If you want better editing quality
Choose Honeyjoon. It scores 5.0 vs 2.0 for editing quality, with a 4.2 overall score.
What They Had Movie Review
Content guidance
Profanity, sexual references including a discussion of sexual-assault risk, a makeout scene and drinking references call for mature judgment. Dementia, family conflict and loss can be emotionally distressing.
Official rating
R
Bottom Line
Choose it for powerful ensemble acting and an intimate look at dementia caregiving. Skip it if familiar family subplots and neatly resolved endings make emotional drama feel forced.
Best for
Viewers who appreciate intimate ensemble dramas, particularly caregivers and families navigating aging, dementia and difficult care decisions.
Not for
Viewers seeking an unpredictable plot or a tightly focused account of the patient’s experience. Some may find the family arguments and sentimental closure frustrating.
Verdict
What They Had is most persuasive when its family argues over care, obligation and the fear of separation. Robert Forster and Michael Shannon are frequent standouts, while Blythe Danner’s moments of recognition and Hilary Swank’s divided loyalties give the conflict emotional weight. Sardonic humor often keeps the difficult subject humane rather than relentlessly bleak. The main tradeoff is the screenplay: marital trouble, college anxieties and other side stories enrich the family portrait for some viewers but distract from dementia care for others. The conclusion is similarly divisive, earning praise for quiet reconciliation and criticism for tidy resolutions and blunt symbolism. Its strongest appeal is to viewers who value intimate ensemble drama and recognizable caregiving dilemmas over narrative surprise.
Feature Scorecards
Summary
38 reviewed features-
Very positive 4.5-5.012 (32%)
-
Positive 3.5-4.417 (45%)
-
Neutral 2.5-3.44 (11%)
-
Negative 1.5-2.45 (13%)
Pros highlights
-
The family crisis can be intimate, funny and deeply affecting, particularly when caregiving takes center stage. Conventional plotting and sentimental resolutions divide reactions.
-
Forster, Shannon and Danner supply many of the strongest moments, combining stubbornness, vulnerability and tenderness. The supporting ensemble often outshines the familiar plotting.
-
The ensemble is the most reliable strength, turning strained family arguments into vivid, often moving scenes. Even skeptical takes credit the actors with lifting conventional material.
-
Caregiving disputes, sibling resentment and moments of recognition often feel painfully true to life. Some question the family’s credibility or the softened picture of dementia.
-
The caregiving strain, fleeting recognition and fear of separation bring many viewers to tears. Some find the emotion too heavily engineered or the overall film unexpectedly distant.
-
Gallows humor and prickly family banter provide relief without usually trivializing dementia. Laughter can feel uncomfortable, but often captures how families cope.
Cons highlights
-
The caregiving dispute creates a compelling center, but the surrounding marital and college subplots divide viewers. Some welcome the broader family portrait; others feel it crowds out dementia or resolves too easily.
-
The ending is the clearest fault line: restrained reconciliation moves some viewers, while others object to tidy closure, drawn-out farewells and blunt symbolism.
-
The dysfunctional-family setup and familiar narrative beats invite repeated complaints about cliché. Strong acting helps, but does not make the plotting surprising.
-
The film explores commitment, family roles and the burden of dementia care. Its breadth can enrich the portrait, but can also dilute the central issue or leave hard questions unanswered.
Cast & Creators
-
NobertForster is a frequent standout as a devoted but immovable husband and father, revealing fear beneath belligerence. The role’s theatricality and occasional caricature draw reservations from a few viewers.
-
Ruth EverhardtDanner brings warmth, lyricism and heartbreaking shifts of recognition to Ruth. Praise for her restraint is tempered by concerns that the role is peripheral or the illness too adorably softened.
-
Nicky EverhardtShannon’s prickly humor and exposed resentment repeatedly stand out, with several assessments calling the work among his best. One dissenting take finds angry mannerisms obscure his charisma.
-
Bridget ErtzSwank makes her daughter’s divided loyalties and private unhappiness tangible, often through restrained expression. Some find her earnestness tiring or her flirtatious scenes less convincing.
-
Writer, DirectorChomko’s debut earns substantial praise for sensitive observation, grounded humor and emotional precision. Others find the staging theatrical and the writing conventional, with distracting subplots and overly tidy closure.
-
CinematographerSchaefer’s photography is praised as classy, polished and unobtrusive, supporting the focus on psychology and storytelling.
Compared With Category Average
Compared with other Movies, this product is above average in runtime, ethical handling of deaths, realism, near average in story quality, lead performance, below average in sound design, historical accuracy, editing quality.
Comparison summary
37 compared features-
Above average 0.4+ pts higher24 (65%)
-
Same as average within 0.3 pts4 (11%)
-
Below average 0.4+ pts lower9 (24%)
Largest category differences
| Attribute | This product | Category average | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| sound design | 2.0 | 4.1 | -2.1 |
| runtime | 4.5 | 2.8 | +1.7 |
| historical accuracy | 1.8 | 3.3 | -1.6 |
| ethical handling of deaths | 4.5 | 2.9 | +1.6 |
| realism | 4.5 | 3.4 | +1.0 |
| editing quality | 2.0 | 3.5 | -1.5 |
| tonal consistency | 4.4 | 3.2 | +1.3 |
| supporting cast performance | 4.9 | 4.1 | +0.8 |
Consider This Instead
If you want better drama quality
Choose If I Go Will They Miss Me. It scores 5.0 vs 3.9 for drama quality, with a 4.2 overall score.
If you want better originality
Choose The Drama. It scores 4.9 vs 2.3 for originality, with a 3.8 overall score.
If you want better historical accuracy
Choose LifeHack. It scores 5.0 vs 1.8 for historical accuracy, with a 3.9 overall score.
Compared in Reviews
Products reviewers directly compared with this model, grouped into quick takeaways.
away from her
- Compared: Truthfulness of dementia portrayals The film is discussed alongside away from her as a dementia drama containing recognizable truths.
- Better: Emotional impact and staying power The touching drama is judged less powerful and lasting than Away From Her.
- Better: Focus on dementia Unlike Away From Her, this film lets dementia recede behind family bickering.
Still Alice
- Compared: Truthfulness of dementia portrayals Still Alice is invoked as another dementia drama with moments recognizable to people with firsthand experience.
- Compared: Family perspective versus patient perspective The film is viewed as a companion to STILL ALICE, concentrating on the family rather than the patient.
- Similar: Familiar dementia and family-conflict territory The film revisits familiar dementia-and-family territory also explored by Still Alice.
Amour
- Better: Emotional impact and staying power Its emotional impact and staying power fall short of Amour.
FAQ
Is the film mainly about dementia?
Dementia triggers the crisis, but much of the story follows the family’s caregiving disputes, old resentments and relationship problems.
Which performances stand out?
Robert Forster and Michael Shannon receive especially consistent praise. Blythe Danner’s shifts between confusion and clarity and Hilary Swank’s conflicted daughter also earn strong approval.
Is it relentlessly sad?
It is often heartbreaking, but sardonic banter and gallows humor provide relief. Many find that balance true to how families cope.
Does the family feel believable?
Many recognize the caregiving arguments and sibling dynamics as painfully authentic. A smaller group finds the family too theatrical or the dialogue too generic.
Is the ending satisfying?
Opinions split: some appreciate the quiet reconciliations, while others find the closure overly tidy, prolonged or sentimental.
What content should families consider?
The film includes profanity, sexual references, a makeout scene and drinking references, alongside distress around dementia and loss.
Sample Expert Reviews We Analyzed
These are a few of the reviews included in our analysis.
Video Reviews
Article Reviews
lololovesfilms.com
What They Had 2018 movie review
- Review score
- 4.9
spiritualityandpractice.com
A wonderfully human portrait of a family facing a crisis that brings them all to a deeper, richer, and more rewarding life together in love.
- Review score
- 4.4
rogerebert.com
There’s an inherent longing in Elizabeth Chomko’s stunning feature debut, What They Had.
- Review score
- 4.5
keithandthemovies.com
Chicago native Elizabeth Chomko's bittersweet debut "What They Had" takes a look at a delicate subject but does so in a way that is sure to...
- Review score
- 4.0
theupcoming.co.uk
Hillary Swank and Michael Shannon were destined to play siblings in cinema. There’s a great familial chemistry between the adult offspring in...
- Review score
- 4.1
Top Movies to Consider
Choose this inventive, unsettling documentary for fearless questioning, dark humor, and unpredictable storytelling. Skip it if you want a short, straightforward exposé with definitive answers.
Pros: originality, humor
Best for a hypnotic, bookish mystery with tactile visuals and cerebral chills. Skip it if reading-heavy, attention-demanding storytelling sounds more exhausting than exciting.
Pros: Atmosphere, cinematography
Cons: audience appeal
Best for an intimate, searching documentary that rewards focused attention and invites discussion. Skip it when devastating grief, addiction footage, and unresolved family tensions would be too much.
Pros: emotional impact, theme depth
Best for patient suspense, an unforgettable score, and an unsettling masked killer. Skip it for very young children or if you want to avoid intense scares; its restrained kills also...
Pros: directing quality, score quality
Cons: message quality