Sensibly dramatising a few representative days rather than Giacometti’s whole life, this may seem slight, but there’s a lot to dig into here — and Rush hasn’t had a showcase this good in years.
What are people saying?
What are critics saying?
Though the film is all surface, that surface is precisely the point.
The Hollywood Reporter by David Rooney
Amusing but slight, the small-scale film is elevated by a spirited characterization from Geoffrey Rush as mercurial artist — is there any other kind in movies? — Alberto Giacometti.
It’s a charming, modest glimpse into a rarefied world that, lit with so much humble affection for its characters, manages to make it seem not so rarefied after all.
Screen International by Jonathan Romney
Effectively a chamber piece spiked with musings on the difficulty of art, the piece is by nature a little stagey as well as talky.
Rush and Tucci create a captivating portrait of an artist who’s at once elated, haunted, and utterly possessed.
The Guardian by Peter Bradshaw
It’s a highly entertaining portrait of the two men, and Tucci’s own directorial brush strokes are bold and invigorating.]
A stellar performance from Geoffrey Rush centres this diverting glimpse into the chaotic life of a great artist.
The Telegraph by Robbie Collin
Rush hurls himself into the film’s star turn with a cantankerous abandon that more than compensates for his slightly unsteady accent. It’s a wildly entertaining performance that feels vividly inhabited both physically and vocally.
The Film Stage by Rory O'Connor
Rush is a joy to watch, no doubt, but the unavoidable sense remains that Tucci is stretching his material a little thin, restricting the narrative to the two-weeks-plus Lord spent in Paris with nothing on either end to really fill us in.