Click here to copy URL

Based on a True Story

Thriller. Drama The story follows a writer (Emmanuelle Seigner) who struggles after the release of her latest book, which leads to a rough spot in their personal life after an obsessive admirer (Eva Green) shows up and imposes their influence on the writer.
Author Review
United StatesUnited States
The Hollywood Reporter
The Hollywood Reporter
"Slight and silly, but still good fun (...) There are multiple levels on which to enjoy Roman Polanski’s 'Based on a True Story' (...) none of them very deep or complicated."  NEU
United StatesUnited States
Variety
Variety
"[It] ranks among Roman Polanski's weakest films (...) The chemistry here hardly rises above room temperature"  NEG
United StatesUnited States
Vanity Fair
Vanity Fair
"This is both a blessing and a curse (...) While ultimately a workout of creaky tropes, there's something refreshing in seeing 50 year-old Seigner the center of something that at least head fakes toward the erotic."  NEU
United StatesUnited States
Slant
Slant
"A very charitable reading of 'Based on a True Story' might say that the film is designed to be self-negating, an intentionally slight, derivative, and unambitious project intended as a self-deprecating joke."  NEG
United StatesUnited States
IndieWire
IndieWire
"[The script is] always elegant in both dialogue and direction but rarely allowed to break out of its constrictions (...) The end of it all is so anticlimactic..."  NEU
United KingdomUnited Kingdom
The Guardian
The Guardian
"[It] is confident and stylish but can’t avoid its own gaping plot holes (...) The entire third act moreover loses its way and winds up, like its heroine, in a ditch (…) Rating: ★★ (out of 5)"  NEG
United KingdomUnited Kingdom
The Independent
The Independent
"It is told too obviously and lacks any of the ambiguity found in the first-person novel (...) [Polanski] fails to significantly explore the tension, jealousy and rivalry between them (…) Rating: ★★ (out of 5)"  NEG
United KingdomUnited Kingdom
Telegraph
Telegraph
"As pedestrian as a soap opera (...) Nothing in this feeble psychological thriller rings true for a moment (…) Rating: ★ (out of 5)"  NEG
United KingdomUnited Kingdom
Screendaily
Screendaily
"A teasing, tricksy, hugely entertaining, in some ways old-fashioned 'divertissement' (...) It features terrific cat-and-mouse lead performances"  POS
We encourage you to check the reviews' original sources. Intellectual property rights of these reviews belong to their authors and/or the correspondent media from which they have been extracted. If you'd like to help us to add more reviews to your favorite movies, just send us a message.
arrow