Staying Vertical
Strand Releasing | Release Date: January 20, 2017 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
65
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 17 Critic Reviews
Positive:
10
Mixed:
7
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
91
The A.V. ClubMike D'AngeloJan 18, 2017
Staying Vertical is distinguished largely by its poker-faced playfulness. Bonnard is a wonderfully quizzical presence in the lead, expertly creating the impression of a person who has no idea what he wants but is nonetheless determined to get it. Read full review
91
The Film StageGiovanni Marchini CamiaMay 21, 2016
Apart from a middle stretch during which the narrative loses momentum and Staying Vertical feels temporarily aimless – something that Guiraudie soon rectifies by amping up the weirdness – the film is as engaging and consistently uproarious as it is perplexing. Read full review
90
Los Angeles TimesJustin ChangJan 19, 2017
Its title a sly reference to what distinguishes men from beasts, Staying Vertical hinges on the tension between primal instincts and socially proscribed behavior. Guiraudie isn’t just trying to decimate sexual taboos; he is also taking gently comic aim at the overly rigid roles into which people tend to lock themselves. Read full review
83
IndieWireEric KohnMay 21, 2016
The film never quite flies off the rails so much as it careens from side to side on the same beguiling path, with the most remarkable outcome being that the enigmatic pieces fit together. Read full review
80
Village VoiceMelissa AndersonJan 17, 2017
As always with Guiraudie’s films, Staying Vertical shrewdly (and often hilariously) captures both the seriousness and the absurdity of sex. Read full review
75
Slant MagazineChuck BowenSep 25, 2016
The film changes gears whenever one is lulled into believing that it has finally settled into a recognizable narrative pattern. Read full review
70
The New York TimesA.O. ScottJan 19, 2017
Something about the strangeness of the people and the harsh indifference of the nature that surrounds them feels real, even if realism in the conventional sense may be the last thing on the filmmaker’s mind. Read full review
70
The Hollywood ReporterBoyd van HoeijMay 21, 2016
Staying Vertical slowly morphs into something closer to a dark — and darkly funny — myth or fairytale, though this transformation isn’t entirely smooth. Read full review
70
Screen DailyAllan HunterMay 21, 2016
Exploring a bewildering range of issues from ideas of masculinity to assisted suicide and the fraying of societal ties, Staying Vertical is wildly eccentric, darkly comic and filled with you-don’t-see-that-often moments which are liable to render it an acquired taste. Read full review
66
TheWrapBen CrollMay 21, 2016
Call it scenery in search of a film. Call it a film in search of a purpose. Call me when Guiraudie releases his next one, because, damn, the guy’s got talent. Read full review
60
CineVueJohn BleasdaleMay 21, 2016
Guiraudie's humour is self-referential and at times hilarious. His tendency to shock might seem adolescent but he's also careful to identify taboos that perhaps shouldn't be taboos at all. Read full review
60
The TelegraphTim RobeyMay 21, 2016
Staying Vertical is a script by a hot talent never quite getting round to being fully written, and instead disappearing down a series of suggestive dead ends. Read full review
50
RogerEbert.comGlenn KennyJan 20, 2017
One thing’s for sure: In Staying Vertical, every character has sex on the brain, all the time. Read full review
50
We Got This CoveredJosh CabritaJan 17, 2017
Staying Vertical feels weighed down when it should be light, and ironic when it should be earnest. For better and worse, the film terrorizes conventional cinema without providing any good alternative. Read full review
50
The PlaylistJessica KiangMay 21, 2016
It’s less a convincing, involving narrative than an episodic picaresque that rambles loose-jointedly from absurdist encounter to vaguely fable-like incident. Read full review
40
The GuardianPeter BradshawMay 21, 2016
An incoherent, inconsequential picture which sometimes looks worryingly as if it is being made up as it goes along. Read full review
40
VarietyOwen GleibermanMay 21, 2016
The technical bravura that Guiraudie summoned in “Stranger” — the subtle manipulation of light, weather, shot language, and temporal cunning — now falls by the wayside in a story that lurches from episode to disconnected episode. Read full review
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