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10/18/08
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Irina Palm (2008)
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Reviews Counted:44
Fresh:31
Rotten:13
Average Rating:6/10
Consensus: A strong performance from Faithfull anchors this perverse and lethargic -- but ultimately thought-provoking -- Garbarski drama.
Theatrical Release:Mar 21, 2008 Limited
Synopsis: Belgian director Sam Garbarski assembles an international cast for this thought-provoking drama. Iconic singer and actress Marianne Faithfull stars as Maggie, a middle-aged woman whose desire to... [More]
Starring: Marianne Faithfull, Miki Manojlovic, Kevin Bishop, Siobhan Hewlett
Director: Sam Garbarski
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Reviews for Irina Palm
Irina Palm is, for the most part, a phony trifle, but at its heart, somehow, is a real and fascinating person.
03/24/08
Top CriticMs. Faithfull turns out to be another actress of a certain age who is well used in a film to which she lends dignity, compassion and gravitas.
03/19/08
Top CriticIrina Palm is a showcase for Faithfull but it never truly allows her to shine.
06/08/08
The camera is discrete, the characters humane and the mood introspective in director Sam Garbarski's character study of a lonely woman who finds dignity where others might see only degradation.
04/11/08
Irina Palm wears its big heart right up it sleeve thanks in major part to a matronly performance from Faithfull and a low-key script for which Garbarski finds exactly the right tone.
03/21/07
Far from the exploitation movie that you'd expect from its subject matter, "Irina Palm" is a significant piece of cinematic satire that comes straight from the heart.
04/08/08
Casting an iconic ’60s libertine in the titular role may seem cute, but the actor’s sad-clown rictus and faint smiles nullify any deal-breaking bathos.
03/20/08
Although director and co-writer Sam Garbarski takes great care in tracing this difficult dramatic path (he has to balance the twin tracks of other people's morality and Maggie's personal course), he can't avoid the predictability.
05/16/08
Top CriticExcuse me while I wash down the film's nasty aftertaste with some Broken English.
03/16/08
Un drama sensible y austero, no exento de cierto sentido del humor, que deja de lado cualquier aspecto sórdido del asunto para concentrarse en una historia de amor y sacrificio.
12/04/08
It could have been a delicately witty comedy of manners.
03/20/08
Top CriticClick to read the article
04/23/09
Faithfull is marvelous: Once notorious for her own escapades, this great-great-niece of Leopold von Sacher-Masoch is no shrinking violet, but she's perfect as a plump, frumpy widow with a huge heart and a hidden talent no one would ever suspect.
03/21/08
A sentimental British sex comedy anchored by a delightful performance from Marianne Faithfull.
03/12/08
This would never have worked with anyone else but Faithfull, who gives a touching performance even as she flaunts her 40-year metamorphosis from porcelain pop diva to elderly bad girl.
05/16/08
Even if there aren't many other reasons to give this contrived and too often silly film a chance, Faithfull makes a captivating leading lady.
05/02/08
Gabarski's low-budget realism is nicely matched to a deceptively stolid performance by Faithfull, who combines infinitely subtle expressions with the smoky, still-sexy voice that made her famous as a '60s pop songbird.
04/11/08
Staggeringly inane.
03/18/08
Top CriticDirector Sam Garbarski must like his early Neil Jordan and Stephen Frears, since Irina Palm plays like a throwback to gritty-but-softhearted English dramas of the 1980s like Mona Lisa and Sammy and Rosie Get Laid.
03/21/08
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