There’s something in the water at Venice.
Every year, at least a few films premiere on the Lido to euphoric acclaim, only to collapse once they play outside the festival bubble. Is it the intoxicating scenery? The atmosphere of cinematic excitement? Whatever the cause, Venice has a tendency to overpraise.
The most infamous case remains Alexander Payne’s “Downsizing” in 2017, which debuted to unanimous raves (a whopping 92 on Metacritic) before being mercilessly torn apart a week later at TIFF.
Now, Kathryn Bigelow’s “A House of Dynamite” looks like the latest entry in that tradition. After earning rapturous reviews in Venice, the film has completely bombed at the New York Film Festival.
At its press screening, the credits sparked immediate laughter, scoffs, and even some boos from the crowd. Yes—boos at NYFF, where audiences are typically reserved and polite. I double-checked this with multiple attendees, and it’s 100% true. Even a few stunned reactions circulated on social media to confirm it.
A quick scan of Letterboxd only reinforces the NYFF response: reactions are middling at best. The early Venice raves already felt puzzling, and the broader rollout seems to be exposing the film’s weaknesses. Its sharpest assets are confined to the lean, gripping opening thirty minutes, elevated by Volker Bertelmann’s lush score (though it undeniably recalls his work on Conclave). After that, the film settles into a Rashomon-inspired structure that quickly grows repetitive, draining the energy built up in the first act.
The NYFF drubbing has been so severe that I reached out to a Netflix-connected source to see how the streamer was handling the fallout. The response was pretty funny: “Jay Kelly is their main priority this awards season, not ‘Dynamite.” That’s a curious development —especially given that “Jay Kelly” itself hasn’t been collecting stellar reviews.
What’s the moral of this story? Festivals—especially Venice—can create an echo chamber of hype that doesn’t always survive beyond the Lido. “A House of Dynamite” seemed like a surefire contender just weeks ago, but the NYFF response has shown how quickly momentum can evaporate once the glow wears off.
