64
Metascore
13 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 70Chicago ReaderChicago ReaderOne of Claude Chabrol's most satisfyingly astringent films in years.
- 70The New York TimesA.O. ScottThe New York TimesA.O. ScottAs ever, Mr. Chabrol’s style is delicate and precise. Comedy of Power is not his deepest or most ambitious film, and its stance of knowing resignation in the face of corruption can feel a little glib. But Ms. Huppert's ferocity compensates for the director's detachment; no French actress is as riveting to watch once the gloves come off.
- 63New York Daily NewsJack MathewsNew York Daily NewsJack MathewsDraggy for long stretches, and never funny, Comedy of Power is a showcase - as if she needed another - for Huppert's chameleon qualities. She's an actress who can make a phone-book reading interesting, and that is pretty much the challenge she meets here.
- 63TV Guide MagazineKen FoxTV Guide MagazineKen FoxTitle notwithstanding, there's nothing particularly funny about this political drama from the tireless Claude Chabrol.
- 63Boston GlobeWesley MorrisBoston GlobeWesley MorrisThis movie can't commit to a genre, let alone a logical sequence or complete idea. But there is a wisdom in its blasé assessments and frivolous air: What's the point; where's the wine?
- 60VarietyLisa NesselsonVarietyLisa NesselsonWhile the picture may be too subtle and oblique in places for more general audiences, it remains enjoyable as a sardonic glimpse of unspoken codes at the intersection of politics and business.
- 60Village VoiceVillage VoiceAn enjoyable but curiously weightless trifle that lowers rather than raises the temperature of the affair. Comedy of Power has to be the most polite, untroubled conspiracy film since the genre first tapped a phone.
- 50The Hollywood ReporterKirk HoneycuttThe Hollywood ReporterKirk HoneycuttThe movie is too parochial for a wide audience. The French judicial system is totally alien to Americans, for instance, plus the film is a talkathon.
- 50New York PostV.A. MusettoNew York PostV.A. MusettoAt age 76, Chabrol seems to be just going through the motions, but anyone who has helmed 70 films ("Les Bonnes Femmes" and "La Ceremonie," for example) is entitled to an off day. Look for him to dazzle us next time out.
- 50Entertainment WeeklyOwen GleibermanEntertainment WeeklyOwen GleibermanChabrol has fashioned a mystery that caves in on itself, but unfortunately, it caves in on the audience, too.