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- Sony Pictures Classics
- 1 h 40 m
- Sony Pictures Classics
- 1 h 40 m
Summary A writer goes through a tough period after the release of her latest book, as she gets involved with an obsessive admirer.
Directed By: Roman Polanski
Written By: Olivier Assayas, Delphine de Vigan, Roman Polanski
- Sony Pictures Classics
- 1 h 40 m
- Sony Pictures Classics
- 1 h 40 m
Based on a True Story
43
User Score
User reviews are not available yet
Summary A writer goes through a tough period after the release of her latest book, as she gets involved with an obsessive admirer.
Directed By: Roman Polanski
Written By: Olivier Assayas, Delphine de Vigan, Roman Polanski
Top Cast
Metascore
Mixed or Average
Based on 8 Critic Reviews
43
25% Positive
2 Reviews
2 Reviews
50% Mixed
4 Reviews
4 Reviews
25% Negative
2 Reviews
2 Reviews
Metascore
Mixed or Average
Based on 8 Critic Reviews
43
25% Positive
2 Reviews
2 Reviews
50% Mixed
4 Reviews
4 Reviews
25% Negative
2 Reviews
2 Reviews
Polanski and the supremely genre-savvy Assayas know exactly what they’re doing, and whenever you think you’ve seen it all before, you realise they’re actually doing something else entirely – the film is an expertly navigated maze of misdirection.
There are multiple levels on which to enjoy Roman Polanski’s Based on a True Story (D’Apres une histoire vraie), none of them very deep or complicated. But together they raise the resonance of a masterfully made psychological thriller in the traditional mode.
Polanski sleepwalks his way through the film, manifesting precious little of the skill and invention that fueled the slow-burn suspense and sinister atmospheres of superficially similar works such as Rosemary’s Baby and Repulsion.
Although the screenplay contains all the beats needed to generate tension, Assayas’ gift for conveying information between the lines is almost entirely lost on Polanski, who doesn’t give his actresses the opportunity to flesh out the subtext of their most awkward interactions.
This is a movie which begins with confidence and style, wearing its influences pretty insouciantly; the film sashays about the screen with a kind of sexy-chic smirk, like the unvarying facial expression of its co-lead Eva Green. But it wobbles at the brink of plot-holes which undermine the vital realistic plausibility of a film like this.
It’s one of the director’s worst films, if not the worst.
Nothing in this feeble psychological thriller rings true for a moment, though its unhinged machinations feel as pedestrian as soap opera in execution.
User Reviews
tbd
Production Company
Wy Productions,
R.P. Productions,
Mars Films,
France 2 Cinéma,
Monolith Films,
Belga Productions,
Cofinova 13,
Cinéventure 2,
Canal+,
Ciné+,
France Télévisions,
Polski Instytut Sztuki Filmowej
Duration 1 h 40 m
Awards
Stockholm Film Festival
• 1 Win & 1 Nomination
Polish Film Awards
• 1 Nomination
