49
Metascore
15 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 80New York Daily NewsNew York Daily NewsAudrey Tautou trades in Amelie’s wide-eyed sprite look for le sourpuss in this sober yet fascinating take on aristocratic social mores between the wars.
- 60Time OutMichael AtkinsonTime OutMichael AtkinsonThough bourgie audiences looking for a sun-warmed romance will be slapped; the movie may look pretty and may plod, but it also leaves a bruise.
- 50Slant MagazineTomas HachardSlant MagazineTomas HachardClaude Miller's swan song not only shares its main character's name but also her tempered disposition.
- 50The PlaylistSimon AbramsThe PlaylistSimon Abrams[Thérèse] is not the nuanced period drama it should be but is rather more like a banal, pseudo-thoughtful and monotonous episode of Masterpiece Theater.
- 50Village VoiceAaron HillisVillage VoiceAaron HillisIf the banality of life within the Bordeaux gentry is the point, then the ensuing oppressiveness is immaculately depicted through precise performances and camerawork—just don't call it emotionally engaging drama.
- 50The A.V. ClubNick SchagerThe A.V. ClubNick SchagerA second-act forest fire proves a handy metaphor for Tautou’s slowly burning rage at confinement. Yet while it seems thematically apt, it’s also wholly out of place in this static, emotionless saga, which is defined less by zealous feeling than by a dull, decorous air of respectability.
- 50The DissolveMike D'AngeloThe DissolveMike D'AngeloMauriac’s portrait of a society obsessed with family honor and the appearance of propriety at all costs comes through strongly, but that can’t entirely compensate for a character study with a hard-working vacuum at its center. Like Keanu Reeves, Tautou requires a perfect fit; when she tries to stretch, she gets stranded.
- 50Los Angeles TimesSheri LindenLos Angeles TimesSheri LindenEven given the character's extreme introspection and withdrawal, Tautou's performance is too often opaque.
- 50RogerEbert.comSimon AbramsRogerEbert.comSimon AbramsThérèse never goes beyond that level of psychological complexity because after a point, Miller and Carter aren't interested in exploring the murky depths of Thérèse 's feelings.
- 40The New York TimesManohla DargisThe New York TimesManohla DargisMr. Miller’s stolid approach — with its waxwork figures, postcard beauty, insistent tastefulness and glaze of politesse — feels far too comfortably of this world to mount a critique of it.