The Flower of Evil
Palm Pictures | Release Date: October 10, 2003 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
67
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 24 Critic Reviews
Positive:
18
Mixed:
6
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
Christian Science MonitorDavid Sterritt
Chabrol's filmmaking has rarely seemed more assured, elegant, and intelligent. Read full review
100
Chicago TribuneMichael Wilmington
Stylish, ingenious and gleaming with charm, wit and malice, it's another expert blend of domestic drama and crime thriller, a vivisection of the bourgeoisie. Read full review
83
Entertainment WeeklyLisa Schwarzbaum
The discreet stink of the bourgeoisie perfumes the wonderfully mordant, dry-eyed family saga, The Flower of Evil. Read full review
80
Los Angeles TimesKevin Thomas
This is another gratifying gem from a master. Read full review
80
Dallas ObserverJean Oppenheimer
It's a melodrama more than a drama, a light thriller –- which is not to say that it is not wonderfully entertaining and satisfying. In fact, it is both. Read full review
80
EmpirePatrick Peters
Stealing the show is Suzanne Flon's immaculate display as the matriarch whose good-natured indulgence of her ghastly relations belies a guilty secret. Mercilessly acute and quietly devastating. Read full review
75
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
I feel such an affection for Chabrol and his work that I probably can't see The Flower of Evil as it would be experienced by a first-time viewer. Would that newcomer note the elegance, the confidence, the sheer joy in the way he treasures the banalities of bourgeois life on his way to the bloodshed? Read full review
70
VarietyLisa Nesselson
A terrific multigenerational cast brings a subtle, mordant, frequently funny tale of family secrets vividly to life. Read full review
70
The A.V. ClubScott Tobias
For all its aloof indirectness, The Flower Of Evil wants little more than to sling another arrow at the bourgeoisie, something Chabrol has done with greater flair on many other occasions. Read full review
70
Village VoiceJessica Winter
Not to imply that our Claude's gone native, but here his unabiding fascination with bourgie-style repetition compulsion bears some resemblance to sympathy. Read full review
70
TV Guide MagazineKen Fox
No one can quite capture that decay -- the guilty conscience that can freeze the blood of even the most reputable of France's bourgeois families -- better than Chabrol, and this the master at his best. Read full review
70
The New RepublicStanley Kauffmann
The latest Chabrol is a bit bland, but by now a new film of his is almost like meeting a previously unencountered family member. Read full review
70
Chicago ReaderJonathan Rosenbaum
If you can figure out all the intricate and incestuous family backstory of this domestic melodrama by Claude Chabrol, there's a certain amount to appreciate, though most of this is more cerebral than emotional. Read full review
67
Portland OregonianKim Morgan
On face value, The Flower of Evil is pure Chabrol, but it lacks the power he brings to human relations and social classes, where often violent, masochistic themes are explored. But that doesn't mean he's done as an artist. Read full review
63
New York Daily NewsJami Bernard
While it's not quite as satisfying as Chabrol's underappreciated "Merci pour le chocolat" (2000), it's still nasty fun at the expense of the upper middle class. Read full review
63
Philadelphia InquirerCarrie Rickey
Elaborately establishes a mood but fails to deliver a dramatic payoff. Read full review
63
Boston GlobeWesley Morris
If 'The Flower of Evil' is not vintage Claude Chabrol, it's at least vintage mediocre Claude Chabrol. Read full review
63
Miami HeraldMarta Barber
May not be everyone's favored bloom in the garden, but it is still a fine work on film. Read full review
60
The New York TimesA.O. Scott
Wanders rather than moves chillingly toward its climax. Read full review
50
The Hollywood ReporterKirk Honeycutt
Chabrol has been making and remaking this film for six decades now. He seemingly will never tire of explaining how tired he is of the petit bourgeoisie. Read full review
50
New York PostLou Lumenick
It's a drawn-out look at politics that's largely devoid of the trademark humor that long ago got New Wave veteran Chabrol labeled the Gallic Hitchcock. Read full review
50
Washington PostDesson Thomson
This movie is a mixed repast: good food and wine laced with enough misanthropic poison to turn any stomach. Read full review
50
Austin ChronicleMarjorie Baumgarten
There are some wonderful performances and lovely unadorned moments in The Flower of Evil when the movie is not drowning its viewers in its doomed fragrance. Read full review
50
San Francisco ChronicleG. Allen Johnson
You've heard this one before, and in an edgier way -- yet you still admire the old-fashioned storytelling. Read full review
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