X
- 1990
- R
- Cinecom Pictures
- 1 h 49 m
- 1990
- R
- Cinecom Pictures
- 1 h 49 m
Summary In a dystopian, polluted right wing religious tyranny, a young woman is put in sexual slavery on account of her now rare fertility.
Directed By: Volker Schlöndorff
Written By: Margaret Atwood, Harold Pinter
- 1990
- R
- Cinecom Pictures
- 1 h 49 m
- 1990
- R
- Cinecom Pictures
- 1 h 49 m
The Handmaid's Tale
53
User Score
Available after 4 ratings
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Where to Watch
Summary In a dystopian, polluted right wing religious tyranny, a young woman is put in sexual slavery on account of her now rare fertility.
Directed By: Volker Schlöndorff
Written By: Margaret Atwood, Harold Pinter
Where to Watch
Top Cast
Metascore
Mixed or Average
Based on 24 Critic Reviews
53
46% Positive
11 Reviews
11 Reviews
46% Mixed
11 Reviews
11 Reviews
8% Negative
2 Reviews
2 Reviews
Metascore
Mixed or Average
Based on 24 Critic Reviews
53
46% Positive
11 Reviews
11 Reviews
46% Mixed
11 Reviews
11 Reviews
8% Negative
2 Reviews
2 Reviews
Taut, powerful, brilliantly lit, The Handmaid's Tale casts a spell, even as it spells out its dire warning. [09 Mar 1990, p.20]
Despite its shortcomings, however, the movie is often stimulating in a way that movies generally aren't. A dark, mirthless satire set in the near future, the film keeps your attention by holding a warped mirror up to our own time. [19 Mar 1990, p.C1]
If there can be a best-selling novel with a cult following, Margaret Atwood's feminist-futuristic The Handmaid's Tale qualifies. I'm not sure if the screen version has the stuff to become a cult movie - but if so, credit timeliness, visual style and a few performances. Most of all, timeliness. [07 Mar 1990, p.4D]
It's a beautifully austere piece of work -- it's rare to see a film these days that's as carefully designed as this one. But the design hasn't been given enough human contours. It's as if the film makers had forgotten the raging emotions that all that design and austerity were supposed to repress. [07 Mar 1990, p.F1]
The finale isn't quite as chillingly nerve-wracking as one would hope. Schloendorff, who also made The Tin Drum, directs with a uniform dullness that creates little sense of suspense. In replaying the Atwood novel, he and Pinter ultimately fail to create a significant timbre of their own to make the transmogrification truly effective.
The heavy-handed direction by Volker Schlondorff doesn't help to make the movie convincing or dramatically effective. [16 Mar 1990, p.54]
Hollywood has again turned a challenging book into negligible cinema. Forget the $13 million budget and the reputations involved. This Handmaid’s Tale is merely a piss-poor rehash of The Stepford Wives with delusions of grandeur.
User Reviews
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Production Company
Bioskop Film,
Cinecom Entertainment Group,
Cinétudes Films,
Daniel Wilson Productions,
Master Partners,
Odyssey
Release Date Mar 9, 1990
Duration 1 h 49 m
Rating R
Tagline A haunting tale of sexuality in a country gone wrong.
Awards
Evening Standard British Film Awards
• 1 Win & 1 Nomination
GLAAD Media Awards
• 1 Win & 1 Nomination
Berlin International Film Festival
• 1 Nomination
