Where'd You Go, Bernadette

Where'd You Go, Bernadette (2019) is Richard Linklater's dramedy, ready to watch online on iFILM. Bernadette Fox was once a visionary architect; now she hides from the world in a crumbling Seattle mansion and trades barbs with the school-run moms. Just before a family trip to Antarctica, she vanishes without a word.

Tracking her down falls to fifteen-year-old Bee and her father. The search slowly uncovers why a brilliant woman abandoned the work that defined her and walled herself in: a restless gift with nowhere to go curdled into anxiety and sharp edges. Cate Blanchett carries the picture almost alone, swinging between caustic comedy and quiet despair, with Billy Crudup, Kristen Wiig and Laurence Fishburne in support.

Adapted from Maria Semple's bestseller, Linklater softens the novel's satire toward a melodrama about the fear of creating again. It's a film for anyone who recognizes a heroine who is smart, prickly and lost inside her own perfectionism. Stream Where'd You Go, Bernadette online on iFILM.