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Cotton Mary
Metascore
52 out of 100

Mixed or average reviews - based on 18 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 8 out of 18
  2. Mixed: 8 out of 18
  3. Negative: 2 out of 18
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  1. Los Angeles Times
    Reviewed by: Kevin Thomas
    90
    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.
  2. USA Today
    Reviewed by: Staff [Not Credited]
    88
    Increasingly piquant tale of culture clash in 1954 post-independence India.
    All this critic's reviews
  3. Mr. Showbiz
    Reviewed by: F. X. Feeney
    80
    Impeccably produced.
    All this critic's reviews
  4. Christian Science Monitor
    Reviewed by: David Sterritt
    75
    Merchant brings keen insight and rich humanity to this culturally revealing tale of psychological unease in a tense postcolonial world.
  5. San Francisco Chronicle
    Reviewed by: Peter Stack
    75
    Acted with almost maniacal force by Jaffrey, Mary is at once fascinating and despicable.
  6. Washington Post
    Reviewed by: Desson Thomson
    70
    Serves as a fascinating exploration of racial and social prejudice; and an indictment of cultural miscegenation.
  7. New York Post
    Reviewed by: Lou Lumenick
    63
    Uncommonly well-acted and beautifully shot on location in southern India, but it's not exactly riveting.
    All this critic's reviews
  8. San Francisco Examiner
    Reviewed by: Wesley Morris
    63
    Really just a lurid potboiler.
  9. Village Voice
    Reviewed by: Leslie Camhi
    60
    Brought to life by the weirdness of its subject matter and the risks Madhur Jaffrey takes in her brilliant performance.
  10. Dallas Observer
    Reviewed by: Andy Klein
    60
    It's unlikely that anyone will walk away unmoved.
  11. Chicago Sun-Times
    Reviewed by: Roger Ebert
    50
    Wants to make larger points, but succeeds only in being a story of derangement.
  12. New York Daily News
    Reviewed by: Jami Bernard
    50
    An unsubtle allegory about a way of life withering on the vine.
  13. Chicago Reader
    Reviewed by: Lisa Alspector
    50
    Doesn't quite support the weight of its allegory.
  14. Seattle Post-Intelligencer
    Reviewed by: William Arnold
    42
    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.
  15. Austin Chronicle
    Reviewed by: Russell Smith
    40
    Nothing but tarted-up melodrama.
  16. L.A. Weekly
    Reviewed by: John Patterson
    40
    Richer and cleverer than any Merchant Ivory movie in memory.
  17. The New York Times
    Reviewed by: A.O. Scott
    30
    Forlorn melodrama, which is low on drama and high on mellow.
  18. TV Guide
    Reviewed by: Steve Simels
    20
    A creepily unpleasant study of race and class.
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