Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Slow
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Mild
- melancholic
- wistful
- intimate
- quiet evening
- arthouse movie night
What critics said
Critics broadly praised the film as a beautifully photographed and well-acted period romance, while noting its familiar forbidden-love framework and deliberately subdued progression.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Abigail and Tallie's relationship develops under the strict marital and social conditions of 1850s upstate New York.
Critics specifically highlight the film stock, natural light, narrow compositions, and landscapes modeled on American painting.
Abigail considers the year through journal entries that contrast her stoicism with her increasingly complex emotions.
Abigail's bereavement and the precarious relationship between both women shape the romance's tragic emotional register.
Films like The World to Come, and why
Portrait of a Lady on Fire
shared attributes include a forbidden lesbian romance, restrained period drama, rural isolation, and tragic emotional intensity
Carol
shared attributes include a repressed same-sex relationship, austere historical setting, intimate performances, and bittersweet longing
Brokeback Mountain
shared attributes include a rural forbidden romance, melancholic atmosphere, emotional repression, and devastating consequences
Bright Star
shared attributes include lyrical historical romance, social constraint, painterly natural imagery, and quiet emotional suffering
Movie Details
- Director
- Mona Fastvold
- Release Date
- 2021-02-12
- Runtime
- 105 min
- Rating
- 7.0 / 10 (422)
Cast
- Katherine Waterston
- Casey Affleck
- Vanessa Kirby
- Christopher Abbott
- Kim Ciobanu
- Daniel Blumberg
- Andreea Vasile
- James Longshore
Where to watch in United States
- 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 World to Come about?
- In the harsh isolation of 1850s upstate New York, two married women discover a forbidden intimacy that briefly transforms lives shaped by grief and duty.
- What is The World to Come like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of The World to Come as slow, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as layered.
- Is The World to Come violent?
- Only mildly. Ember rates the violence in The World to Come as mild.
- What did critics think of The World to Come?
- Critics broadly praised the film as a beautifully photographed and well-acted period romance, while noting its familiar forbidden-love framework and deliberately subdued progression.
- Which films are like The World to Come?
- Films with a similar feel include Portrait of a Lady on Fire, Carol, Brokeback Mountain, and Bright Star.
- How long is The World to Come?
- The World to Come runs 105 minutes.
- Where can I watch The World to Come?
- In United States, The World to Come is available to rent or buy from Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home.
