67
Metascore
29 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 83ColliderMaggie LovittColliderMaggie LovittWith Oliver Garcia’s exquisite costumes and Karen Murphy’s production design, both brought alive to their full potential by Jess Hall’s stunning cinematography, Chevalier is not just a compelling story, it’s a visually compelling one too.
- 80Screen RantMae AbdulbakiScreen RantMae AbdulbakiChevalier, about the violinist and composer Joseph Bologne, is magnetic, a historical fiction that elevates itself beyond the conventional biopic to deliver a memorable drama about its subject's life.
- 75The Film StageJared MobarakThe Film StageJared MobarakA stirring tribute to a man of many talents, Chevalier gorgeously gives a once-forgotten virtuoso violinist the cinematic treatment.
- 75IndieWireKate ErblandIndieWireKate ErblandChevalier, despite its steadily devolving storytelling, is enjoyable and worthy of appreciation. When Williams and Robinson loosen up the strings and allow the film to feel as original and free as Bologne was at the height of his creative powers — a battle! with Mozart! with dueling violins! — and refuse to be beholden to the usual narrative beats and expectations, Chevalier soars. So does Harrison, whose cocky take on the young star is funny, flinty, and entirely justified.
- 70The Hollywood ReporterLovia GyarkyeThe Hollywood ReporterLovia GyarkyeThe latter half of Chevalier obediently fills the holes of its familiar puzzle. The cast — a wonderful bunch — sustain our interest with their congenial performances. Harrison is especially spry as he balances Saint-Georges’ confidence, jovial comportment and rumored temper.
- Chevalier‘s reliance on biopic tropes does it no favors, and the lighting and set design are pretty drab in comparison to the excellent costumes. However, it is also bolstered by the incredible performances of Harrison and Adékoluẹjo, the smart screenplay by Robinson, and Williams’ direction, especially in the opening and ending sequence.
- 65TheWrapMartin TsaiTheWrapMartin TsaiWhile Chevalier is by no means terrible, it seems like such a huge missed opportunity for an important historical figure to have finally gotten his due.
- 63Slant MagazineRoss McIndoeSlant MagazineRoss McIndoeChevalier doesn’t match the revolutionary spirit of Joseph Bologne’s life, but there’s still a lot of enjoyment to be taken from seeing a towering figure, long forgotten by history, returned to his rightful place at center stage.
- 60Film ThreatAndy HowellFilm ThreatAndy HowellThe set design and production value are top-notch, which makes it even more jarring that the production sounds so modern and American. It is taken to such extremes as to be its downfall. It somehow seems less believable because we’re ever aware of being manipulated. It is a shame because, in this case, the real truth was so much stranger than fiction.
- 58The PlaylistCharles BramescoThe PlaylistCharles BramescoThough the film starts and finishes with swaggering demonstrations of politicized revolt, the rest lapses into the conventions of a genre fatally attached to them.