Gilles' Wife

Name: Gilles' Wife
Genre: Drama
Released: November 16, 2005
Duration: 103 min
Rating: 82

2005

METASCORE

Universal acclaim based on 14 Critic Reviews

See All

USER SCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 11 Ratings

See All

7.6

VOTE NOW

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

7.6	Your Score
7.6	User Score Generally favorable reviews based on 11 Ratings

Would you like to write a review?

There is a 75 character minimum for reviews. If your review contains spoilers, please check the Spoiler box. Please do not use ALL CAPS. There is no linking or other HTML allowed. Your review may be edited for content. 0/5000

Check box if your review contains spoilers

Play Sound

Please enter your birth date to watch this video:

You are not allowed to view this material at this time.

Gilles' Wife

Now Playing: Gilles' Wife

Movie Details & Credits

Cinema Guild | Release Date: November 16, 2005 | Not Rated

Summary: Set in the 1930's, Gilles' Wife is a haunting tale of love and betrayal in a small mining town on the outskirts of France. [Cinema Guild]

Director: Frédéric Fonteyne

Genre(s): Drama

Rating: Not Rated

Runtime: 103 min

See All Details and Credits

Watch Now

Buy on

Stream On

Metascore

Positive:

Mixed:

Negative:

Critic Reviews

Andrew O'Hehir

You can't imagine a soapier setup, but Gilles' Wife taken on its own terms is a spectacular achievement, a heartbreaking cinematic work that finely balances melodrama, family love story and devastating tragedy. Read full review

David Ng

Devos's performance is an expert workshop of internalized emotions and silent forbearance. Read full review

Lisa Nesselson

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. Read full review

Robert Abele

Suffused with a painterly tenderness and cruelty, the French film Gilles' Wife - based on a 1937 Belgian novel by Madeleine Bourdouxhe - stars the extraordinary actress Emmanuelle Devos. Read full review

Scott Tobias

An impeccable minimalist drama that's tailored specifically to Devos' expressive capabilities, which say more than the sparse dialogue. Read full review

Ella Taylor

All but a silent movie, Frédéric Fonteyne’s strikingly atmospheric film - adapted by Philippe Blasband and Marion Hänsel from a 1937 novel - relies on the extraordinarily mobile face of Emmanuelle Devos to express the pain of a woman who has no language for her inner turmoil. Read full review

Manohla Dargis

Has an appealing surface beauty, largely due to the talented cinematographer Virginie Saint Martin, and an equally shallow mystery. Read full review

SEE ALL 14 REVIEWS

Write a Review

User Reviews

Aug 11, 2006

The acting and directing are first-rate, but I was unable to suspend my disbelief of a story about a woman who had no courage, so I wasn't fully engaged by this movie.

0 of 0 users found this helpful

richard

Nov 29, 2005

I found this film engrossing but frustrating....in the wife's total compliance.

0 of 0 users found this helpful

SherriE.

Dec 6, 2005

That 6 is actually a 9 for technical excellence and a 3 for story. The film is so beautifully photographed, and the acting so fine, that the disappointing story becomes trebly so. Her final decision is so selfish and cruel that it retroactively tainted the preceding 100 minutes.

0 of 0 users found this helpful

SEE ALL 3 REVIEWS