42
Metascore
17 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 75ReelViewsJames BerardinelliReelViewsJames BerardinelliDespite its flaws, Total Eclipse is the kind of movie that stirs thoughts and ruminations about the nature of genius, the true meaning of art, and the unfailing capacity of great people to destroy themselves and others. Holland has not matched the success of two of her previous films -- Europa Europa and Olivier Olivier -- but this picture is still a respectable examination of a fascinating historical relationship.
- 75Chicago TribuneMichael WilmingtonChicago TribuneMichael WilmingtonTotal Eclipse is a biographical film steeped in ecstasy and despair, seething with madness and torment.
- 63Chicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertChicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertThe poems can be read. The film must stand on its own, apart from the poems, and I'm afraid it doesn't. One admires the energy and inventiveness that Holland, Thewlis and DiCaprio put into the film, but one would prefer to be admiring it from afar.
- 50Slant MagazineEd GonzalezSlant MagazineEd GonzalezDespite its fascinating subject matter, Total Eclipse is both unflattering and loveless. Holland seems to care very little for the way Rimbaud and Verlaine’s crass relationship was channeled into words. Worse than DiCaprio’s accent are his and Thewlis’s ludicrous sex scenes.
- 50TV Guide MagazineTV Guide MagazinePolish director Agnieska Holland paid no mind to the actors' accents during casting, and the melange of British, French and American speech helps sink a film that's already foundering under the weight of its pretentions.
- 40The New York TimesJanet MaslinThe New York TimesJanet MaslinUnfortunately, the mad romanticism of Rimbaud's exploits has been made to look preposterous here, despite a cast that should have been magnetic in its own right. Total Eclipse clumsily exaggerates both these characters, from the moment when Rimbaud begins savoring experience in a laughably over-the-top poetic manner.
- 40EmpireWilliam ThomasEmpireWilliam ThomasThough well directed, Thewlis and Di Caprio simply do not gel (John Malkovich and River Phoenix were the original cast choices), the latter is too hyperactive in delivery, the former too static in expression.
- 40Time Out LondonTime Out LondonDiCaprio (Rimbaud) and Thewlis (Verlaine) provide dynamic if mismatched performances, though there's no excusing Hampton's own laughable cameo, nor the protracted coda with DiCaprio doing a Peter O'Toole in the desert.
- 38San Francisco ChronicleEdward GuthmannSan Francisco ChronicleEdward GuthmannWhat's lacking is an explanation for the relationship, and some insight into the origins of Rimbaud's art. The other big problem, aside from DiCaprio's twang, is his lack of chemistry with Thewlis. These are two fine actors, working in vastly different styles, who might as well be walking through different movies. At the end of the handsome, frustrating Total Eclipse, you'll be wondering who these two men were.
- 10VarietyTodd McCarthyVarietyTodd McCarthyA good biographical film about artists should, at the very least, inspire the viewer to learn more about its subjects and the work they created. Total Eclipse has totally the opposite effect, of making one never want to hear about its protagonists again. This misbegotten look at the mutually destructive relationship between the 19th century French poets Arthur Rimbaud and Paul Verlaineis a complete botch in all respects.