Critic Reviews
| 90 |
Los Angeles Times
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.
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| 88 |
USA Today
Increasingly piquant tale of culture clash in 1954 post-independence India.
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| 80 |
Mr. Showbiz
Impeccably produced.
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| 75 |
San Francisco Chronicle
Acted with almost maniacal force by Jaffrey, Mary is at once fascinating and despicable.
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| 75 |
Christian Science Monitor
Merchant brings keen insight and rich humanity to this culturally revealing tale of psychological unease in a tense postcolonial world.
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| 70 |
Washington Post
Serves as a fascinating exploration of racial and social prejudice; and an indictment of cultural miscegenation.
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| 63 |
San Francisco Examiner
Really just a lurid potboiler.
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| 63 |
New York Post
Uncommonly well-acted and beautifully shot on location in southern India, but it's not exactly riveting.
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| 60 |
Village Voice
Brought to life by the weirdness of its subject matter and the risks Madhur Jaffrey takes in her brilliant performance.
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| 60 |
Dallas Observer
It's unlikely that anyone will walk away unmoved.
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| 50 |
New York Daily News
An unsubtle allegory about a way of life withering on the vine.
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| 50 |
Chicago Reader
Doesn't quite support the weight of its allegory.
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| 50 |
Chicago Sun-Times
Wants to make larger points, but succeeds only in being a story of derangement.
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| 42 |
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
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.
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| 40 |
Austin Chronicle
Nothing but tarted-up melodrama.
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| 40 |
LA Weekly
Richer and cleverer than any Merchant Ivory movie in memory.
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| 30 |
The New York Times
Forlorn melodrama, which is low on drama and high on mellow.
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| 20 |
TV Guide
A creepily unpleasant study of race and class.
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