Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Mild
- melancholic
- darkly comic
- unsettling
- quiet evening
- adult drama night
What critics said
Critics broadly viewed the film as a mixed, uneven literary adaptation elevated by Al Pacino’s performance but limited by uncertain plotting.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Simon Axler is an aging actor whose collapse onstage and uncertainty about his purpose drive the drama.
The conclusion leaves Axler’s audience and fellow actors unsure what is real and what is not.
Axler’s affair with the much younger Pegeen emerges while he is confronting aging, dementia, and suicidal thoughts.
The narrative begins with an incident during a Broadway play and ends onstage amid uncertainty and fractured perception.
Films like The Humbling, and why
Birdman
aging performer, theatrical self-doubt, and darkly comic psychological unraveling
The Reader
literary relationship drama combining sexual provocation, emotional instability, and bleak comedy
The Father
older protagonist confronting mortality and fractured identity through intimate dramatic relationships
The Last Mistress
erotic adult drama with theatricality, self-deception, and morally messy relationships
Movie Details
- Director
- Barry Levinson
- Release Date
- 2014-12-31
- Runtime
- 112 min
- Rating
- 5.1 / 10 (156)
Cast
- Al Pacino
- Greta Gerwig
- Dylan Baker
- Charles Grodin
- Nina Arianda
- Kyra Sedgwick
- Dianne Wiest
- Dan Hedaya
- Annika Pergament
- Peter Francis James
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- Amazon Prime Video, fuboTV, Amazon Prime Video with Ads, Howdy Amazon Channel
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is The Humbling about?
- An aging Broadway actor’s affair and mental unraveling blur the line between theatrical performance and lived reality.
- What is The Humbling like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of The Humbling as measured, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as layered.
- Is The Humbling violent?
- Only mildly. Ember rates the violence in The Humbling as mild.
- What did critics think of The Humbling?
- Critics broadly viewed the film as a mixed, uneven literary adaptation elevated by Al Pacino’s performance but limited by uncertain plotting.
- Which films are like The Humbling?
- Films with a similar feel include Birdman, The Reader, The Father, and The Last Mistress.
- How long is The Humbling?
- The Humbling runs 112 minutes.
- Where can I watch The Humbling?
- In United States, The Humbling streams on Amazon Prime Video, fuboTV, Amazon Prime Video with Ads, Howdy Amazon Channel.
