Gilles' Wife
Cinema Guild | Release Date: November 16, 2005 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
82
METASCORE
Universal acclaim based on 14 Critic Reviews
Positive:
14
Mixed:
0
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
90
SalonAndrew 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
90
VarietyLisa 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
90
Village VoiceDavid Ng
Devos's performance is an expert workshop of internalized emotions and silent forbearance. Read full review
88
TV Guide MagazineKen Fox
Cornillac is excellent as the emotionally immature Gilles, but this is Devos' show. Read full review
88
Chicago TribuneMichael Wilmington
The ending is a stunner. Like those '30 classics it suggests, Gilles' Wife seduces us with true cinematic magic: rich characters, great acting and that rapturous old French blend of realism and theatricality. Read full review
88
Miami HeraldMarta Barber
There's a timelessness to her character that makes her real even today. And in Devos' intense portrayal, she's a woman you admire. Read full review
80
Chicago ReaderReece Pendleton
While the outcome is never really in doubt, director Frederic Fonteyne illuminates the wife's inner world with a rich sense of atmosphere, and Emmanuelle Devos' riveting performance manages to convey every shift in her character's suppressed emotional life with the subtlest of gestures and expressions. Read full review
80
The A.V. ClubScott Tobias
An impeccable minimalist drama that's tailored specifically to Devos' expressive capabilities, which say more than the sparse dialogue. Read full review
80
L.A. WeeklyElla 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
80
Los Angeles TimesRobert 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
75
New York PostV.A. Musetto
Fonteyne doesn't have much use for words. He prefers to tell his story via facial expressions and body language, much as filmmakers did in the silent era. Read full review
75
New York Daily NewsJami Bernard
This is a lyrical art movie with admittedly limited commercial appeal, but worth seeing for cinematic explorers. Read full review
75
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
I was fascinated by the face of Emmanuelle Devos, and her face is specifically why I recommend the movie. Read full review
70
The New York TimesManohla Dargis
Has an appealing surface beauty, largely due to the talented cinematographer Virginie Saint Martin, and an equally shallow mystery. Read full review
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