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Comedy of Power
User Score
8.0 out of 10

Generally favorable reviews- based on 4 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 4 out of 4
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 4
  3. Negative: 0 out of 4

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  1. Enrique
    Jan 7, 2007
    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.
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  2. RobertC.
    Jan 19, 2007
    9
    Isabelle Huppert is a flawed supranatural moral force in Comedy of Power. An ironicallly satisfying performance.
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  3. ChadS.
    May 15, 2007
    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.… Expand
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
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Critic Reviews

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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
  1. Chicago Reader
    Reviewed by: Richard M. Porton
    70
    One of Claude Chabrol's most satisfyingly astringent films in years.
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  2. 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.
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  3. 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.
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