The Best Offer

Name: The Best Offer
Genre: Drama, Mystery, Romance, Crime
Released: January 1, 2014
Duration: 131 min
Rating: 49
Cast: Donald Sutherland, Geoffrey Rush, Jim Sturgess, Sylvia Hoeks

2014

METASCORE

Mixed or average reviews based on 17 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 97 Ratings

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7.6

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7.6	Your Score
7.6	User Score Generally favorable reviews based on 97 Ratings

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The Best Offer

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Movie Details & Credits

IFC Films | Release Date: January 1, 2014 | R

Starring: Donald Sutherland, Geoffrey Rush, Jim Sturgess, Sylvia Hoeks

Summary: Virgil Oldman (Geoffrey Rush), managing director of a leading auction house, has collected hundreds of masterful, priceless portraits of women that he keeps hidden in his villa. One day, Oldman receives a special assignment: a mysterious young woman, who refuses to appear in person, asks him to sell her family's antiques. Not onlyVirgil Oldman (Geoffrey Rush), managing director of a leading auction house, has collected hundreds of masterful, priceless portraits of women that he keeps hidden in his villa. One day, Oldman receives a special assignment: a mysterious young woman, who refuses to appear in person, asks him to sell her family's antiques. Not only interested in her classical paintings and furniture, Oldman becomes increasingly fascinated by the mysterious incognito woman, leading to a sumptuous and entertaining mystery of passions, neuroses and intrigue. [IFC Films]… Expand

Director: Giuseppe Tornatore

Genre(s): Drama, Mystery, Romance, Crime

Rating: R

Runtime: 131 min

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Critic Reviews

Connie Ogle

Jan 16, 2014

Screenwriter/director Tornatore is best known for his nostalgic "Cinema Paradiso," which won the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar in 1990. But The Best Offer is completely different in style and tone; it’s dark instead of light, a psychological thriller of sorts, only with Virgil’s heart and orderly life in peril instead of his life. Read full review

Bilge Ebiri

Jan 5, 2014

Part of the pleasure in watching The Best Offer is the elegant, unassumingly suspenseful way it unfolds. You never quite know where it’s all headed, in part because it never quite tells you what kind of movie it is. I called it a “romantic thriller,” but there’s a lot more movie here than that. Read full review

Mike D'Angelo

Jan 8, 2014

Rush has a lot of fun with Oldman’s gradual thaw, and the questions the movie raises about authenticity and deception, while not remotely in the same heady league as those in "Certified Copy," nonetheless allow it to conclude on a satisfyingly ambiguous note. Read full review

Deborah Young

Dec 23, 2013

Though it begs for a little lightening up, a moment of irony, a wink at the audience, this dead-serious fairy tale about a mysterious young woman (and a phantom automaton straight out of Hugo) is worth watching for Geoffrey Rush’s sensitive, never pandering performance. Read full review

Nicolas Rapold

Dec 31, 2013

Mr. Rush can’t fly far on Mr. Tornatore’s dialogue and workmanlike plotting, and Sylvia Hoeks, as Claire, doesn’t bring a corresponding energy. Read full review

The Guardian Andrew Pulver

Dec 23, 2013

Filmed in what you might call the international hotel style, Tornatore's idiotic premise is entertaining if you don't inspect it too carefully, or look for anything beneath the portentousness. Read full review

The Playlist Jessica Kiang

Dec 23, 2013

Strangely old-fashioned in its construction and requiring a Golden Gate-level feat of engineering to achieve the suspension of disbelief necessary to unironically enjoy it. Read full review

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User Reviews

Violett

Dec 13, 2014

One of the best drama movies I ever saw. Clever, unique, unusual plot. I hold my breath from the beginning till the end. Take your girlfriend, shut down the light, and enjoy this masterpiece.

2 of 3 users found this helpful21

akenaton1984

Nov 4, 2017

Supongo que a pocos les gustó el final; pero si estás dispuesto a dejarte llevar, esta película es un pequeño reloj muy bien aceitado que sólo podemos apreciar cuando tenemos todas las piezas.

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

LeZee

Oct 24, 2016

Are ready to change yourself when you think you found your match!

Written and directed by one of the famous Italian filmmaker, Giuseppe Tornatore. An English language film, Geoffrey Rush in the lead. It was about an aging art and antique auctioneer, Virgil. The story reveals his finalAre ready to change yourself when you think you found your match!

Written and directed by one of the famous Italian filmmaker, Giuseppe Tornatore. An English language film, Geoffrey Rush in the lead. It was about an aging art and antique auctioneer, Virgil. The story reveals his final days in his professional field where he meets a young woman who pursued him for her inherited antiques to put on auction. The woman is very mysterious, because of her medical condition and how they both become so close despite their initial meetings were disastrous is the remaining film to tell us with a twist in the final.

It was an awesome storytelling. The screenplay was the top notch and the matching background score. Especially when the story ends and credits rolls up, all those memories from the film keeps us fresh with that music. The music won several awards for the film. I liked the story, but towards the end, I kind of predicted almost everything. That did not stop me, so I enjoyed it thoroughly. Particularly the theme of the film, which I think a bit fresh, and I liked the conclusion as well, but I feel it should have been different or more to it. The way it ended might disappoint some people, but still it is very smart.

Everybody was good, but it was Geoffrey Rush, who stole the show with his stellar performance. Three years might be a little late, but it's never too late to watch a fine film like this. One of the best suspense films from the recent time, it is a must see, particularly if you are seeking a good entertainment. So I hope you watch it if you're not yet.

8/10… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

Mikibruno02

Nov 8, 2020

Frankly, I don't understand the many negative ratings from critics! Goeffrey, Goeffrey ... great as ever. Interpretation that deserved an Oscar nomination. The soundtrack of the great Maestro Ennio Morricone is wonderful and keeps the viewer in tension. The script has some flaws but it makesFrankly, I don't understand the many negative ratings from critics! Goeffrey, Goeffrey ... great as ever. Interpretation that deserved an Oscar nomination. The soundtrack of the great Maestro Ennio Morricone is wonderful and keeps the viewer in tension. The script has some flaws but it makes a noteworthy film. How to say it without spolier? A successful device! The "philosophical" interpretation of the true and the false that lies within it is truly beautiful. Rating: it would have been 8.5 but it is not possible to give half evaluations so 8. I repeat: in every film Goeffrey Rush proves to be, if not the best, one of the best actors on the world scene.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

shoulderoforion

May 3, 2016

What a treat. This movie, though utterly predictable, was lovely in every way. It's a tour de force for Geoffrey Rush & the supporting cast is excellent. You know what's coming but it's so enjoyable going on the ride, it doesn't matter.

2 of 3 users found this helpful21

nicholasbert

Jun 6, 2015

The plot could have been interesting, but the realisation of the twist is very easily predictable - I found Sturgess's performance better than Rush's or Sutherland's, the former because of lack of passion and the latter merely for the tiny screentime.

Not many particular directorialThe plot could have been interesting, but the realisation of the twist is very easily predictable - I found Sturgess's performance better than Rush's or Sutherland's, the former because of lack of passion and the latter merely for the tiny screentime.

Not many particular directorial choices as one would expect from Tornatore, but the visual style is refined and meticulously prepared. Not much of a thriller in the literal meaning of the term, but all in all not a horrible film.… Expand

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

arterifell

Jan 11, 2016

Geoffrey Rush is excellent in portraying an eccentric art expert and auctioneer in The Best Offer. The filming is good and because of Rush's personna and fine acting it holds the viewer's interest up to a point. The story line becomes preposterous quite early in the film and the twist atGeoffrey Rush is excellent in portraying an eccentric art expert and auctioneer in The Best Offer. The filming is good and because of Rush's personna and fine acting it holds the viewer's interest up to a point. The story line becomes preposterous quite early in the film and the twist at the dénouement makes the film totally unbelievable. It is a real let-down to realize how one has been led down the garden path to a totally incredible ending.… Expand

1 of 2 users found this helpful11

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