Alicia Vikander’s New Movie Divides Critics Over Its Slow-Burn Pace
Alicia Vikander’s New Movie Divides Critics Over Its Slow-Burn Pace
Evolve EditorsMon, September 7, 2026 at 10:03 PM UTC
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(Photo Credit: Warner Bros. Pictures)
Alicia Vikander‘s latest drama has received a largely negative early response from critics. Competing for the Golden Lion, the arthouse film attracted attention for its cast and unusual origins at the 83rd Venice International Film Festival. Its slow pace has emerged as a recurring criticism in early reviews.
Directed by Andrea Pallaoro, The Echo Chamber is based on the final unproduced screenplay co-written by the late Italian filmmaker Bernardo Bertolucci, Ilaria Bernardini, and Ludovica Rampoldi. Luca Marinelli stars as Leo, a troubled music producer struggling with addiction and emotional and physical pain.
Vikander plays Anne, a physiotherapist who becomes increasingly involved in Leo’s treatment and personal life, while Susan Sarandon appears as a celebrated folk singer.
What are critics saying about The Echo Chamber?
The performances have drawn some praise, particularly the work from Marinelli, Vikander, and Sarandon. However, the film’s pacing has proved much more divisive. While the film’s quiet, intimate approach has some appeal, other reviewers feel the story takes too long to reach its conclusion.
Variety‘s Jessica Kiang wrote, “Long before the end of its overstretched two-hours-plus, and certainly well before that overwrought final-act twist, it feels like we have put in rather too much time with this couple, and maybe we ought to just leave them to it.”
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Nicholas Bell of IONCINEMA.com wrote in his review, “It’s a sometimes morose but ultimately poignant analysis of artistic endeavor as a potential salvation when our mortal shortcomings sabotage our best intentions.”
Flick Feast‘s Dallas King wrote, “For a film about a man struggling with an addiction to painkillers, it would have been nice to have something to help numb the effects of this painfully slow and tedious chamber piece.”
Sheri Linden of The Hollywood Reporter wrote, “As the most inscrutable of the story’s characters, Vikander strikes an unsettling nerve between openness and stealth.”
The Echo Chamber currently has no finalized Rotten Tomatoes score available at the time of writing. The film is scheduled for an Italian theatrical release on September 10.
Originally reported by Nitish Singh on ComingSoon.net.
The post Alicia Vikander’s New Movie Divides Critics Over Its Slow-Burn Pace appeared first on Mandatory.
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
