--- title: "Scenes from a Marriage: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/tv/scenes-from-a-marriage-2021/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/tv/scenes-from-a-marriage-2021" critics_score: 65 critics_reviews: 12 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." --- # Scenes from a Marriage (2021): what the critics said Critics' score 65 from 12 reviews: 7 positive, 4 mixed, 1 negative. Most critics come away admiring the two people on screen more than the series around them. The reviews lean positive, and the praise clusters almost entirely on Oscar Isaac and Jessica Chastain, whose performances are called honest, agonising and the main reason to keep watching a talky two-hander about a marriage coming apart. Several also credit Hagai Levi’s script for catching how impossible neutral conversation becomes once a couple has soured, and for treating separation with some care. The reservations are about the remake itself. A good number of critics question why Bergman’s original needed revisiting, finding the update familiar, overly stagey or short on fresh thinking about modern relationships; Empire calls it a head exercise without the original’s emotional force. The spread is wide, from warm early festival notices to a cooler run of British reviews, and The i Paper stands alone in finding no chemistry between the leads, which most others count as the series’ chief strength. ## IndieWire — Ben Travers Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 4 September 2021. Festival review. The update of Bergman's miniseries is affecting and exquisitely acted, finding its own path while remaining in parallel to familiar territory. It singles out the honest, agonizing performances of Oscar Isaac and Jessica Chastain for praise. [Read the review](https://www.indiewire.com/criticism/shows/scenes-from-a-marriage-review-hbo-oscar-isaac-jessica-chastain-1234661725/) ## Vulture Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 10 September 2021. The HBO miniseries belongs to its stars, who give life to the story through extraordinarily well-acted and often affecting performances. It singles out Oscar Isaac and Jessica Chastain's chemistry and believable portrayal of a couple with deep history for praise. [Read the review](https://www.vulture.com/article/scenes-from-a-marriage-hbo-miniseries-review-oscar-isaac-jessica-chastain.html) ## Evening Standard Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 12 October 2021. The update is emotionally gruelling but the powerful central performances from Chastain and Isaac keep viewers engaged in this talky two-hander about the painful work of ending a relationship. [Read the review](https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/tvfilm/scenes-from-a-marriage-review-sky-atlantic-oscar-isaac-jessica-chastain-b959814.html) ## The Guardian Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 11 October 2021. The remake is relentlessly intimate and focuses on one fracturing couple with a dense script that captures the impossibility of neutral communication once a relationship sours. It deals sensitively with questions of long-term relationships, gender dynamics and the worth of separation, with strong performances from Chastain and Isaac. [Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2021/oct/11/scenes-from-a-marriage-review-jessica-chastain-oscar-isaac) ## The Times — Carol Midgley Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 12 October 2021. The review highlights a relationship breakdown that is compelling and hard to turn away from, praising the intense focus on the central couple's emotional turmoil. [Read the review](https://www.thetimes.com/culture/tv-radio/article/scenes-from-a-marriage-review-a-relationship-breakdown-i-couldnt-turn-away-from-l2v759w5f) ## Empire — Ian Freer Fi1m's normalised score 60/100 (inferred from the text). 13 October 2021. Levi's update is an interesting, beautifully played acting showcase but lacks the emotional wallop of Bergman's original, feeling more like a detached head exercise than raw marital drama. Spectacular turns from Chastain and Isaac are the main draw in an otherwise unconvincing remake. [Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/tv/reviews/scenes-from-a-marriage/) ## The Hollywood Reporter — Daniel Fienberg Fi1m's normalised score 55/100 (inferred from the text). 4 September 2021. Festival review. Tremendous performances from Chastain and Isaac elevate this otherwise uninspired, derivative adaptation that feels insufficiently reflective of its source or modern context. It succeeds as a performance-driven piece but lacks fresh insights into relationships. [Read the review](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-reviews/scenes-from-marriage-2021-1235008527/) ## Variety Fi1m's normalised score 50/100 (inferred from the text). 4 September 2021. Festival review. The series excels as a theatrical acting exercise for Chastain and Isaac but undercuts its own reality and fails to deliver coherent insight into marriage or acrimony. Fleeting cinema-vérité elements highlight its limitations rather than strengths. [Read the review](https://variety.com/2021/tv/reviews/scenes-from-a-marriage-venice-jessica-chastain-oscar-isaac-1235049878/) ## The i Paper — Ed Power Fi1m's normalised score 40/100 (inferred from the text). 11 October 2021. The gender-swapped remake fails to convince due to a striking lack of chemistry between Chastain and Isaac, making their marriage implausible despite strong individual performances. A few moments, like the abortion reveal, land with authenticity amid an otherwise stagey drama. [Read the review](https://inews.co.uk/culture/television/scenes-from-a-marriage-sky-atlantic-review-jessica-chastain-oscar-isaac-1243031) ## Collider — Ross Bonaime Rating B. 12 September 2021. The critic finds the remake unnecessary and somewhat flawed in its approach, but praises the powerful performances by Oscar Isaac and Jessica Chastain that make the emotional truths about relationships compelling. [Read the review](https://collider.com/scenes-from-a-marriage-review-hbo-oscar-isaac-jessica-chastain/) ## Paste — Radhika Menon Rating 7.2/10. 9 September 2021. The review criticizes the series for not warranting a remake, lacking uniqueness or depth beyond the original, but highlights the strong chemistry and performances of Chastain and Isaac as the main saving grace. [Read the review](https://www.pastemagazine.com/tv/scenes-from-a-marriage/scenes-from-a-marriage-review) ## The Ringer — Alison Herman Fi1m's normalised score 45/100 (inferred from the text). 13 September 2021. The HBO remake, created and directed by Hagai Levi, updates Bergman’s original with contemporary gender roles and pandemic-era production flourishes but remains a claustrophobic portrait of a dissolving marriage. While Chastain and Isaac deliver intense performances, the series feels overly familiar and emotionally draining without offering fresh insight into modern relationships. [Read the review](https://www.theringer.com/2021/09/13/tv/scenes-from-a-marriage-review-hbo-ingmar-bergman) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/tv/scenes-from-a-marriage-2021.md