The Inheritance
Cinema Guild | Release Date: July 9, 2004 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
68
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 20 Critic Reviews
Positive:
13
Mixed:
6
Negative:
1

Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
Los Angeles TimesKenneth Turan
A powerhouse. Highly dramatic and intensely emotional, blessed with strong themes and an unstoppable narrative drive, it is adult, intelligent entertainment of a kind we rarely see these days. Read full review
90
TimeRichard Schickel
A formally elegant, subtly savage and powerfully affecting film. Read full review
90
Chicago ReaderJ.R. Jones
Thomsen's transformation from easygoing entrepreneur to ruthless executive is so engrossing I didn't pick up on the story's chilling Freudian subtext until very near the end. Read full review
88
Miami HeraldMarta Barber
Though all actors are up to the challenge, it is the plot that makes The Inheritance shine. Read full review
83
Portland OregonianMarc Mohan
The politics of the story come to life through the vivid characterizations of a uniformly excellent cast. Read full review
80
Washington PostDesson Thomson
The cast, all classically trained on the stage, is simply commanding. Read full review
80
L.A. WeeklyElla Taylor
Director Fly works with a delicate touch, probing the slow, insidious corruption of this fundamentally decent but weak man. Read full review
75
Christian Science MonitorDavid Sterritt
The acting is fine, the filmmaking is honest, and the class-conscious story couldn't be more timely. Read full review
70
The New York TimesStephen Holden
As the relentlessly morose movie shows, a corporate hero is not the same thing as a humanitarian; in many ways, he's the antithesis. Read full review
70
TV Guide MagazineKen Fox
Fly's striking, often suspenseful drama has all the elements of a Shakespearean tragedy: an insecure young prince who must prove his mettle and loses his soul; a cruel, manipulative queen who cares only for power; a close adviser whose motives aren't always clear. Read full review
70
Dallas ObserverBill Gallo
Indeed, in this era of muckraking left-wing documentaries, The Inheritance offers a more fascinating fictionalized look at what cut-throat capitalism can do to conscience. Read full review
70
The New RepublicStanley Kauffmann
Once we learn the story's terrain, we have a pretty good idea of the paths it will follow. Still, because the picture is tidily directed and acted--in one case, better than that--it has the comforts of well-made old things. Read full review
70
VarietyEddie Cockrell
Arresting and fascinating. Read full review
60
The Hollywood ReporterFrank Scheck
The film is an initially insightful portrait of modern corporate society that unfortunately lapses into melodrama. Read full review
60
EmpireDavid Parkinson
Tautly scripted by director Per Fly and bullishly played, this is soap for the ciné-sophisticate. Read full review
50
New York PostV.A. Musetto
The Inheritance has a promising start but soon becomes preachy and melodramatic. Read full review
50
Boston GlobeJoan Anderman
The actors give it their best, Thomsen and Werlinder in particular. Read full review
50
The A.V. ClubNathan Rabin
An initially engaging but ultimately wearying combination of naturalistic acting, cinéma vérité camerawork, and broadly melodramatic plotting. Read full review
50
Village VoiceLeslie Camhi
The Inheritance is most effective in its first half...But the film falters as it moves closer to home and the heart, veering off into melodramatic and quasi-surreal scenarios. Read full review
25
New York Daily NewsJami Bernard
Don't see The Inheritance if you're already depressed. This airless downer from Danish director Per Fly is about an heir who makes one wrong decision from which even lousier decisions effortlessly flow. Read full review
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