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Cotton Mary
Artistic License Films

Cotton Mary reviews
Critic Score
Metascore: 52 Metascore out of 100
User Score  
5.0 out of 10
based on 18 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
based on 2 votes
Read user comments
Rate this movie

MPAA RATING: R for a scene of sexuality

Starring Greta Scacchi, Madhur Jaffrey, James Wilby, and Neena Gupta

Set in post-colonial India of the 1950's, this is the story of Cotton Mary (Jaffrey), an Anglo-Indian (part English and part Indian) woman, and her tangled and complicated interactions with a British family. (Artistic License Films)


GENRE(S): Drama  
WRITTEN BY: Alexandra Viets (play)  
DIRECTED BY: Ismail Merchant  
RELEASE DATE: DVD: January 30, 2001 
Video: January 30, 2001 
Theatrical: February 11, 2000 
RUNNING TIME: 125 minutes, Color 
ORIGIN: France / UK / USA 

What The Critics Said

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

90
Los Angeles Times Kevin Thomas
Not only is it Merchant's best directorial effort to date but also is among the finest films the Merchant Ivory company has ever made.
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88
USA Today Staff [Not Credited]
Increasingly piquant tale of culture clash in 1954 post-independence India.
80
Mr. Showbiz F. X. Feeney
Impeccably produced.
75
San Francisco Chronicle Peter Stack
Acted with almost maniacal force by Jaffrey, Mary is at once fascinating and despicable.
Read Full Review
75
Christian Science Monitor David Sterritt
Merchant brings keen insight and rich humanity to this culturally revealing tale of psychological unease in a tense postcolonial world.
Read Full Review
70
Washington Post Desson Thomson
Serves as a fascinating exploration of racial and social prejudice; and an indictment of cultural miscegenation.
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63
San Francisco Examiner Wesley Morris
Really just a lurid potboiler.
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63
New York Post Lou Lumenick
Uncommonly well-acted and beautifully shot on location in southern India, but it's not exactly riveting.
60
Village Voice Leslie Camhi
Brought to life by the weirdness of its subject matter and the risks Madhur Jaffrey takes in her brilliant performance.
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60
Dallas Observer Andy Klein
It's unlikely that anyone will walk away unmoved.
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50
New York Daily News Jami Bernard
An unsubtle allegory about a way of life withering on the vine.
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50
Chicago Reader Lisa Alspector
Doesn't quite support the weight of its allegory.
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50
Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert
Wants to make larger points, but succeeds only in being a story of derangement.
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42
Seattle Post-Intelligencer William Arnold
Most of its characters come off as being one-dimensional and stereotypical, and the film's sensibility leaves a very bad taste in the mouth.
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40
Austin Chronicle Russell Smith
Nothing but tarted-up melodrama.
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40
LA Weekly John Patterson
Richer and cleverer than any Merchant Ivory movie in memory.
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30
The New York Times A.O. Scott
Forlorn melodrama, which is low on drama and high on mellow.
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20
TV Guide Steve Simels
A creepily unpleasant study of race and class.
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What Our Users Said

Vote Now!The average user rating for this movie is 5.0 (out of 10) based on 2 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Mohan P. gave it a2:
Ignorant attitude, I told Merchant had he made this about muslims they would have burnt the cinema down. Also why didnt he get an Anglo Indian to act the role when he had English and Indians for the other roles and Madur Jaffrey just used a slow North Indian accent with a lot of 'childs' thrown in to authenticate her awful accent. He said it was spot on! I explained that Anglo Indians in Kerala spoke English with a pronounced Malayalam accent. I lived there. The Actors were sympathetic and he asked me to leave since I hadn't seen his other movie. The actress called him a coward since I had made valid points. I left but the whole thing was published in the Indian Express just before I left for London.

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