Il Divo
MPI | Release Date: April 24, 2009 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
81
METASCORE
Universal acclaim based on 17 Critic Reviews
Positive:
17
Mixed:
0
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
VarietyJay Weissberg
An intensely political film so wildly inventive and witty that it will become a touchstone for years to come, Il Divo is a masterpiece for maverick helmer-scribe Paolo Sorrentino. Read full review
91
Entertainment WeeklyLisa Schwarzbaum
You need know nothing about Italian politics to completely enjoy the fantastical, Fellini-fied, tragi-comic, biographical fun-for-all Il Divo. Read full review
90
The Hollywood ReporterPeter Brunette
The frequently outrageous Il Divo follows the career of one of the best-known and most tenacious figures in Italian political history in a lively, sensory-overload, cartoonlike fashion reminiscent of "Amelie" and "Moulin Rouge." The fact that it's often over-the-top goes with saying, and is part of the fun. Read full review
90
Los Angeles TimesKenneth Turan
Simultaneously exhilarating and confounding, dazzling and confusing, this is filmmaking of such verve and style that you likely won't care that you can't follow it completely. Read full review
88
New York PostV.A. Musetto
The highly stylized, often outrageously funny biopic is anchored by a devastating performance by Toni Servillo as Andreotti, brilliantly capturing the gnomic politician's trademark slouch and inexpressive face. Read full review
88
Philadelphia InquirerCarrie Rickey
All in all, this phenomenal film illustrates Alexis de Tocqueville's observation that "The people get the government they deserve." In both meanings of the word, Il Divo is sensational. Read full review
88
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
The film proceeds like a black comedy version of "The Godfather," crossed with Oliver Stone’s "Nixon." Read full review
88
St. Louis Post-DispatchJoe Williams
Anyone suggesting that an Italian film could rival the style and grandeur of "The Godfather" might end up sleeping with the fishes. But Il Divo delivers. Read full review
80
Village VoiceElla Taylor
Il Divo plays like an elegantly ritualized black comedy. Read full review
80
The New York TimesStephen Holden
As operatic cinema, it ranks alongside the best of Martin Scorsese and Francis Ford Coppola. Read full review
80
The New YorkerAnthony Lane
Consume with great caution, and with joy. Read full review
75
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Liam Lacey
Fortunately, there's always the fascination of watching actor Toni Servillo, who does a brilliant job of playing Andreotti (known as Beelzebub) as a kind of devil with a clown's exterior. Read full review
75
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalle
We see the tormented, limited and potentially dangerous man underneath. Read full review
75
Boston GlobeWesley Morris
Il Divo is showboat moviemaking, but the opulence is of a piece with the film's damning assessment of the durable Italian elder statesman Giulio Andreotti. Read full review
75
Portland OregonianShawn Levy
Sorrentino is a spectacularly inventive talent and has harnessed an astounding performance from Servillo. Read full review
75
Chicago TribuneMichael Phillips
Instead of a modern classic, able to travel the globe with ease, Il Divo is merely a wonderfully cast, tonally assured achievement, with a uniquely strange tour de force at its core. Read full review
67
The A.V. ClubScott Tobias
Through Sorrentino's lens, Andreotti's chief lieutenants are made to look like Reservoir Dogs, with Andreotti as a calm, tight-lipped, upper-crust analog to Lawrence Tierney. Read full review
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