Lisa Nesselson

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Variety
For 125 reviews, this critic has graded:
  • 67% higher than the average critic
  • 1% same as the average critic
  • 32% lower than the average critic
On average, this critic grades 5.2 points higher than other critics. (0-100 point scale)

Lisa Nesselson's Scores

  • Movies
  • TV
Average review score: 71
Highest review score: 100 Three Colors: Red
Lowest review score: 10 Twentynine Palms
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 93 out of 125
  2. Mixed: 30 out of 125
  3. Negative: 2 out of 125
125 movie reviews
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    • 100 Metascore
    • 100 Lisa Nesselson
    Three Colors: Red
    Red, the beautifully spun and splendidly acted tale of a young model’s decisive encounter with a retired judge, is another deft, deeply affecting variation on Krzysztof Kieslowski’s recurring theme that people are interconnected in ways they can barely fathom. If it’s true — as the helmer has announced — that this opus will be his last foray into film directing, Kieslowski retires at a formal and philosophical peak.
    • 91 Metascore
    • 80 Lisa Nesselson
    Drive My Car
    Hamaguchi has taken Murakami’s original story as a springboard rather than a strict template, changing and adding locations, inventing additional characters and boosting the importance of others.
    • 91 Metascore
    • 100 Lisa Nesselson
    Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner
    The first-ever screenplay written in the Inuit language, Inuktitut -- and the first time's a charm.
    • 91 Metascore
    • 90 Lisa Nesselson
    Three Colors: White
    The entertaining second seg of Krzysztof Kieslowski’s “Three Colors” trilogy is involving, bittersweet and droll. A fine lead perf from Zbigniew Zamachowski anchors an ingenious rags-to-riches tale of revenge filtered through abiding love.
    • 91 Metascore
    • 80 Lisa Nesselson
    The Triplets of Belleville
    Almost completely dialogue-free but graced with terrific sound design and a swell score.
    • 90 Metascore
    • 90 Lisa Nesselson
    Persepolis
    This autobiographical tour de force is completely accessible and art of a very high order.
    • 89 Metascore
    • 90 Lisa Nesselson
    Elle
    This audacious, irony-laced, convention-jumbling tale is just plain fun to watch.
    • 87 Metascore
    • 90 Lisa Nesselson
    To Be and to Have
    Any negative stereotypes viewers might harbor about education in rural communities are sent packing by this magnificently lensed and cumulatively touching account from documaker Nicolas Philibert.
    • 87 Metascore
    • 80 Lisa Nesselson
    Three Colors: Blue
    Bold final sequence is a visual and aural crescendo calibrated to show that while each person is fundamentally alone, every life inevitably touches other lives.
    • 87 Metascore
    • 90 Lisa Nesselson
    Leila's Brothers
    Thanks to the director’s command of his material, the entanglements we witness may be unbelievably challenging and yet do not require any suspension of disbelief. This subtle, convincing emotional tour-de-force doesn’t feel as long as its generous running time.
    • 86 Metascore
    • 100 Lisa Nesselson
    The Red Turtle
    This is, quite simply, thoughtful and ultimately moving animation at its best.
    • 86 Metascore
    • 90 Lisa Nesselson
    Before the Devil Knows You're Dead
    The wrenching tale has something for anyone who likes their melodrama spiked with palpable tension and genuine suspense.
    • 85 Metascore
    • 90 Lisa Nesselson
    My Life as a Zucchini
    A compact triumph of stop-motion animation in the service of a bittersweet tale, My Life As A Courgette (My Vie de Courgette) is as delightful as it is affecting.
    • 70 Metascore
    • 80 Lisa Nesselson
    The Cat Returns (2002)
    Animated by Hiroyuki Morita -- a protege of Hayao Miyazaki -- story draws more from fairy tales than the eerie transformative productions by Studio Ghibli. Result is catchy entertainment for kids and adults.
    • 83 Metascore
    • 90 Lisa Nesselson
    Memento
    Deconstructs time and space with Einstein-caliber dexterity in the service of a delectably disturbing tale of revenge.
    • 82 Metascore
    • 70 Lisa Nesselson
    Tell No One
    Though almost laughably intricate in its plotting, this thoroughly Gallic adaptation of Harlan Coben's novel reps an entertaining sophomore outing for thesp-turned-director Guillaume Canet.
    • 82 Metascore
    • 100 Lisa Nesselson
    Two of Us
    Beautifully crafted and perfectly cast, the film touches on everything from keeping up appearances and family dynamics between parents and adult children to a critique of retirement homes that over-medicate residents. Nina and Mado’s loving intimacy is exquisite as is the care with which the proceedings are lit. The answer to Nina’s question, who cares about two old dykes, is that we do.
    • 82 Metascore
    • 90 Lisa Nesselson
    Winged Migration
    Visually stunning, practically dialogue-free and very family-friendly.
    • 82 Metascore
    • 80 Lisa Nesselson
    Crimson Gold
    Succeeds as a universal account of frustration applicable to any urban center where the gap between haves and have-nots is tauntingly visible.
    • 82 Metascore
    • 80 Lisa Nesselson
    The Super 8 Years
    As a born writer, Annie’s commentary is a time capsule of her life half a century ago but also, by extension, of fascinating changes afoot in France itself.
    • 82 Metascore
    • 90 Lisa Nesselson
    Heal the Living
    In what is only fitting for a story literally and figuratively embroidered around hearts, the film’s visual and emotional beats are perfectly in synch.
    • 82 Metascore
    • 80 Lisa Nesselson
    Late Marriage
    As wrenching as it is funny.
    • 82 Metascore
    • 90 Lisa Nesselson
    Gilles' Wife
    Told primarily via body language and facial expressions with a minimum of dialogue, beautifully observed, emotionally intense tale is an ambitious and rewarding outing for Frederic Fonteyne.
    • 81 Metascore
    • 90 Lisa Nesselson
    I Lost My Body
    I Lost My Body (J’ai perdu mon corps) is sit up and take notice animation.
    • 81 Metascore
    • 80 Lisa Nesselson
    A White, White Day
    A flesh and blood catalogue of ways to be masculine, from tender with his granddaughter to robustly no-nonsense with a weapon, Ingimundur is a fascinating character, splendidly portrayed.
    • 81 Metascore
    • 90 Lisa Nesselson
    Chaos
    A breathlessly involving tale of urban indifference, rampant hypocrisy and the difference a little human decency can make, superbly played pic is a black comedy that's frequently funny but never frivolous.
    • 81 Metascore
    • 90 Lisa Nesselson
    The Night of the 12th
    A deft and satisfying police procedural in command of its unusual tone, The Night of the 12th (La Nuit du 12) is perfectly cast and constructed with quietly thrilling rigour.
    • 81 Metascore
    • 80 Lisa Nesselson
    12 Days
    None of the interactions come across as a sham or an empty formality. Patients are treated with respect, at least in the hearings room.... There’s also genuine and inadvertent humor in the midst of sadness and administrative formalities.
    • 81 Metascore
    • 90 Lisa Nesselson
    A Self-Made Hero
    This sure-footed, deeply ironic comedy about an impostor who rises through the ranks is rock-solid entertainment with an appealing edge.
    • 74 Metascore
    • 100 Lisa Nesselson
    Genesis
    Eye-poppingly intimate footage of various critters evolving from the fetal stage or eating, strolling, fighting and courting that can only be obtained via infinite patience with special equipment in exotic locations.
    • 79 Metascore
    • 80 Lisa Nesselson
    Look at Me
    Punchy dialogue, excellent thesping and a real feel for the universal tuning fork of great classical music make this a prime candidate for international arthouse play.
    • 79 Metascore
    • 80 Lisa Nesselson
    The Three Musketeers - Part I: D'Artagnan
    A rollicking historical romp with nary a dull moment, The Three Musketeers - D’Artagnan (Les Trois Mousquetaires — D’Artagnan) offers all the sprightly action, jaunty repartee and sumptuous settings a contemporary movie-goer could possibly want.
    • 73 Metascore
    • 80 Lisa Nesselson
    The Memory of a Killer
    A gripping,stylishly lensed thriller.
    • 78 Metascore
    • 60 Lisa Nesselson
    Before I Forget
    If you've pondered how to order a round of fellatio as one orders a pizza or wondered what gay gentlemen of a certain age talk about, this touching glimpse of faded beauty and looming decrepitude fits the bill.
    • 78 Metascore
    • 80 Lisa Nesselson
    Onoda: 10,000 Nights in the Jungle
    This gripping tale of misguided patriotism recreates a vanished set of circumstances via excellent performances and well-tailored cinematic choices. While there are a few meditative lulls in this 165-minute adventure — which opens Un Certain Regard in Cannes — the proceedings are never dull and an accretion of detail leads to a memorably moving denouement.
    • 78 Metascore
    • 90 Lisa Nesselson
    We
    A subtle, respectful and enlightening patchwork of contemporary French lives.
    • 53 Metascore
    • 60 Lisa Nesselson
    Apres Vous (After You)
    Elegantly written, well-thesped comedy is too hermetic and bittersweet to be laugh-out-loud funny, but sustains a fairly successful ratio of uncomfortable situations to amusing solutions.
    • 78 Metascore
    • 70 Lisa Nesselson
    The Last Mistress
    Adapting a book by semi-notorious novelist and critic Jules Barbey d'Aurevilly (1808-89), Breillat freely stamps her strong and singular feminine insights on a man's material.
    • 60 Metascore
    • 50 Lisa Nesselson
    Reconstruction
    Valiant attempt to innovate in the well-trod realm of Boy Meets Girl doesn't quite coalesce despite a thoughtful and distinctive visual approach.
    • 77 Metascore
    • 80 Lisa Nesselson
    Josep
    A harsh history lesson as well as a good yarn, this visually arresting endeavour registers strongly at a time when refugees account for a record 1% of the world’s population.
    • 77 Metascore
    • 80 Lisa Nesselson
    Evolution
    The only thing that’s clear from start to finish is that Hadžihalilovic is in absolute command of her unsettling cinematic realm.
    • 77 Metascore
    • 90 Lisa Nesselson
    Apprentice
    Tightly focused and ambitious in its multiple themes, the tale touches on how the death penalty radiates out to affect the living.
    • 77 Metascore
    • 80 Lisa Nesselson
    Marlina the Murderer in Four Acts
    A thoroughly enjoyable, visually ravishing feminist Western played out in the widescreen vistas of rural Indonesia, Marlina The Murderer In Four Acts weaves basic elements into a tale worth telling splendidly accompanied by a sit-up-and-take-notice musical score.
    • 76 Metascore
    • 90 Lisa Nesselson
    A Very Long Engagement
    Told with a blend of visual mastery and emotional intimacy, ambitious venture sustains a special melding of romance and pragmatism that should engage discerning audiences.
    • 76 Metascore
    • 80 Lisa Nesselson
    Cinévardaphoto
    Varda renders the political personal and the personal universal.
    • 76 Metascore
    • 80 Lisa Nesselson
    Jeune Femme (Montparnasse Bienvenüe)
    This first film by writer-director Léona Serraille is full of snap and surprises.
    • 76 Metascore
    • 70 Lisa Nesselson
    Kirikou and the Wild Beasts
    Animation, like dialogue and narration, is simple and direct. Messages of the value of teamwork, pride in shared labor, self-reliance and resourcefulness are nicely embedded into compact, suspenseful adventures.
    • 76 Metascore
    • 90 Lisa Nesselson
    Marguerite
    The bittersweet fact that money can buy many things but love and talent aren’t among them is explored with often-thrilling artistry in Marguerite.
    • 75 Metascore
    • 80 Lisa Nesselson
    Fear and Trembling
    Classy, funny cross-cultural adventure is Alain Corneau's most accomplished and entertaining film since 1991's "Tous les matins du monde."
    • 75 Metascore
    • 100 Lisa Nesselson
    Sauvage / Wild
    Gut-punchingly authentic with radiant moments of tenderness where least expected, intimate yet not voyeuristic, this first feature by writer-director Camille Vidal-Naquet gets the balance between looking-for-love and settling-for-sensation exactly right.
    • 75 Metascore
    • 70 Lisa Nesselson
    Terror's Advocate
    Sure to inspire debate in France and Germany and of obvious interest to anyone who follows the roots of modern international terrorism, doc probes gray areas in the colorful life of its controversial, limelight-courting subject.
    • 75 Metascore
    • 90 Lisa Nesselson
    Les amitiés maléfiques
    A movie so unrepentantly French that viewers who enjoy truly Gallic pics can start (tastefully) salivating now.
    • 74 Metascore
    • 80 Lisa Nesselson
    The Lady and the Duke
    History comes alive with verve and cold-sweat suspense in The Lady and the Duke.
    • 74 Metascore
    • 70 Lisa Nesselson
    Scarlet
    Quietly rewarding thanks to an excellent cast whose faces we observe in frequent close-ups as their dirt-poor characters do their very best with scant resources.
    • 74 Metascore
    • 80 Lisa Nesselson
    Like Crazy
    The film’s freewheeling energy is as appealing as its developments are unpredictable.
    • 74 Metascore
    • 70 Lisa Nesselson
    Western
    Viewers who don’t share the director’s obvious affection for his often funny characters will find the pic too long and too diffuse, but its cumulative rewards are ample.
    • 74 Metascore
    • 70 Lisa Nesselson
    The Life of Jesus
    An uncompromising portrait of thwarted emotions and small-town tedium, The Life of Jesus is a luminous and disconcerting feature debut from scripter-helmer Bruno Dumont. Pic’s deliberate pace, as it details the actions of adolescents with stifled inner lives, poses a commercial obstacle in markets unfriendly to leisurely fare, but film holds definite rewards for patient viewers and fest auds.
    • 74 Metascore
    • 70 Lisa Nesselson
    The Three Musketeers - Part 2: Milady
    It’s Eva Green who steals the elaborate show, making villainy seem like the best possible career choice for a beautiful woman, circa the 1620s.
    • 69 Metascore
    • 80 Lisa Nesselson
    Wilbur Wants to Kill Himself
    Given its impressive balance of charm and bite, it looks like anything but suicide.
    • 74 Metascore
    • 80 Lisa Nesselson
    Looking for Cheyenne
    Suspenseful, funny, touching, sexy and painlessly pertinent.
    • 74 Metascore
    • 80 Lisa Nesselson
    The Crime Is Mine
    A willfully theatrical, proudly retro yet delectably pertinent confection.
    • 74 Metascore
    • 80 Lisa Nesselson
    La faute à Fidel!
    Wonderfully engaging look at 1970-71 from a child's p.o.v.
    • 73 Metascore
    • 80 Lisa Nesselson
    The Dinner Game
    Abetted by an excellent cast, vet writer Weber weaves a simple premise into comedy gold.
    • 73 Metascore
    • 70 Lisa Nesselson
    The Girl Cut in Two
    While not a classic, this is a pleasantly disturbing, nominally voyeuristic romp in the territory Chabrol knows best.
    • 72 Metascore
    • 70 Lisa Nesselson
    Gone Baby Gone
    Moral ambiguity is the real star of Ben Affleck's helming debut, Gone Baby Gone, an involving Boston-set tale of mixed motives, selflessness and perfidy in the wake of a 4-year-old girl's disappearance.
    • 72 Metascore
    • 60 Lisa Nesselson
    The Prayer
    Always watchable but not transcendent, Cedric Kahn’s character study builds its portrait via landscape, work, prayer and friendship.
    • 72 Metascore
    • 70 Lisa Nesselson
    Priceless
    Co-scripter/helmer Pierre Salvadori serves up an enjoyable riff on genuine romance versus the pay-as-you-go variety, in crowd-pleasing, exportable picture.
    • 70 Metascore
    • 70 Lisa Nesselson
    District B13
    Fast, dumb fun.
    • tbd Metascore
    • 70 Lisa Nesselson
    Undertaking Betty
    An enjoyable and entertainingly cast fable about love, death and fitting revenge, "Plots With a View" (AKA Undertaking Betty) strikes a near-miraculous balance between the silly and the morbid.
    • 71 Metascore
    • 70 Lisa Nesselson
    La Moustache
    Viewers who like their conclusions tidy may rebel, but those who relish outstanding performances in the service of an intriguing idea will be entertained.
    • 71 Metascore
    • 70 Lisa Nesselson
    Intimate Strangers
    Consistently entertaining exploration of how much -- or how little -- is required to overcome obstacles to self-actualization should be welcome wherever auds crave a good story told with nuance and flair.
    • 71 Metascore
    • 90 Lisa Nesselson
    Nocturama
    The protagonists are pathetic yet see themselves as bold and daring and in this Bonello has captured something about the present moment that rings absolutely true.
    • 70 Metascore
    • 80 Lisa Nesselson
    Amélie
    Fresh, funny, exquisitely bittersweet tour de force.
    • 70 Metascore
    • 80 Lisa Nesselson
    The Barbarian Invasions
    A full-bodied, funny and gloriously unpretentious ode to family, friendship and the meaning of life, The Barbarian Invasions is solidly entertaining, sharply written and genuinely touching.
    • 61 Metascore
    • 60 Lisa Nesselson
    Wall
    Helmer -- an Arab Jew who has lived on both sides of Jerusalem and is comfortable speaking idiomatic Arabic and Hebrew -- is particularly well qualified to tackle her subject.
    • 70 Metascore
    • 90 Lisa Nesselson
    Merry Christmas
    A period drama marbled with humor, bold gestures and bittersweet consequences.
    • 69 Metascore
    • 80 Lisa Nesselson
    See How They Fall
    See How They Fall, a deft interlocking tale of two small-time hoods and an unlikely avenger, is morally ambiguous and dosed with irony in the noir tradition. Dark, compelling helming debut by veteran scripter Jacques Audiard should do nicely at Gallic wickets and rack up healthy tube sales.
    • 69 Metascore
    • 80 Lisa Nesselson
    Lover for a Day
    There are wonderful, quintessentially French flourishes scattered throughout.
    • 69 Metascore
    • 90 Lisa Nesselson
    Live Flesh
    Most of all, the satisfyingly cinematic screen adaptation puts motion and energy into a story that was mostly internalized from Victor's perspective in Rendell's book.
    • 68 Metascore
    • 80 Lisa Nesselson
    And Then We Danced
    An instantly engaging tale of a young male dancer’s sexual awakening in contemporary Tbilisi, And Then We Danced is personal and political, romantic and educational.
    • 68 Metascore
    • 90 Lisa Nesselson
    Bon voyage
    A rousing, well-crafted romp packed with ingenuity, duplicity, close calls and heroic gestures, Bon Voyage is true to its title.
    • 68 Metascore
    • 80 Lisa Nesselson
    Everybody Knows
    Making fine use of a top-flight Spanish-speaking cast, Asghar Farhadi deftly inserts love, resentment, class, money and family ties into a propulsive narrative replete with doubts, accusations, intimations, red herrings and other welcome ingredients from the suspenseful-drama arsenal.
    • 68 Metascore
    • 70 Lisa Nesselson
    Heartbeat Detector
    Both pertinent and discomfiting, this sober, well-cast drama remains quietly riveting, despite its 140-minute running time.
    • 68 Metascore
    • 70 Lisa Nesselson
    The Valet
    Layers of intrigue mesh with Hollywood-style efficiency, pitting sincere feelings against ruthlessly mercenary machinations. Also in Hollywood style, sincerity and integrity carry the day.
    • 67 Metascore
    • 50 Lisa Nesselson
    Russian Dolls
    Viewers who thought the protags were superficial and annoying first time around will find little to change their minds here, but original pictures fans will probably embrace the now-scattered group's marginally more mature dilemmas centered on work and romance.
    • 67 Metascore
    • 60 Lisa Nesselson
    A Brother's Love
    How much a viewer will enjoy the convincingly cringe-making portrait on display here will depend on whether one feels empathy for Sophia’s inability-come-reluctance to access the ramp to adulthood or would prefer to reach into the screen and shake her.
    • 67 Metascore
    • 80 Lisa Nesselson
    Man Bites Dog
    An offbeat, darkly hilarious portrait.
    • 67 Metascore
    • 70 Lisa Nesselson
    The Flower of Evil
    A terrific multigenerational cast brings a subtle, mordant, frequently funny tale of family secrets vividly to life.
    • 67 Metascore
    • 70 Lisa Nesselson
    Watermarks
    Snappy, affecting documentary.
    • 67 Metascore
    • 70 Lisa Nesselson
    Water Lilies
    The painfully spot-on essence of teen angst meets the spirit of Esther Williams in Water Lilies. First film by gifted scripter-helmer Celine Sciamma nails the aching doubts and offhanded cruelty of 15- and 16-year-old girls.
    • 67 Metascore
    • 70 Lisa Nesselson
    The Page Turner
    Scripter-helmer Denis Dercourt's sixth feature is spare but classy, with an impressively controlled perf by Deborah Francois (the young mother in the Dardenne Bros.' "L'enfant") opposite popular and spot-on vet Catherine Frot.
    • 64 Metascore
    • 70 Lisa Nesselson
    The Butterfly
    A solidly entertaining, cross-generational two-hander, The Butterfly strikes the right balance between humor and observational bite.
    • 66 Metascore
    • 80 Lisa Nesselson
    Seaside
    The whole endeavor pleases with its wealth of tiny observations that add up to an affecting whole.
    • 66 Metascore
    • 80 Lisa Nesselson
    The Midwife
    Frot and Deneuve work subtle wonders with their purpose-written roles.
    • 65 Metascore
    • 80 Lisa Nesselson
    Summer of 85
    An intense and touching tale of first love set over a six-week period, Summer Of 85 blends the energy of youth with the curveballs of fate in a pleasant, keenly acted package that, despite a tragic core, will send all but the most strait-laced curmudgeon out of the cinema smiling.
    • 65 Metascore
    • 70 Lisa Nesselson
    Lemming
    Spooky, intellectually titillating and darkly funny picture is definitely the kind of film where the less you know going in, the better.
    • 65 Metascore
    • 90 Lisa Nesselson
    Ismael's Ghosts
    Desplechin delivers with flying colours thanks to an excellent cast and a sometimes serious, sometimes funny story that never lets up or becomes predictable. [Cannes Version]
    • 65 Metascore
    • 80 Lisa Nesselson
    11:14
    A zippy and sardonic feast of bad decision-making under pressure, 11:14 artfully molds the seemingly unrelated misfortunes of 10 characters into a satisfying and consistently entertaining whole.
    • 63 Metascore
    • 80 Lisa Nesselson
    He Loves Me... He Loves Me Not
    Turns on an intellectual gimmick in the vein of "Memento," weaving down sinister byways, the better to click with satisfying symmetry.
    • 65 Metascore
    • 70 Lisa Nesselson
    Monsieur N.
    An intricate, fetchingly lensed tale of historical speculation framed as a plausible thriller.
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