Critic Rating
(read reviews)User Rating
Director
Céline Sciamma
Cast
Noémie Merlant,
Adèle Haenel,
Luàna Bajrami,
Valeria Golino,
Christel Baras,
Armande Boulanger
Genre
Drama,
History,
Romance
On an isolated island in Brittany at the end of the 18th century, Marianne, a painter, is commissioned to do the wedding portrait of Héloïse, a young woman who has just left the convent. Héloïse is a reluctant bride-to-be and Marianne must paint her without her knowing.
A beautiful romance told subtly and tenderly. This period piece owes its effectiveness to the centering of the female gaze - of the woman staring back at us as we stare at her. Celine Sciamma portrays her female characters with the kind of fierceness and power that is refreshing to see on the big screen.
This film wasted no words, most of the emotionally significant moments being in stares, action, music, and (of course) art. While I’ve never been especially interested in period pieces, it was so refreshing to watch because of its focus on women and their relationships with one another.
The Guardian by Peter Bradshaw
A superbly elegant, enigmatic drama ... I was on the edge of my seat.
The Playlist by Caroline Tsai
Sciamma ... has a magnificent capability for elegant prose that wouldn’t feel out of place in a classic novel, the kind of dialogue that simmers long after it is spoken.
IndieWire by David Ehrlich
Razor-sharp and shatteringly romantic ... as perfect a film as any to have premiered this year.
The Hollywood Reporter by Leslie Felperin
Assaying [Sciamma's] first period film, an exquisitely executed love story that's both formally adventurous and emotionally devastating, she sticks the landing like a UCLA gymnast in peak condition. It's so good you'll want to watch again in slow-motion immediately afterwards just to see how she does it.
Observer by Oliver Jones
It also happens to be the best ending of a movie this year and the work of a filmmaker completely attuned to both her craft and the inner lives of her characters. Moreover, the shot is the final act of passion and precision in a film that is teeming with both, a work of art whose flame will continue to smolder in your mind and heart well after you have left the theater.
Slate by Dana Stevens
Just like the short time the lovers have together, Portrait of a Lady on Fire is minimal but perfect, without an image, a glance, or a brushstroke to spare.
The Globe and Mail (Toronto) by Barry Hertz
Sharply subverting the male gaze at every turn, Sciamma has created an unforgettable treatise on thwarted desire. It is so very easy to label a film incendiary, but Portrait of a Lady on Fire deserves the scalding honour. It will ignite every flame you might have.
The Film Stage by Leonardo Goi
Portrait of a Lady on Fire is a film of incandescent scenes and staggering wonder.
Time by Stephanie Zacharek
This radiantly sensual film ends on the perfect note, a rush of emotional intensity that’s wrapped in a secret, as hushed as the rustle of silk.
Time Out by Dave Calhoun
It’s deeply romantic and also deeply thoughtful – an electric combination.
The A.V. Club by A.A. Dowd
This is a quantum creative leap for Sciamma, herself a keen observer of behavior. (Her previous films, like Tomboy and Girlhood, were rich with character detail.) Time traveling to an old world seems to unlock the full scope of her passion and insight.
Variety by Peter Debruge
Though this gorgeous, slow-burn lesbian romance works strongly enough on a surface level, one can hardly ignore the fact, as true then as it is now, that the world looks different when seen through a woman’s eyes.
TheWrap by Ben Croll
Visually ravishing ... [A] piercingly intelligent treatise on art, agency and queer love in the 18th century.
The Telegraph by Tim Robey
Sciamma’s splendid, multi-layered conceit manages to carry equal weight as a love story and a manifesto of sorts for feminine art.
CineVue by John Bleasdale
Not since Jane Campion’s The Piano has a costume drama presented such a gorgeous view of love from a woman’s point of view.
Screen Daily by Wendy Ide
Arthouse audiences will be intrigued to discover how Sciamma has channelled the fluid energy of her contemporary work into the more constrained environment of a costume drama. It won’t hurt that this is a strikingly handsome production which will be admired on a technical level.
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