Mad Love
Sony Pictures Classics | Release Date: August 30, 2002 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
55
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 19 Critic Reviews
Positive:
8
Mixed:
11
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
75
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalle
Sexy, peculiar and always entertaining. Read full review
75
New York Daily NewsJami Bernard
The sexy, psycho Mad Love is like a Spanish "The Story of Adele H.," in which a woman loves once and only once, to the point of self-destruction, in the days before Prozac. Read full review
75
Seattle Post-IntelligencerSean Axmaker
Ayala gives Joan a fiery, full-blooded passion and Aranda challenges Pedro Almodovar in the arena of self-destructive love, obsessive passion and sweaty cinematic sex. It's the lustiest costume drama in years. Read full review
70
New Times (L.A.)Andy Klein
At 75, Aranda can still make his actors sizzle on the screen as well as he did 10 years ago in "Lovers." The explicitly hot bits here may be few and far between, but what there is of them is choice.
70
Los Angeles TimesKenneth Turan
Succeeds as a full-bodied diversion because it takes even its silly elements seriously. If you're in the mood for impressive castles and sumptuous costumes, torch-lit processions and decorative nudity, this is the place to turn. Read full review
70
Washington PostMichael O'Sullivan
A bodice-ripper for intellectuals. Read full review
63
Miami HeraldConnie Ogle
It's López de Ayala's show, and she's relentless in her energy and passion. Read full review
63
Chicago TribuneLoren King
Star Pilar Lopez de Ayala is such a feisty, striking presence, and the film so conventional in its depiction of a jealous and insatiable love, that it is hard to see Juana as anything other than a typical soap opera heroine. Read full review
60
The New York TimesA.O. Scott
An often watchable, though goofy and lurid, blast of a costume drama set in the late 15th century. Read full review
60
The A.V. ClubNathan Rabin
At heart it's a randy, oversexed soap opera in period garb. Read full review
60
L.A. WeeklyDaniel Fienberg
de Ayala is required to supply too much of the energy in a film that is, overall, far too staid for its subject matter. Read full review
60
TV Guide MagazineMaitland McDonagh
Lavishly costumed and shot largely on location, the film benefits from a phenomenal central performance by Lopez de Ayala. Read full review
50
Boston GlobeWesley Morris
Like an ''Afterschool Special'' with costumes by Gianni Versace, Mad Love looks better than it feels. Read full review
50
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Rick Groen
Nothing more or less than an outright bodice-ripper -- it should have ditched the artsy pretensions and revelled in the entertaining shallows. Read full review
50
New York PostV.A. Musetto
Pleasing to the eye, with lavish sets, ravishing costumes and two great-looking stars. Unfortunately, there is little else to recommend this overwrought, melodramatic bodice-ripper. Read full review
50
Wall Street JournalCollin Levey
Despite being a pretty film with some good performances, it's hard to sympathize with a character that won't help herself. More proof, if we need it, that mixing sex and politics only leads to trouble.
42
Portland OregonianKim Morgan
Accuracy and realism are terrific, but if your film becomes boring, and your dialogue isn't smart, then you need to use more poetic license. Read full review
40
Village VoiceMichael Atkinson
Adroit but finally a trifle flat, Mad Love doesn't galvanize its outrage the way, say, Jane Campion might have done, but at least it possesses some. Read full review
40
Austin ChronicleMarrit Ingman
Pretty to look at, tamely racy, and fairly fluffy, despite its two-hour running time. Read full review
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