Diplomacy
Zeitgeist Films | Release Date: October 15, 2014 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
72
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 19 Critic Reviews
Positive:
15
Mixed:
4
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
91
Christian Science MonitorPeter RainerOct 17, 2014
Since we all know that Paris wasn’t blown to smithereens, the tension here is not in the outcome but in how it was achieved. The meeting between these two men is largely fictional, but the stakes could not have been more real. Read full review
90
Los Angeles TimesKenneth TuranNov 6, 2014
The reason it never ceases to compel is not only the skill of the actors but also the kind of provocative and thoughtful dialogue that characterizes intellectual combat of a high order. Read full review
90
The Hollywood ReporterJordan MintzerOct 6, 2014
This terrifically performed piece of filmed theater is filled with twists, turns and underhanded schemes that show how history sometimes lies in the hands of a selected few, not to mention a good glass of Chardonnay. Read full review
88
Philadelphia InquirerTirdad DerakhshaniDec 12, 2014
We know how the story ends: Nordling persuades Choltitz to back down. Yet, the film somehow maintains a razor-sharp sense of suspense throughout. And it ends with a delicious plot twist that makes one rethink Nordling's moral superiority. Read full review
80
The New YorkerDavid DenbyOct 19, 2014
The principal suspense in this fascinating movie is generated by the polite, and then not so polite, ferocity of the arguments between the two men. Read full review
80
The New York TimesA.O. ScottOct 14, 2014
The value of Diplomacy is that it produces at least as much unsettlement as relief, compelling the viewer to remain haunted by nightmarish thoughts of what might have happened. Read full review
80
VarietyScott FoundasOct 6, 2014
To be sure, we are in that authorial fantasy by which historical figures become shrewder, sharper and wittier than they surely were in life — the domain of Peter Morgan and Steven Spielberg’s “Lincoln.” But when the actors and the dialogue are this good, one scarcely objects. Read full review
75
ReelViewsJames BerardinelliDec 3, 2014
Diplomacy will work for those who appreciate dialogue-based character films in which plot is of secondary importance. This is a showcase for acting. Read full review
75
Portland OregonianMarc MohanNov 14, 2014
Ignorance is bliss, maybe. If you don't know (and the film doesn't tell you, though the press notes do) that Diplomacy plays fast and loose with the known facts, it's a thrilling, even moving drama. But learning the truth gives an unpleasant aftertaste to a movie that's otherwise a solid piece of work. Read full review
75
RogerEbert.comGodfrey CheshireOct 16, 2014
A compelling historical drama in Diplomacy, which benefits greatly from the razor-sharp, theater-honed skills of two formidable French actors, Niels Arestrup and André Dussollier, who created the roles on stage. Read full review
75
New York PostFarran Smith NehmeOct 15, 2014
We know Paris never went anywhere, and the film’s a little too flashy and theatrical, with too-neat ironies. As a duel between acting talents, though, this is first-rate. Read full review
70
Village VoiceSerena DonadoniOct 14, 2014
Arestrup and Dussollier originated these roles on stage, but Schlöndorff (who directed the Hoffman/Malkovich Death of a Salesman) gives it the immediacy of a life-and-death encounter. Read full review
67
The A.V. ClubNick SchagerOct 14, 2014
It’s a stagy setup whose theatrical roots are always front and center, yet it’s one that’s handled with aplomb by director Volker Schlöndorff (The Tin Drum), whose latest has enough visual panache to compensate for the static, conversational nature of the work. Read full review
63
Washington PostMichael O'SullivanNov 20, 2014
The movie is an intellectual puzzle, the outcome of which is never in doubt. Its minor thrills come not from not knowing what will happen, but from watching the cagey choreography of two acrobatic minds. Read full review
63
Slant MagazineCarson LundOct 16, 2014
The film isn't really fooling anyone into feeling doom-laden suspense (Paris, after all, is still standing), but the principal performers sell the momentousness of the drama. Read full review
60
Time OutKeith UhlichOct 14, 2014
Diplomacy’s origins as a play (written by Cyril Gely and starring the same actors) are always evident. Despite Schlöndorff’s attempts to give the movie some pop through widescreen lensing and noirish lighting, it’s a visually staid affair—very “filmed theater.” Fortunately, both Arestrup and Dussolier are captivating presences. Read full review
60
The DissolveMatthew DessemOct 14, 2014
Diplomacy is at its worst when Schlöndorff consciously attempts to open the play up. Read full review
50
Chicago Sun-TimesBill StametsNov 13, 2014
Volker Schlondorff’s talky drama...is less than persuasive. Read full review
50
Boston GlobeTom RussoNov 6, 2014
The dialogue also reflects the material’s stage origins in ways that don’t always translate well. Read full review
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