The Duke of Burgundy

IFC Films | Release Date: January 23, 2015

6.9	USER SCORE Generally favorable reviews based on 53 Ratings

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nicholasbertOct 8, 2015

I get it: the emotional and erotic tensions are supposed to be building up and up, corroborated by kinky imagery and the general sense of weirdness. But the cut here is too clean and the acting too theatrical, the whole film becomes heavy onI get it: the emotional and erotic tensions are supposed to be building up and up, corroborated by kinky imagery and the general sense of weirdness. But the cut here is too clean and the acting too theatrical, the whole film becomes heavy on the eyes after a while. Like with Berberian Sound Studio, the intentions are all good, it's the realisation that lacks vigour and will, for some people, result in instant boredom. In other words, it's impossible to watch The Duke of Burgundy without being carefully and tightly pointed in the direction that screams at you: "Look how artsy this is. Look how shot composition is handled. Look how good we look." Rather than letting the viewer arrive at this conclusion on their own, the movie is much too keen to lead you to it. Besides, some of the weirdness here (like the temporal setting, or the thing with the butterflies) is unjustified and adds nothing to the viewing experience.

I would much rather see The Duke of Burgundy as a play, in a theatre: it's its natural environment, where acting like this really pays off, and you can be as lengthy and as reflective as you wish. As a film, it doesn't give much of a reason to keep watching it. Still better than superhero explosion galore, though, so I guess it still classifies for being one of the "good" films of 2015, if you're into it.… Expand

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jgzegerApr 9, 2016

I don't see why this movie got such good reviews as there is very little of interest. Nothing here really stands out. The plot line is strange and there are no exceptional performances.

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