohen. *Fi1m score 78, published 16 September 2026.* ## What the critics say Most critics respond positively to Margaret, with praise clustering around Anna Paquin’s raw, committed performance and Kenneth Lonergan’s writing about guilt, responsibility and difficult human relationships. Jeannie Berlin also draws repeated praise, including from critics who find the film disappointing. Supporters value the sprawling New York setting and emotionally untidy storytelling, arguing that the film’s ambition and close observation make its unevenness worth accepting. The spread is wide, however, and structure is the main dividing point. What admirers find searching and expansive, detractors find overlong, unfocused or exhausting; even several positive reviews acknowledge these problems. Variety questions the credibility of characters’ motivations as well as the film’s unwieldy construction. The versions under discussion also matter: HeyUGuys offers emphatic praise for the extended cut’s treatment of responsibility, while Collider celebrates that version’s writing and lived-in world. The consensus favours the performances more consistently than the storytelling. ### Reviews we read (18) - **Time Out**, Keith Uhlich (5/5): This is a glorious mess of frayed-edges filmmaking with staggering cumulative power. Paquin gives a ferociously committed performance as the film goes disturbingly and brilliantly off the rails after the central accident. [Read](https://www.timeout.com/movies/margaret-1) - **The Guardian**, Peter Bradshaw (90/100, inferred): The critic finds the film a stunning, provocative and brilliant sprawling drama of modern life. He singles out Anna Paquin's raw, thin-skinned lead performance for particular praise. [Read](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2011/dec/01/margaret-film-review) - **Empire**, Guy Lodge (85/100, inferred): The critic finds the film a rich and searching drama despite its long production troubles, calling it knotty, ambitious and full of messy human truths. They single out Anna Paquin’s startling central performance for particular praise. [Read](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/margaret-review/) - **The New Yorker**, Richard Brody (85/100, inferred): The critic praises the film's vast ambition and sublime heights as a daring, post-9/11 vision of New York as the essence of American ideals, deeming its flaws insignificant in light of its core strengths. Performances, particularly Anna Paquin's and Jeannie Berlin's standout supporting turn, are highlighted as honors to the material. [Read](https://www.newyorker.com/culture/richard-brody/margaret-from-the-hudson-to-the-pacific) - **Evening Standard** (70/100, inferred): The critic calls the film too long yet the work of a genius, praising its witty, generous multi-stranded storytelling and subtle truths. They single out the many strong female roles and especially Anna Paquin’s astounding lead performance. [Read](https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/film/margaret-review-7427865.html) - **IndieWire**, Eric Kohn (70/100, inferred): The long-delayed film flopped at the box office but deserves better for its ambitious, messy exploration of guilt and human connections in post-9/11 New York. [Read](https://www.indiewire.com/criticism/culture/review-lonergans-long-delayed-margaret-flopped-at-the-box-office-but-it-deserves-better-51871/) - **Slant Magazine**, Kalvin Henely (70/100, inferred): Lonergan crafts an unwieldy but far-reaching portrait of a teen's evolving self-awareness and the ripples of an accidental death, using jagged emotions and New York settings to mirror characters' agitation and dislocation. [Read](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/margaret/) - **The Hollywood Reporter**, Sheri Linden (70/100, inferred): Fine performances and bristling language compel in this overlong, often off-putting but well-observed New York story of a teen's guilt-driven quest for justice after a fatal accident she helped cause. [Read](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/margaret-film-review-241590/) - **Little White Lies**, Ashley Clark (3/3/3): The critic finds the narrative flabby and the central character unlikeable but notes that ideas and scenes spark along the way. Anna Paquin delivers a career-best performance in this important post-9/11 movie with its own troubled mythology. [Read](https://lwlies.com/reviews/margaret) - **Screen Daily** (50/100, inferred): More than a bit manic, the film has as much distinct wide-eyed personality as it has little focus and is likely to be misunderstood. Lonergan is a gifted writer whose sophomore effort occasionally howls with an energy and pain that summons the tangled emotions of adolescence. [Read](https://www.screendaily.com/margaret/5032804.article) - **The New York Times**, A.O. Scott (40/100, inferred): The critic finds the film disappointing overall due to persistent editing problems that were never resolved, resulting in a messy and unfocused narrative despite its post-9/11 themes. Strong performances, especially from Anna Paquin as the lead and Jeannie Berlin in a supporting role, are singled out for praise amid the flaws. [Read](https://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/30/movies/margaret-directed-by-kenneth-lonergan-review.html) - **Los Angeles Times**, Betsy Sharkey (35/100, inferred): The critic laments the film as an unrealized dream that teases with moments of brilliance but ultimately frustrates due to its fitful structure and the scars of its troubled post-production. Lonergan's talent for relationships and actors is praised, but the overambition and editing disputes left it a wasted opportunity compared to his debut. [Read](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/la-xpm-2011-sep-30-la-et-margaret-20110930-story.html) - **Variety**, Justin Chang (25/100, inferred): The critic describes the film as an angry, cacophonous, and unwieldy storm scarred by its legal and editing limbo, hyperarticulate yet rarely eloquent with scenes that lack credible motivation. It stands as a cautionary tale of sophomore overambition despite the strong ensemble cast including Anna Paquin. [Read](https://variety.com/2011/film/reviews/margaret-1117946247/) - **HeyUGuys**, Jon Lyus (5/5): The extended cut is praised as one of the best films of the past ten years, with Lonergan fixing the gaze on planes, criss-crossing conversations, and cold honesty in key scenes that build understanding of the lead character's sense of responsibility. The afterglow is powerful and rare. [Read](https://www.heyuguys.com/margaret-dvd-review-making-sense-of-the-madness-of-crowds/) - **Collider**, Andre Dellamorte (90/100, inferred): The critic praises Lonergan's writing and the film's lived-in world, highlighting strong performances especially from Jeannie Berlin and Anna Paquin in the extended cut. He views it as a masterpiece about America and retroactively one of the best films of 2011. [Read](https://collider.com/margaret-blu-ray-review/) - **The Playlist**, Drew Taylor (positive section); The Playlist Staff / editor-in-chief (critical section) (B+): One critic hails it as a picaresque, beautifully rendered and affecting drama worth the wait, with an electric charge in performances and a grand opera finale that forgives earlier messiness. The counter-review finds a good movie inside but calls the theatrical cut unfocused, self-important and ultimately frustrating due to its baggy structure and shrill lead. [Read](https://theplaylist.net/review-minor-masterpiece-or-bloated-melodrama-margaret-could-be-the-ultimate-argument-starter-20110928/) - **Eye for Film**, Anton Bitel (70/100, inferred): The critic calls the released version a very good film with superb ensemble acting and a rich, messy collection of moral dilemmas that sticks in the mind. However, its political allegory has been blunted by bad timing and delayed release, making it feel like just another rites-of-passage indie. [Read](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/margaret-film-review-by-anton-bitel) - **The Wrap**, Alonso Duralde (20/100, inferred): The critic calls the film a pretentious, talky bore and a mess that fails to engage despite its many incidents and themes. He singles out Jeannie Berlin's performance for praise as a standout amid the dullness. [Read](https://www.thewrap.com/messy-margaret-ambitious-incoherent-disaster-31405/) ## Details - **Director:** Kenneth Lonergan - **Director:** Kenneth Lonergan - **Writer:** Kenneth Lonergan - **Cinematography:** Ryszard Lenczewski - **Editor:** Mike Fay, Anne McCabe - **Music:** Nico Muhly - **Production design:** Dan Leigh - **Costume design:** Melissa Toth - **Producer:** Scott Rudin, Gary Gilbert, Sydney Pollack - **Cast:** Anna Paquin as Lisa Cohen; J. Smith-Cameron as Joan; Mark Ruffalo as Maretti; Jeannie Berlin as Emily; Jean Reno as Ramon; Sarah Steele as Becky; John Gallagher Jr. as Darren; Cyrus Hernstadt as Curtis - **Runtime:** 2h 30m - **Certificate (MPA):** R - **Release (the US):** 30 September 2011 - **Genres:** Drama - **Budget:** $14 million - **Box office:** $46,495 - **Trailer:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g85NSsbzlyI ## Where to watch in the US - Hulu: streaming, hd, leaving 2026-10-01 - Disney+: add-on, hd - Amazon Prime Video: rent $3.99, hd - Apple TV: rent $3.99, hd - Amazon Prime Video: buy $4.99, hd - Apple TV: buy $9.99, sd *Checked 2026-09-16.* Also available in: AE, AT, AU, BE, BG, CA, CH, CZ, DE, DK, EE, ES, FI, FR, GB, GR, HU, IE, IL, IT, JP, LT, NL, NO, NZ, PL, PT, SE, UA, US, ZA. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country. ## If you liked this - *A Separation* (2011), Fi1m 93: For another painful argument about responsibility, with nobody allowed an easy answer. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/a-separation.md) - *You Can Count on Me* (2000): A smaller drama with the same patience for people who disappoint each other. - *The 400 Blows* (1959), Fi1m 91: Another adolescent whose difficult behaviour deserves more attention than the adults allow. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/the-400-blows.md) - *Secrets & Lies* (1996), Fi1m 88: Family rows given enough time to reveal the hurt behind the shouting. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/secrets-and-lies.md) - *The Sweet Hereafter* (1997), Fi1m 88: Another community struggles to decide who should answer for an accident. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/the-sweet-hereafter.md) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. 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