This is a brilliantly contained and sublimely ridiculous send-up of competitive male egos from a refreshing female perspective.
What are people saying?
What are critics saying?
The Hollywood Reporter by Boyd van Hoeij
Just like a cubist painting, what happens in the film doesn’t necessarily resemble real life in a narrow documentary sense but instead gives the viewer something else: a chance to consider certain behavior from various sides and on a more abstract level.
Screen International by Dan Fainaru
Less like a drama than a statement, Chevalier’s characters do not grow but diminish. None of Attenberg’s charming insouciance is in evidence here although she never defines any of her victims too precisely, she is blunt and even cruel at times.
The only certainty is Tsangari has delivered another intriguing and thoroughly original character study, which this time serves as an apt metaphor for Greece's larger problems.
The Film Stage by Ethan Vestby
Chevalier is the kind of one-note, overly conceptual art film that says all it has to say within its first five minutes, but attempts to bury it with broad jabs at easy targets.
That Tsangari resists escalating the conflict, counting on subtle political insinuations to emerge as these perplexing social Olympics wear on, will leave as many viewers enervated as amused, but it’s an expertly executed tease.
Slant Magazine by James Lattimer
Athina Rachel Tsangari's obvious skill can't hide the fact that her concept is one-note.
The Globe and Mail (Toronto) by Kate Taylor
The film is made watchable by a strong cast that renders the men’s vulnerability particularly sympathetic.
Village Voice by Melissa Anderson
Despite the claustrophobic setting and Tsangari's observational style, Chevalier doesn't register as hermetic or coolly condescending; the film feels loose and agile even amid so much capricious rule-making.
While the game Chevalier keeps evolving into something darker, the movie Chevalier is fairly static. The style’s unchanging throughout, holding to a slow pace and a muted sense of humor.