Metascore
64 out of 100

Generally favorable reviews - based on 29 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 18 out of 29
  2. Negative: 2 out of 29
  1. Any doubts as to whether Sienna Miller is a gifted actress should be laid to rest by Interview.
  2. I’ve sat through so many claustrophobic examples of the genre I forgot how exhilarating, how pure a great one could be. Interview is a great one--electric as theater and cinema.
  3. The back-and-forth between the performers is tensely choreographed, and Buscemi does a good job opening up the action, which mostly takes place in a Manhattan loft.
  4. 75
    Stick with it for Miller’s gutsy tour de force and the kick of watching Buscemi, as actor and filmmaker, turn an experiment into a mesmerizing battle of wills.
  5. 75
    I found Interview kind of fascinating, especially in the ways that Buscemi and Miller make their performances into commentaries on the types of characters they play.
  6. The film's emotional claustrophobia may not be for everyone.
  7. The first of three planned remakes of Dutch films by the late Theo van Gogh, Steve Buscemi's Interview takes the most unnatural act in human intercourse - the celebrity interview - and makes an explosively funny two-character psychodrama out of it.
  8. 75
    Some bits are too stagy, but for the most part this long night feels like an interview that could have actually happened. Miller is so good - dumb, smart, wounded, wounding, a lollipop of sweet poison that you'd buy every day until it killed you - that you feel you not only understand her but all actresses.
  9. The film is enjoyable as a performance piece, an eminently watchable contest between two actors at the top of their games.
  10. Despite the fact that both protagonists are equally appalling, the screenplay seems to have a soft spot for the woman. However, this doesn't take away from the fun of watching the two characters tear each other to pieces.
  11. 75
    While the subject matter is certainly American enough, it seems possible the original had a bit more depth.
  12. 75
    The Interview is mannered, implausible, and stagy, but queasily compelling all the same.
  13. For a film that unfolds mostly in a single location, Interview manages not to feel like a stage piece. But the premise, which may have worked in Holland, gets a little lost in the American translation.
  14. Vaporous and chilled to freezing, Interview lacks a single honest moment, but it does have plenty of diverting ones.
  15. Reviewed by: Dennis Harvey
    70
    Afforded a comparatively rare chance to stretch out in a complex lead role, Buscemi is excellent.
  16. 63
    In the end, sharp writing and terrific performances can't compensate for the fact that the back-and-forth between a sour scribe and a manipulative celebrity doesn't amount to a hill of beans in this crazy world.
  17. Reviewed by: Ty Burr
    63
    One comes away from Interview exhausted and a little unclean, entertained by the acting equivalent of a pit bull fight but needing a hose-down. The movie confirms that in every relationship "there are winners and losers." True enough, but for the audience this one's a draw.
  18. 63
    Interview has its moments but they can't prevent it from feeling a little long winded and unsatisfying.
  19. Reviewed by: Jamie Tipps
    60
    To their credit, Miller and Buscemi engage the audience’s interest in what is essentially an extended conversation for an extraordinarily long time.
  20. Reviewed by: William Thomas
    60
    Stagey filming aside, this is a sharp and controlled study of celebrity obsession.
  21. 60
    Whatever we may make of van Gogh's life and death, Buscemi's talky, stagey Interview -- the first of three van Gogh adaptations planned by American actor-directors -- doesn't make much of a case for him as an important or original artist.
  22. Reviewed by: Jim Ridley
    60
    The result, though anchored mostly to a single set cleverly sectioned by hammocks, curtains, and a kitchen bar, is the least concrete and most artificial of Buscemi's films.
  23. Buscemi gets a fine performance from Miller and plays his part with a murky mix of self-pity, opportunism and arrogance. A few scenes crackle with their intensity. The rest of it wallows in glib acrimony and cynicism.
  24. Reviewed by: Kamal AL-Solaylee
    50
    The end result of this showcase for Buscemi's writing, acting and directing chops is so uneven and mixed in small details and overall tone that it's anybody's guess if it's one for the Oscars or the Razzies next year.
  25. Reviewed by: Joanne Kaufman
    50
    Both in its content and production values, Interview has the feel of an undergraduate project -- all intensity, no never mind. Pierre is such a weasel, Katya is such a narcissist and the outcome seems so pre-determined, it's hard to care whose belt gets the notch. The adroit performances of Buscemi and Miller almost make it matter.
  26. Unfortunately, Buscemi's film conveys the spirit of its source material but doesn't make a satisfying transmogrification out of its homage.
  27. The good direction and performances seem wasted on limited material; despite a few interesting twists and ambiguities, the main revelation--that the reporter is an insufferable snob--doesn't seem worth the 84 minutes devoted to spelling it out.
  28. Reviewed by: Claudia Puig
    38
    Director Steve Buscemi is not to be faulted for his filmmaking or acting skills, but as co-writer he could have done better than the false-sounding dialogue.
  29. Reviewed by: Josh Rosenblatt
    30
    Buscemi and Miller do their best with what they have, finding at least some small redemption in two dislikable characters written into an improbable situation, but emotional honesty in the service of nonsense is still nonsense, no matter how many scabs it manages to pick at.
User Score

Generally favorable reviews- based on 15 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 3 out of 6
  2. Negative: 0 out of 6
  1. KBrown
    9
    Sienna Miller was superb.
  2. JefD
    5
    Good performances, especially from Sienna Miller, but essentially two empty manipulative people doing that which they do best. The dialog was a somewhat forced and the ultimate conclusion was as empty as the people who were destined to create it. Full Review »
  3. ChadS
    7
    A choice was made to not shoot "Interview" on digital video because the filmmaker understood that the sparring match between Pierre Peders(Steve Buscemi) and Katya(Sienna Miller) was more theatrical than realistic. To shoot the journalist and actress' well-modulated dialogue on this overused filmic medium that hack filmmakers utilize as a short-cut to authenticate their imitation of neo-realism, would have been a drastic mistake since "Interview" has the unmistakable ring of being scripted; its actors are indeed delivering lines. Katya's confession at the end of her interview redeems certain scenes we gauged in "Interview" as being entirely implausible. Sienna Miller has the tricky role of portraying an actress that will always be relegated to bad television shows and B-movies. Every time we don't believe a dramatic situation should indicate that Katya is acting. "Interview" feels completely staged, but that's the film's intent. Full Review »