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Inheritance, The

Generally favorable reviews
Based on 20 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
Based on 3 votes
Read user comments
Rate this movie >
Movie Info
Genre(s): Drama | Foreign
Written by:
Per Fly
Kim Leona
Mogens Rukov
Dorte Høeg
Directed by: Per Fly
Release Date:
Theatrical: July 9, 2004
DVD: June 7, 2005
Running Time: 107 minutes, Color
Origin: Denmark / Sweden
Language(s): Danish and Swedish (with English subtitles)
Summary
RATING: Not Rated
Starring Ulrich Thomsen, Lisa Werlinder, Ghita Nørby, Karina Skands, Lars Brygmann, Peter Steen, Diana Axelsen, and Jesper Christensen
A gripping drama from celebrated Danish director Per Fly, The Inheritance is the story of a man transformed by power. (Cinema Guild)
Also On The Web: Internet Movie Database View The Trailer Official Studio Site
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...
Los Angeles Times Kenneth Turan
A powerhouse. Highly dramatic and intensely emotional, blessed with strong themes and an unstoppable narrative drive, it is adult, intelligent entertainment of a kind we rarely see these days.
Read Full Review >Chicago Reader J.R. Jones
Thomsen's transformation from easygoing entrepreneur to ruthless executive is so engrossing I didn't pick up on the story's chilling Freudian subtext until very near the end.
Read Full Review >Time Richard Schickel
A formally elegant, subtly savage and powerfully affecting film.
Read Full Review >Miami Herald Marta Barber
Though all actors are up to the challenge, it is the plot that makes The Inheritance shine.
Read Full Review >Portland Oregonian Marc Mohan
The politics of the story come to life through the vivid characterizations of a uniformly excellent cast.
Read Full Review >Washington Post Desson Thomson
The cast, all classically trained on the stage, is simply commanding.
Read Full Review >LA Weekly Ella Taylor
Director Fly works with a delicate touch, probing the slow, insidious corruption of this fundamentally decent but weak man.
Read Full Review >Christian Science Monitor David Sterritt
The acting is fine, the filmmaking is honest, and the class-conscious story couldn't be more timely.
Read Full Review >The New York Times Stephen Holden
As the relentlessly morose movie shows, a corporate hero is not the same thing as a humanitarian; in many ways, he's the antithesis.
Read Full Review >The New Republic Stanley Kauffmann
Once we learn the story's terrain, we have a pretty good idea of the paths it will follow. Still, because the picture is tidily directed and acted--in one case, better than that--it has the comforts of well-made old things.
Read Full Review >TV Guide Ken Fox
Fly's striking, often suspenseful drama has all the elements of a Shakespearean tragedy: an insecure young prince who must prove his mettle and loses his soul; a cruel, manipulative queen who cares only for power; a close adviser whose motives aren't always clear.
Read Full Review >Dallas Observer Bill Gallo
Indeed, in this era of muckraking left-wing documentaries, The Inheritance offers a more fascinating fictionalized look at what cut-throat capitalism can do to conscience.
Read Full Review >Empire David Parkinson
Tautly scripted by director Per Fly and bullishly played, this is soap for the ciné-sophisticate.
Read Full Review >The Hollywood Reporter Frank Scheck
The film is an initially insightful portrait of modern corporate society that unfortunately lapses into melodrama.
Read Full Review >New York Post V.A. Musetto
The Inheritance has a promising start but soon becomes preachy and melodramatic.
Read Full Review >Village Voice Leslie Camhi
The Inheritance is most effective in its first half...But the film falters as it moves closer to home and the heart, veering off into melodramatic and quasi-surreal scenarios.
Read Full Review >The Onion (A.V. Club) Nathan Rabin
An initially engaging but ultimately wearying combination of naturalistic acting, cinéma vérité camerawork, and broadly melodramatic plotting.
Read Full Review >Boston Globe Joan Anderman
The actors give it their best, Thomsen and Werlinder in particular.
Read Full Review >New York Daily News Jami Bernard
Don't see The Inheritance if you're already depressed. This airless downer from Danish director Per Fly is about an heir who makes one wrong decision from which even lousier decisions effortlessly flow.
Read Full Review >What Our Users Said
The average user rating for this movie is 9.3 (out of 10) based on 3 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
Brook E. gave it a 10:
Simply put, this is one of the year's best films. Don't let the "It's-such-a-downer" crowd keep you away from this intense and taut family drama. This is a film not to be missed by anyone serious about seeing fine cinema.
