Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- None
- melancholic
- devastating
- intimate
- quiet evening
- reflective viewing
What critics said
Critics broadly praised the film's restrained approach to grief and its slow-building emotional power, supported by strong performances.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Stephen and Julie Lewis remain defined by the devastating absence of their daughter and its effect on their marriage.
The story uses time shifts, dreams, and memory-like transitions to externalize Stephen's emotional disorientation.
The critical consensus specifically highlights the film's slow-building impact and resistance to melodrama.
Stephen's experience of his missing daughter is filtered through recollection, longing, and temporal uncertainty.
Films like The Child in Time, and why
Rabbit Hole
shared intimate grief drama, marital rupture, and restrained emotional devastation
The Deep End of the Ocean
shared missing-child trauma, fractured family relationships, and slow-building dramatic intensity
Atonement
shared literary adaptation, bereavement, memory, and emotionally complex domestic drama
The Fountain
shared surreal temporal slippage, grief, and a strained relationship rendered through dreamlike drama
Movie Details
- Director
- Julian Farino
- Release Date
- 2018-07-05
- Runtime
- 90 min
- Rating
- 5.8 / 10 (106)
Cast
- Benedict Cumberbatch
- Kelly Macdonald
- Stephen Campbell Moore
- Saskia Reeves
- Andrea Hall
- Jim Creighton
- Beatrice White
- Rosa-Marie Lewis
- Franc Ashman
- Anna Madeley
Where to watch in United States
- Rent
- Google Play Movies, YouTube
- Buy
- Google Play Movies, YouTube
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is The Child in Time about?
- A grieving children’s author struggles to preserve his marriage and sense of reality after his daughter vanishes.
- What is The Child in Time like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of The Child in Time as measured, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as layered.
- Is The Child in Time violent?
- No — Ember's analysis finds no violence in The Child in Time.
- What did critics think of The Child in Time?
- Critics broadly praised the film's restrained approach to grief and its slow-building emotional power, supported by strong performances.
- Which films are like The Child in Time?
- Films with a similar feel include Rabbit Hole, The Deep End of the Ocean, Atonement, and The Fountain.
- How long is The Child in Time?
- The Child in Time runs 90 minutes.
- Where can I watch The Child in Time?
- In United States, The Child in Time is available to rent or buy from Google Play Movies, YouTube.
