A Housekeeper
Palm Pictures | Release Date: July 11, 2003 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
68
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 25 Critic Reviews
Positive:
20
Mixed:
5
Negative:
0

Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
60
TV Guide MagazineKen Fox
It may be an old story, but Berri draws fresh poignancy from this December-May romance by identifying so empathetically with Jacques. Read full review
75
Philadelphia InquirerSteven Rea
Possession, humiliation, jealousy, revelation . . . they're all painted in light, swift strokes by the veteran director and his two stars. Read full review
63
New York PostLou Lumenick
The film is extremely well-acted, and Berri is very good at demonstrating why the relationship is doomed. Read full review
70
Washington PostDesson Thomson
Even if the film is only moderately enjoyable, it can create a sort of exotic escapism. Read full review
50
Dallas ObserverJean Oppenheimer
Although meant as a light comedy-drama in which both characters are sympathetic, The Housekeeper instead proves irritating. Read full review
70
The New York TimesStephen Holden
Fits squarely into a Gallic tradition of wistful, worldly-wise comedies that reflect on the weakness of the flesh. Read full review
80
New York Magazine (Vulture)Peter Rainer
Berri is very good at bringing out his characters' emotional contradictions so that we seem to be discovering them right along with Jacques and Laura. Read full review
75
PremiereLaine Ewen
Understated, quietly amusing, and steadily paced. Read full review
60
Wall Street JournalCollin Levey
The effect is a haunting vision of neediness, age and rejection.
67
Entertainment WeeklyOwen Gleiberman
By the end, you may marvel at the film's worldly-wise wink of maturity. You may also think, Is that all? Read full review
75
Boston GlobeTy Burr
There isn't much to The Housekeeper, really, but it plumbs depths of male unease that louder and less wise movies strain to reach. Read full review
80
The New YorkerDavid Denby
Observant and true. The pleasure of it lies not in its emotions, which are distinctly on the tepid side, but in the intimacy of its reporting. [28 July 2003, p.94]
80
Village VoiceLeslie Camhi
In a flawless performance, Bacri lets us glimpse the tender desperation beneath his character's harsh, curmudgeonly exterior. Read full review
80
Los Angeles TimesKevin Thomas
A summer treat for sophisticated moviegoers -- graceful and serious, yet not overly so. This easy-to-take movie gets everything just right and is a pleasure to watch. Read full review
70
VarietyDavid Rooney
Leads Jean-Pierre Bacri and Emilie Dequenne establish an awkward yet tender odd-couple dynamic, their accomplished work serving to distinguish the familiar material. Read full review
50
L.A. WeeklyScott Foundas
There is, however, a more compelling, more melancholy story itching to break out here, one of two wounded people finding each other at the exact wrong moment in both their lives. But by the time Berri gets around to that idea, The Housekeeper is already finishing up. Read full review
75
Seattle Post-IntelligencerSean Axmaker
There's no particular tragedy or triumph, merely another step in the lives of two fallible people finding a little comfort while stumbling toward happiness. Read full review
50
New York Daily NewsJack Mathews
No one makes something out of nothing like the French, and in this wispy tale about a jilted middle-age man and the very young housekeeper who briefly lights up his life, writer-director Claude Berri's got plenty of nothing. Read full review
67
Portland OregonianShawn Levy
With the grounded performances, a pleasant look and feel and the brains to refrain from anything more than a quiet portrait of life, The Housekeeper makes for the sort of well-seasoned meal that's so refreshing in the summertime. Read full review
75
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalle
It's refreshing to see a film about nothing but human emotion. Read full review
75
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
Wise and subtle in the way it presents its older man. A less interesting movie would make him lustful and self-deceiving, a man who believes his is the secret of eternal youth and virility. Read full review
70
Chicago ReaderJonathan Rosenbaum
Fairly predictable, but the two leads' impressively nuanced performances make it less so, and Berri makes skillful use of both actors. Read full review
100
Christian Science MonitorDavid Sterritt
Berri lets the story develop in a leisurely and organic way, capping it with a last scene that's subtle and satisfying. Jean-Pierre Bacri is just right as the man and Emilie Dequenne is perfect as the maid. Read full review
70
The A.V. ClubNoel Murray
Berri's work never really rises above the gradual or the mild, and it eventually settles gently into one of those elliptical conclusions that mark mainstream French cinema at its most tasteful and staid, but the film's fully realized performances and sharply observed moments make it a pleasure, albeit a minor one. Read full review
75
Chicago TribuneRobert K. Elder
Whatever the final message of The Housekeeper, its love story engages both the heart and the head. Read full review
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