57
Metascore
31 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 75Chicago TribuneMichael WilmingtonChicago TribuneMichael WilmingtonIt's a corker of a story - a polished yarn full of desire, desperation and despair.
- 75Miami HeraldMiami HeraldA refined, tasteful film about pure, hard lust.
- 75Chicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertChicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertThis whole movie is about manners. There is sex and violence, but the movie is not about giving in to them; it's about carrying on as if they didn't exist.
- 67Seattle Post-IntelligencerWilliam ArnoldSeattle Post-IntelligencerWilliam ArnoldIt has some wonderful moments and a handful of delicious Maughamian characters.
- 60L.A. WeeklyRon StringerL.A. WeeklyRon StringerImpressive supporting cast---, in character parts both expanded and invented, enrich the enterprise.
- 60Village VoiceDennis LimVillage VoiceDennis LimThe Haases, whose previous films ("Angels and Insects," "The Music of Chance") evinced a remote, unfussy sensibility, are a poor fit for the melodramatic contortions that the story demands.
- 60Dallas ObserverBill GalloDallas ObserverBill GalloDespite his natty wardrobe and calculated sangfroid, Penn doesn't summon up quite the right image.
- 50TV Guide MagazineMaitland McDonaghTV Guide MagazineMaitland McDonaghThe surprise is how tame and passionless it all seems, particularly after director Philip Haas's fevered "Angels and Insects."
- 50Charlotte ObserverLawrence ToppmanCharlotte ObserverLawrence ToppmanThe characters are so conventional that the movie has nowhere interesting to go, even when a corpse complicates affairs.
- 42Entertainment WeeklyLisa SchwarzbaumEntertainment WeeklyLisa SchwarzbaumPolitics is almost an afterthought in this balky, attenuated film.