Brangelina's 'By the Sea' deemed a big yawn by movie critics

The movie was directed by Jolie Pitt and inspired by the grief she experienced over the death of her mother

NEW YORK: Hollywood stars Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt teamed up for the first time on screen in 10 years for By The Sea, but Hollywood's leading power couple got scathing early reviews for the movie, which some deemed a laborious vanity project.

By the Sea was written and directed by Jolie Pitt and inspired by the grief she experienced over the death of her mother in 2007. It focuses on the stale marriage of former dancer Vanessa (played by Jolie Pitt) and her husband, blocked writer Roland (played by Pitt).



The Hollywood Reporter called it "the kind of vanity project you don't see much of anymore." He wrote that it was a languid attempt at European arthouse cinema that "will prove once again that even the biggest names in the world won't draw an audience to something that, in and of itself, has no reason for being."

The more than two hour-long film reunites the two actors as a screen couple for the first time since the flirty 2005 action comedy Mr & Mrs Smith, which brought them together in real life.

By the Sea - Jolie Pitt's third directorial feature - could hardly be more different.



Critics praised the cinematography as exquisite, but said the stunning visuals failed to make up for a weak script and a plot where nothing much happens.

But Variety's Justin Chang called the movie "an unabashed vanity project" that is "meandering and overlong in ways that will test the patience of even die-hard Brangelina fans."