Trishna
IFC Films | Release Date: July 13, 2012 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
57
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 22 Critic Reviews
Positive:
9
Mixed:
11
Negative:
2
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
91
Christian Science MonitorPeter RainerJul 13, 2012
In Michael Winterbottom's Trishna, Thomas Hardy's Victorian romantic tragedy "Tess of the D'Urbervilles" proves surprisingly adaptable to contemporary India. Read full review
88
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertJul 19, 2012
As a melodrama, Trishna builds a hypnotic force. Read full review
80
New York Daily NewsElizabeth WeitzmanJul 12, 2012
With Trishna, his (Winterbottom) penchant for risks has once again paid off. Read full review
75
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalleJul 19, 2012
The subtitle of Hardy's novel was "A Pure Woman Faithfully Presented," and that's the approach taken here. Read full review
75
The A.V. ClubAlison WillmoreJul 11, 2012
Trishna is in love with India without romanticizing it. Read full review
70
Chicago ReaderJ.R. JonesJul 18, 2012
Winterbottom, a Brit who's shot several films in India, carefully notes the local customs and mores that contribute to the young woman's tragic fall. Read full review
65
MovielineStephanie ZacharekJul 11, 2012
Though it's a bit of an oddity, it's an affecting curio suitable for both Hardy enthusiasts and Winterbottom fans alike. Read full review
63
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)James AdamsJul 20, 2012
Trishna, in short, seems to occur at too much of a remove; it's too fate-filled. Read full review
63
New York PostLou LumenickJul 13, 2012
Pinto's lack of dramatic range (she basically has two expressions) and an awkward third act do not provide a solid foundation for Hardy's tragic ending. Read full review
60
Village VoiceKarina LongworthJul 12, 2012
In the hands of Winterbottom, who has frequently shown a knack for infusing red flag sex with dread without sapping it of sexiness, the master-slave dialectic is made grossly, appropriately literal. The dialectic itself is never discussed. Read full review
60
Time OutJoshua RothkopfJul 10, 2012
Winterbottom's risks are welcome; it may be time, though, to invest more heart instead of head. Read full review
60
EmpireDavid HughesJul 7, 2012
The ever-versatile Winterbottom's loose and limber adaptation doesn't entirely mesh with Hardy's more formal narrative, leaving this feeling disjointed and underpowered. Nevertheless, there's still plenty to enjoy in the director's customary flourishes. Read full review
60
Total FilmNeil SmithJul 7, 2012
Some will balk at Pinto's passivity, but Trishna again shows Winterbottom to be one of the few directors today who are liberated, rather than constricted, by classic literature. Read full review
58
Portland OregonianMarc MohanJul 19, 2012
The relationship between Trishna and Jay never rings as true as it needs to for the downbeat third act to resonate the way it was presumably intended to do. Read full review
50
Boston GlobeTy BurrJul 19, 2012
Trishna should move the soul and engage the tear-ducts, yet it passes by as distant as it is lovely. And the blame must fall on the movie's star, Freida Pinto. Read full review
50
Wall Street JournalJoe MorgensternJul 12, 2012
Michael Winterbottom's films aren't always successful, but they're almost always interesting. And, in the case of this odd transplantation from Thomas Hardy's grim Wessex to the glare and blare of contemporary India, spectacular visually, though awfully somber dramatically. Read full review
50
Entertainment WeeklyOwen GleibermanJul 11, 2012
The shots of urban traffic jams have more spark than the story, which skips from a pregnancy to the filming of a musical to murder - without convincing us of any of it. Read full review
50
Slant MagazineAndrew SchenkerJul 7, 2012
Class privilege and sexual politics are inextricably linked in Trishna, Michael Winterbottom's blunt, self-consciously brutal, and rather loose updating of Thomas Hardy's "Tess of the D'Urbervilles." Read full review
40
The New York TimesManohla DargisJul 12, 2012
Life is suffering, as the Buddha said (including in Hardy's emotionally grinding novels), but it's more complex and contradictory than the ginned-up realism Mr. Winterbottom delivers here. Read full review
40
The GuardianPeter BradshawJul 7, 2012
Winterbottom's location work in Jaipur and Mumbai has richness and spectacle, but somehow this does not come fully to life. Read full review
38
Washington PostAnn HornadayJul 26, 2012
That Winterbottom has delivered a dud makes Trishna all the more disappointing, a rare unsatisfying swerve from an otherwise reliably provocative career. Read full review
25
The PlaylistOliver LytteltonJul 23, 2012
The meat of the film is sadly, a tedious misstep for a director who, even when he's experimented in the past, has generally come up with something more interesting than this. It is, however, still better than "9 Songs" Read full review
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