Dance First

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2:26

Dance First

2024

1h 40m

Biography

Drama

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

44%

Tomatometer

36 Reviews

Popcornmeter

Fewer than 50 Ratings

Literary genius Samuel Beckett lived a life of many parts: Parisian bon vivant, WWII Resistance fighter, Nobel Prize-winning playwright, philandering husband, recluse. But despite all the adulation that came his way, he was a man acutely aware of his own failings. Titled after Beckett's famous ethos "Dance first, think later," the film is a sweeping account of the life of this 20th-century icon.

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Kyle Smith

Wall Street Journal

Aug 16, 2024

Parts of the film are so good that it’s a shame it strikes so many false notes.

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Glenn Kenny

RogerEbert.com

Aug 12, 2024

2/4

It frequently seems that what the movie ultimately wants from Samuel Beckett is for him not to have been…well, Samuel Beckett.

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Ben Kenigsberg

New York Times

Aug 12, 2024

“Dance First,” a Beckett biopic from James Marsh (“The Theory of Everything”), offers simple explanations for the career of a writer whose output famously resists explaining.

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Jaylan Salah

Geek Vibes Nation

Aug 23, 2026

7.6/10

Dance First is a tragicomedy, an absurdist meditation on the artist’s search for meaning and failure to find any.

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Devon Webb

Spectrum Culture

Sep 16, 2024

Dance First lets down its subject with a disrespectfully shallow approach to the life and work of playwright Samuel Beckett, which leaves us waiting, waiting, waiting, on a narrative that never seems to arrive.

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Clotilde Chinnici

Loud and Clear Reviews

Sep 14, 2024

3.5/5

While there is a lot to be appreciated in terms of its artistic endeavours, Marsh’ film is not entirely successful the very thing we would have expected from a biopic

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Robert A

@RT56636066 May 25, 2026

A lugubrious flic that never really gets to the heart of Beckett's character. Talking us through a life does not a movie make. Trying to tell ua that an overbearing mom made him the 20th C greatest existential writer or that his muse wasn't only his wife lacks any real.drama. it's like watching a play trying to be a movie. I expected a lot more insight than listening to Gabriel. Bryne whine about his meaningless life.to an alter ego whose role was to remind him that maybe it wasn't after all.

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David M

@RT05212202 Jan 1, 2025

This is under appreciated film is in fact rather satisfying psychologically, in particular the relationship between Joyce and Beckett. I would encourage you to watch it. Byrne is terrific as usual.

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P.J. L

@RT28363361 Aug 26, 2024

A stunning film carried by outstanding performances. I was aware of a lot of Beckett's history so I was curious to see how the film would flesh most of it out and I was not disappointed. Byrne gives a stellar performance that I hope is not forgotten when award season rolls around.

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James Marsh

Director

Gabriel Byrne

Samuel Beckett

Aidan Gillen

James Joyce

Fionn O'Shea

Younger Samuel Beckett

Sandrine Bonnaire

Suzanne

Maxine Peake

Barbara Bray

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Dance First: Trailer 1

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Synopsis

Literary genius Samuel Beckett lived a life of many parts: Parisian bon vivant, WWII Resistance fighter, Nobel Prize-winning playwright, philandering husband, recluse. But despite all the adulation that came his way, he was a man acutely aware of his own failings. Titled after Beckett's famous ethos "Dance first, think later," the film is a sweeping account of the life of this 20th-century icon.

Director: James Marsh
Producer: Michael Livingstone, Tom Thostrup, Viktória Petrányi
Screenwriter: Neil Forsyth
Distributor: Magnolia Pictures
Production Co: Film Constellation, Umedia, Proton Cinema, Sky Arts, 2LE Media
Genre: Biography, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Aug 9, 2024, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Aug 16, 2024
Box Office (Gross USA): $24.7K
Runtime: 1h 40m

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