The New Girlfriend
Cohen Media Group | Release Date: September 18, 2015 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
74
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 22 Critic Reviews
Positive:
16
Mixed:
4
Negative:
2
Watch Now
Buy on
Stream On
Stream On
Stream On
Expand

Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
RogerEbert.comPeter SobczynskiSep 18, 2015
One of its greatest pleasures is seeing how filmmaker Francois Ozon manages to find just the right note for such challenging material. He transforms what might have been a tonal nightmare in other hands into a wildly entertaining work, one that manages to be simultaneously funny, touching, slightly unnerving and undeniably sexy to behold, regardless of where your predilections may lie. Read full review
90
The New York TimesStephen HoldenSep 17, 2015
The New Girlfriend never pretends to be more than what it is, a delicious and frothy fantasia with a teasing erotic frisson. Read full review
90
TheWrapInkoo KangSep 16, 2015
The New Girlfriend is a delicate figurine: too quaint to feel necessary in the current climate of ever-bolder representations of trans lives, and yet rescued from disposability by its delicate beauty. Read full review
90
The Hollywood ReporterDavid RooneySep 15, 2015
A delectable riff on transformation, desire and sexuality that blends the heightened reality of melodrama with mischievous humor and an understated strain of Hitchcockian suspense. Read full review
90
VarietyJustin ChangJun 29, 2015
This delectable entertainment is as surprising for its continually evolving (and involving) dynamics of desire as for its slow-building emotional power. Read full review
88
Philadelphia InquirerTirdad DerakhshaniSep 17, 2015
Exceptionally graceful and accomplished, Ozon's film challenges our received notions of normalcy, intimacy, and love. Read full review
80
Los Angeles TimesGary GoldsteinSep 17, 2015
Director Ozon... infuses the picture with a provocative array of themes, imagery and moods. But it's French film heartthrob Duris' fluid, finely measured, physically deft portrayal of the blossoming David that sets the movie apart. Read full review
80
CineVueAllie GemmillSep 15, 2015
Ozon is firing on all cylinders here, giving viewers a neat slice of cinematic confection that showcases what he does best: present morally complicated but very human stories that have enough panache to keep all eyes at attention for as long as he desires. Read full review
80
Time Out LondonCath ClarkeJun 26, 2015
What makes The New Girlfriend special is that is has something to say about sexuality (feminine, masculine, gay, straight, and everything in between – it’s complicated). Read full review
80
EmpireIan FreerJun 26, 2015
The filmmaking is exemplary but most impressive of all is the tone that mixes comedy, melodrama and darkness. Read full review
78
Austin ChronicleMarc SavlovSep 30, 2015
Duris and Demoustier are excellent in a pair of exceedingly complex and emotionally fractious roles, and Ozon’s supremely confident directorial hand and clear affection for these characters transforms The New Girlfriend from a could’ve-been psycho-thriller into a smart, humanistic examination of identity reshaped in the shadow of grief. Read full review
75
Portland OregonianJeff BakerSep 24, 2015
It's fun to watch The New Girlfriend the way it's fun to drink a glass of Champagne, and about as memorable. Read full review
75
Washington PostAlan ZilbermanSep 17, 2015
In Ozon’s confident hands, The New Girlfriend has moments that juxtapose gentle humor and surprising depth of feeling. Read full review
67
The A.V. ClubMike D'AngeloSep 16, 2015
The real problem is that Ozon can’t quite decide whether he’s making the crowd-pleasing tale of a cross-dresser’s empowerment or the thornier, more compelling tale of a woman who tries to recreate her dead best friend, "Vertigo"-style (and then sleep with her). Read full review
63
Chicago TribuneMichael PhillipsSep 24, 2015
The actors are more than fine. Demoustier is the key, making her character's shifts in astonishment and perplexity honest and plausible. Read full review
63
New York PostFarran Smith NehmeSep 16, 2015
The film has a nice sense of female friendships’ emotional depth. But as a woman, Duris (while amusing) is not much more convincing than Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon in “Some Like It Hot.” Read full review
60
The GuardianSteve RoseJun 26, 2015
The tone wavers between psychological thriller and absurdist melodrama, and perhaps suffers for not settling on either, but it’s grounded by two terrific leads. Read full review
60
The TelegraphTim RobeyJun 26, 2015
François Ozon and the late Ruth Rendell is a great match of sensibilities: it promises the French director’s winking subversion, wedded to the late crime writer’s slippery command of psychological twists. Read full review
60
Total FilmPhilip KempJun 26, 2015
With his trademark subversive playfulness and delight in human foibles, Ozon weaves together comedy, suspense and occasional intimations of darker emotional themes, aided by subtly gauged performances from his two principals. Read full review
50
Village VoiceSerena DonadoniSep 15, 2015
Ozon sacrifices his sharp portrayal of grief and rebirth to clumsy convention. Read full review
38
Slant MagazineJames LattimerSep 14, 2015
François Ozon is never willing to fully engage with the ridiculousness of his material, resulting in an uneasy mix of wry distance and unearned emotion. Read full review
33
The PlaylistChristopher SchobertJun 29, 2015
The concept of the film could have been played several different ways, from farce to high-drama to Hitchcock-ian thriller. Ozon decides to try it all, but in the end doesn’t pull off any. Read full review
More From This Movie

74 Critic Reviews

6.6 User Reviews

Details & Credits|Trailers

Current Movie Releases
By MetascoreBy User Score
1 81 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple
2 77 Project Hail Mary
3 75 Send Help
4 73 Hoppers
5 72 The Sheep Detectives
SEE ALL
Essential Links
New on Amazon Prime Video
New on Netflix
Coming Soon to DVD/Blu-ray
SEE ALL