80
The Guardian by Leslie Felperin
The script, by Roderick Warich and Kröger, isn’t quite as nifty as its famous models, but it has its own grim integrity, especially with the jarring last frames.
The Universal Theory (Die Theorie von Allem)
Critic Rating
(read reviews)User Rating
- Germany
Director
Timm Kröger
Cast
Jan Bülow,
Olivia Ross,
Hanns Zischler,
Gottfried Breitfuß,
Philippe Graber,
David Bennent
Genre
Mystery,
Thriller
A physicist, Johannes, is in the Alps for a science conference. He has to get to the bottom of a series of violent occurrences. As other conference-goers are killed, Johannes makes contact with Karin, a jazz pianist with impossible knowledge. The secrets Johannes seeks to answer lie at the bottom of the mountain; he just has to live long enough to uncover them.
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What are critics saying?
80
Variety by Jessica Kiang
An overlong but enjoyable metaphysical thriller that delivers pastiche so meticulous it becomes its own source of supremely cinematic pleasure.
80
CineVue by John Bleasdale
Kröger manages well with moments of pure cinema in between, and a particularly out-there moment of noise and mayhem which threatens to crush the film and the audience in an audiovisual avalanche. There’s an immersive strangeness that only David Lynch has snuck into mainstream cinema.
63
RogerEbert.com by Isaac Feldberg
For all its investigation of rifts in reality and parallel universes, “The Universal Theory” provides proof only of the truth’s inherent slipperiness — and of its director’s great affection for his influences.
63
Movie Nation by Roger Moore
It’s a modest but immersive film more interested in cryptic characters and plot lines and in period detail — minimal effects, mostly in the third act — and the idea that some sort of rift in reality might be possible, that it could happen, and why not in the Swiss Alps in 1962?
60
The Observer (UK) by Wendy Ide
An impenetrable plot doesn’t entirely hold together, but the film is worth a look for fans of wigged-out sci-fi, gorgeous framing and lush, orchestral, Bernard Herrmann-inspired soundtracks.
60
Los Angeles Times by Robert Abele
Nothing in The Universal Theory is going to blow your mind, but as it plays its fastidiously crafted notes of conspiracy and chaos, you’ll know the idiosyncrasies of the art house are alive and well.
60
Film Threat by Alex Saveliev
The Universal Theory works in fits and starts but is bound to leave the audience not entirely convinced by its logic.
60
The Film Verdict by Boyd van Hoeij
The Theory of Everything works best as a kind of surrealist carrousel of film influences and physics references and as such, it’s mostly enjoyable.
50
The Hollywood Reporter by Jordan Mintzer
The result is more admirable than captivating, losing its way in old school hijinks (wacky professors, evil spies, a femme fatale) that grow outlandishly phantasmagorical as the plot thickens.
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