78
Metascore
10 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 100Christian Science MonitorDavid SterrittChristian Science MonitorDavid SterrittBeneath its surface of chronic suffering and hospital details, Chereau's best drama etches a humane, sensitive, and richly moving portrait of fraternal love struggling to mitigate human frailty.
- 90The New York TimesDana StevensThe New York TimesDana StevensStringent, clinical and almost unbearably moving.
- 90The New RepublicStanley KauffmannThe New RepublicStanley KauffmannSon Frère is a real achievement, delicate, perceptive, somewhat muted but nonetheless strong.
- 80Village VoiceDennis LimVillage VoiceDennis LimChéreau's film is an unsentimental, almost uninflected, account of a preparation for death, told with a painful clarity that eventually bleeds into compassion.
- 75Entertainment WeeklyOwen GleibermanEntertainment WeeklyOwen GleibermanSon Frère is hushed, clinical, grimly paced, and moving.
- 70VarietyEddie CockrellVarietyEddie CockrellTodeschini has the most physically demanding role, with a gaunt face and ravaged body that utterly convinces of the brutality of the ailment.
- 70TV Guide MagazineKen FoxTV Guide MagazineKen FoxChereau boldly risks alienating his audience by presenting serious illness and all its attendant indignities with an unflinching clarity that's becoming a hallmark of his work.
- 63New York Daily NewsElizabeth WeitzmanNew York Daily NewsElizabeth WeitzmanChéreau keenly understands both his characters and their unwanted world, from the dehumanization that occurs the moment one enters a hospital to the hope and fear that take over when one leaves.
- 63New York PostLou LumenickNew York PostLou LumenickGives a harrowingly accurate portrait of the indignities sometimes suffered by hospitalized patients - and the sacrifices their families make.
- 60The Hollywood ReporterMichael RechtshaffenThe Hollywood ReporterMichael RechtshaffenWhile its two credible leads are certainly up to the challenge, there's a relentless claustrophobia that prevents the film from taking on a fully dimensional life of its own.