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Cotton Mary
Artistic License Films


5.0

based on 18 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?

based on 2 votes
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MPAA RATING: R for a scene of sexuality

Starring Greta Scacchi, Madhur Jaffrey, James Wilby, and Neena Gupta

Set in post-colonial India of the 1950's, this is the story of Cotton Mary (Jaffrey), an Anglo-Indian (part English and part Indian) woman, and her tangled and complicated interactions with a British family. (Artistic License Films)

GENRE(S):	Drama
WRITTEN BY:	Alexandra Viets (play)
DIRECTED BY:	Ismail Merchant
RELEASE DATE:	DVD: January 30, 2001 Video: January 30, 2001 Theatrical: February 11, 2000
RUNNING TIME:	125 minutes, Color
ORIGIN:	France / UK / USA

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

Los Angeles Times Kevin Thomas

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.

USA Today Staff [Not Credited]

Increasingly piquant tale of culture clash in 1954 post-independence India.

Mr. Showbiz F. X. Feeney

Impeccably produced.

San Francisco Chronicle Peter Stack

Acted with almost maniacal force by Jaffrey, Mary is at once fascinating and despicable.

Christian Science Monitor David Sterritt

Merchant brings keen insight and rich humanity to this culturally revealing tale of psychological unease in a tense postcolonial world.

Washington Post Desson Thomson

Serves as a fascinating exploration of racial and social prejudice; and an indictment of cultural miscegenation.

San Francisco Examiner Wesley Morris

Really just a lurid potboiler.

New York Post Lou Lumenick

Uncommonly well-acted and beautifully shot on location in southern India, but it's not exactly riveting.

Village Voice Leslie Camhi

Brought to life by the weirdness of its subject matter and the risks Madhur Jaffrey takes in her brilliant performance.

Dallas Observer Andy Klein

It's unlikely that anyone will walk away unmoved.

New York Daily News Jami Bernard

An unsubtle allegory about a way of life withering on the vine.

Chicago Reader Lisa Alspector

Doesn't quite support the weight of its allegory.

Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert

Wants to make larger points, but succeeds only in being a story of derangement.

Seattle Post-Intelligencer William Arnold

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.

Austin Chronicle Russell Smith

Nothing but tarted-up melodrama.

LA Weekly John Patterson

Richer and cleverer than any Merchant Ivory movie in memory.

The New York Times A.O. Scott

Forlorn melodrama, which is low on drama and high on mellow.

TV Guide Steve Simels

A creepily unpleasant study of race and class.

The average user rating for this movie is 5.0 (out of 10) based on 2 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Mohan P. gave it a2:
Ignorant attitude, I told Merchant had he made this about muslims they would have burnt the cinema down. Also why didnt he get an Anglo Indian to act the role when he had English and Indians for the other roles and Madur Jaffrey just used a slow North Indian accent with a lot of 'childs' thrown in to authenticate her awful accent. He said it was spot on! I explained that Anglo Indians in Kerala spoke English with a pronounced Malayalam accent. I lived there. The Actors were sympathetic and he asked me to leave since I hadn't seen his other movie. The actress called him a coward since I had made valid points. I left but the whole thing was published in the Indian Express just before I left for London.

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Cotton Mary Artistic License Films

Cotton Mary
Artistic License Films