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Molière
Sony Pictures
MPAA RATING: Not Rated
Starring
Romain Duris,
Fabrice Luchini,
Laura Morante,
Edouard Baer,
and
Ludivine Sagnier
Molière has been released from prison by wealthy bourgeois, Monsieur Jourdain, who settled the young actor's debts on the understanding that he will teach him the craft of the stage. Hungry for recognition, Jourdain is infatuated with the lovely but poisonous Climene, whose salon gathers together suitors and great wits. Trapped in this untenable situation, Molière will experience all manner of events that will open his eyes and his mind, both to life itself and to his work as an artist. (Sony Pictures Classics)
| GENRE(S): |
Comedy
|
| WRITTEN BY: |
Grégoire Vigneron
Laurent Tirard
|
| DIRECTED BY: |
Laurent Tirard
|
| RELEASE DATE: |
DVD: January 22, 2008
Theatrical: July 27, 2007
|
| RUNNING TIME: |
120 minutes, Color |
| ORIGIN: |
France |
| LANGUAGE(S): |
French |
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...
80
The Hollywood Reporter
Bernard Besserglik
Witty, enjoyable costume drama imagines formative episode in life of French comedy giant.
80
Variety
Lisa Nesselson
Romance, creativity, subterfuge and repartee are among the pleasures to be had in Moliere, a consistently diverting, bittersweet costumer.
80
Washington Post
Ann Hornaday
An extravagant and thoroughly irresistible story of intrigue, romance, comedy and artistic inspiration.
75
Portland Oregonian
Marc Mohan
Sometimes it's fun to put on costumes and wigs and just goof around.
75
Philadelphia Inquirer
Carrie Rickey
Though it might be Moliere for Dummies, it's infinitely more fun than French director Ariane Mnouchkine's tedious 1978 film portrait, a Moliere for Smarties that ran four hours plus and, like Tirard's movie, explored the comedy of tragedy.
75
Christian Science Monitor
Peter Rainer
As Molière, Romain Duris is frisky and, playing the wife of his benefactor, Laura Morante proves once again that she is one of the most intelligent and attractive actresses in the world.
75
New York Daily News
Elizabeth Weitzman
The actors elevate what might have been fluff into a genuinely moving tale, and the action is so much fun that it doesn't even matter if you've seen Molière's plays before.
75
The Onion (A.V. Club)
Scott Tobias
A Molière this good deserves a more substantive portrait, but this one will do for now.
70
Village Voice
Ella Taylor
Tirard unwinds the action slow and steady, which makes for a slackly paced first hour that all but destroys the movie. Hang in and you'll see the method in this seemingly perverse strategy, as the young blade grows a passion for the highly strung, cultivated lady of the house, beautifully played by Europe's reigning queen of barely suppressed hysteria, Laura Morante.
70
The New Yorker
Anthony Lane
Yet the film, directed by Laurent Tirard, has something. To be exact, it has Fabrice Luchini and Laura Morante, as M. and Mme. Jourdain.
67
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
Bill White
The meshing of Moliere and Tartuffe into one character creates so many complications and loose ends that it is a fool's errand to try to make sense of the story.
63
Boston Globe
Wesley Morris
Showing up for Molière eager for the story of one of the theater's greatest comedy writers would be unwise. It's not that kind of party.
63
TV Guide
Ken Fox
While none of this is meant to be taken seriously, the premise demeans Moliere's great achievement.
63
Chicago Tribune
Michael Phillips
Moliere transforms into a fuller piece whenever Morante takes center stage.
58
Baltimore Sun
Michael Sragow
It's like a breeze so slight it doesn't leave a tickle.
50
Chicago Reader
Ryan Wenzel
The approach isn’t new--the film’s already been dubbed “Molière in Love”--but the result is a wry look at the nature of acting and the power of comedy.
50
Miami Herald
Peter Debruge
By suggesting that the man's life was as riotously funny as his plays, writer-director Laurent Tirard leaves us wishing he'd opted to do a straightforward adaptation instead.
50
New York Post
Kyle Smith
The Great Playwrights for Dummies series that began with "Shakespeare in Love" continues with Molière, a French clone of that grating and smarmy Best Picture winner.
50
The New York Times
A.O. Scott
Less forgivably, the movie is dull.
40
Austin Chronicle
Josh Rosenblatt
Playing comedy, Duris is as engaging as a bowl of porridge; playing tragedy, he’s the height of comic absurdity; in scenes romantic, he’s detached to the point of somnolence.
38
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)
Liam Lacey
The result is as off-putting as biting into a confection in which the sugar has been replaced by salt.
25
San Francisco Chronicle
Mick LaSalle
A whimsical but flat-footed attempt to account for several lost months in the life of Jean-Baptiste Poquelin, known to the world as Molière.
 The average user rating for this movie is 8.4 (out of 10) based on 5 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
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