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Comedy of Power
Metascore
64 out of 100

Generally favorable reviews - based on 13 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 8 out of 13
  2. Mixed: 5 out of 13
  3. Negative: 0 out of 13
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  1. Chicago Tribune
    Reviewed by: Michael Wilmington
    88
    It's not often that you see the craft of cinema so perfectly executed--or a group of fancy scoundrels so ruthlessly caught and skewered. Comedy of Power, like all of Chabrol's Hitchcockian films, is dark, smart and delicious.
  2. Film Threat
    Reviewed by: Matthew Sorrento
    80
    A well-designed vehicle for the director's long-time star, Isabelle Huppert, whose focused portrayal makes this film a well-honed character study.
  3. San Francisco Chronicle
    Reviewed by: Mick LaSalle
    75
    In many ways a meandering film, a collection of good scenes.
  4. The New York Times
    Reviewed by: A.O. Scott
    70
    As ever, Mr. Chabrol's style is delicate and precise. Comedy of Power is not his deepest or most ambitious film, and its stance of knowing resignation in the face of corruption can feel a little glib. But Ms. Huppert's ferocity compensates for the director's detachment; no French actress is as riveting to watch once the gloves come off.
  5. Chicago Reader
    Reviewed by: Richard M. Porton
    70
    One of Claude Chabrol's most satisfyingly astringent films in years.
  6. New York Daily News
    Reviewed by: Jack Mathews
    63
    Draggy for long stretches, and never funny, Comedy of Power is a showcase - as if she needed another - for Huppert's chameleon qualities. She's an actress who can make a phone-book reading interesting, and that is pretty much the challenge she meets here.
  7. TV Guide
    Reviewed by: Ken Fox
    63
    Title notwithstanding, there's nothing particularly funny about this political drama from the tireless Claude Chabrol.
  8. Boston Globe
    Reviewed by: Wesley Morris
    63
    This movie can't commit to a genre, let alone a logical sequence or complete idea. But there is a wisdom in its blasé assessments and frivolous air: What's the point; where's the wine?
  9. Village Voice
    Reviewed by: Jim Ridley
    60
    An enjoyable but curiously weightless trifle that lowers rather than raises the temperature of the affair. Comedy of Power has to be the most polite, untroubled conspiracy film since the genre first tapped a phone.
  10. Variety
    Reviewed by: Lisa Nesselson
    60
    While the picture may be too subtle and oblique in places for more general audiences, it remains enjoyable as a sardonic glimpse of unspoken codes at the intersection of politics and business.
  11. The Hollywood Reporter
    Reviewed by: Kirk Honeycutt
    50
    The movie is too parochial for a wide audience. The French judicial system is totally alien to Americans, for instance, plus the film is a talkathon.
  12. New York Post
    Reviewed by: V.A. Musetto
    50
    At age 76, Chabrol seems to be just going through the motions, but anyone who has helmed 70 films ("Les Bonnes Femmes" and "La Ceremonie," for example) is entitled to an off day. Look for him to dazzle us next time out.
  13. Entertainment Weekly
    Reviewed by: Owen Gleiberman
    50
    Chabrol has fashioned a mystery that caves in on itself, but unfortunately, it caves in on the audience, too.
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User Reviews

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User Score
8.0 out of 10

Generally favorable reviews- based on 4 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 3 out of 3
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 3
  3. Negative: 0 out of 3
  1. ChadS.
    6
    "Comedy of Power" starts to lose some of its juice after Judge Charmant's witchhunt of high-powered, amoral CEO-types goes beyond Humeau(Francois Berleand), who is a much better-defined character than the other movers and shakers the judge interviews. Charmant's personal life is more interesting than her embattlement with the cabal of allegedly corrupt businessmen. To see the judge's imperfect marriage makes her a sympathetic protagonist because she's not the traditional crusader against injustice we're accustomed to seeing in American films. Charmant(Isabelle Huppert) lambasts Humeau for his money-burning ways; she cites how the average French person only makes minimum wage, and yet the judge is hardly proletariat herself(there is a consciousness of class-distinction in the way Charmant treats an office cleaner; the judge is part of the bourgeoise). To know the true nature of a person, notice how they treat the little people. She is a careerist. Office-size matters to her as much as getting the bad guys. Exactly what the bad guys are doing could've been better clarified by the filmmaker(there's no narrative arc to the investigation), because this lack of definition gives the audience very little to be angry at. "Comedy of Power" is actually about how it's hard for a successful woman to juggle a career and a personal life.… Full Review »
  2. RobertC.
    9
    Isabelle Huppert is a flawed supranatural moral force in Comedy of Power. An ironicallly satisfying performance.
  3. Enrique
    9
    Chabrol directs this cruel satire with a strong dettachment, making it pure acid. Certainly not for everyone. Huppert delivers a wonderful , unforgetable performance. Too bad that this movie will never get Oscar attention.… Full Review »
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