42
Metascore
22 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 70Los Angeles TimesKevin ThomasLos Angeles TimesKevin ThomasShyer and Sweet bring consistent clarity and ever-increasing depth to the playing out of Jeanne's bold scheming and single-minded resolve; a tone of brisk wit gives way effortlessly to poignancy and ultimately tragedy.
- 70New Times (L.A.)Gregory WeinkaufNew Times (L.A.)Gregory WeinkaufIt's beautiful and obvious, a dubious combination that may nonetheless ensure its success.
- 70TimeRichard SchickelTimeRichard SchickelYou may not be able to follow the overall arc of their scheming, but scene by scene they are a delightful crew, hissing away behind their cloaks and fans.
- 50New York Daily NewsJami BernardNew York Daily NewsJami BernardThis sob story is a tough sell.
- 50San Francisco ChronicleEdward GuthmannSan Francisco ChronicleEdward GuthmannPlays like the cinematic equivalent of a paperback bodice- ripper with embossed type.
- 50Philadelphia InquirerCarrie RickeyPhiladelphia InquirerCarrie RickeyThe miscast (or misdirected) Hilary Swank's Jeanne takes so little pleasure in coquetry and manipulation.
- 50Chicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertChicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertThe storytelling is hopelessly compromised by the movie's decision to sympathize with Jeanne. We can admire someone for daring to do the audacious, or pity someone for recklessly doing something stupid, but when a character commits an act of stupid audacity, the admiration and pity cancel each other, and we are left only with the possibility of farce.
- 50Entertainment WeeklyOwen GleibermanEntertainment WeeklyOwen GleibermanSlipshod rather than sly. There's no fury to the movie, repressed or otherwise, which may be why when the Revolution arrives, it has all the impact of a guillotine with a deadly dull blade.
- 40New York Magazine (Vulture)Peter RainerNew York Magazine (Vulture)Peter RainerThe necklace in this movie was crafted by the elite London jewelers Asprey and Gerrard -- out of cubic-zirconium stones. That's just about perfect. The Affair of the Necklace is a cubic-zirconium epic.
- 25New York PostJonathan ForemanNew York PostJonathan ForemanIt's hard to imagine how Shyer and script writer John Sweet could have brought this tale to the screen in a cruder, cornier or less interesting way.