Farewell, My Queen Reviews
Top Critic
sbs.com.au
The complex triangle at the dark heart of his film, set against the surging social change of a nation, makes for both a superb historical epic and a compelling human drama.
Reeling Reviews
The film shows both sides of the social spectrum within the court akin to "Upstairs, Downstairs" and "Downton Abbey," but with bloodthirsty rabble at the door.
Full Review
| Original Score: B+
Reeling Reviews
Jacquot masterfully gets across the politics, jealousies and jockeying of court life...and Romain Winding has achieved the beautiful look of natural lighting in lush interiors and shadowy corridors with the director's first foray into digital filmmaking.
Full Review
| Original Score: B+
Willamette Week
By the time Seydoux realizes what's in store for her and her queen, we're almost as surprised as she is.
Full Review
| Original Score: B+
McClatchy-Tribune News Service
History doesn't let us feel much sympathy for Marie Antoinette. But "Farewell, My Queen" almost has us rooting for her and those who love her by its finale.
Full Review
| Original Score: 3/4
Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)
It was a very pleasant surprise to find that this was far from your average Marie Antoinette biopic.
Full Review
| Original Score: 4/5
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
As a portrait of a world ending, it's frequently compelling stuff.
Full Review
| Original Score: 2.5/4
Jacquot has chosen wisely in casting Léa Seydoux in the key role of Sidonie, whose luminous but watchful eyes suggest a soul wise beyond her years.
Full Review
| Original Score: 3.5/4
Journal and Courier (Lafayette, IN)
At 99 minutes, "Farewell My Queen" provides a glimpse into the early stages of the French Revolution, told from the perspective of those who mostly lost their heads because they were too blind to see beyond their own wants and needs.
Full Review
| Original Score: 3.5/4
Moviedex
Beniot Jacquot [...] compliments immersive storytelling with a cast full of painstakingly authentic performances.
Full Review
| Original Score: 4/5
PopMatters
The period detail is exquisite, and the motivations and emotions of the characters need no translation for the modern viewer.
Full Review
| Original Score: 7/10
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
"Farewell, My Queen" is a layer cake of royal pleasures, rote protocols and revolutionary politics. For skeptics who thought this story had grown stale, let them eat their words.
Full Review
| Original Score: 3.5/4
The details of the plot are unimportant: that is the main point made by the skillful director, Benoît Jacquot. It is the slowness with which they realize what is happening that fascinates.
Oregonian
The movie ultimately has something potent to say about the ways ordinary people, caught up in history's waves, can either drown or surf.
Full Review
| Original Score: B
East Bay Express
Filmmaker Jacquot has always had a knack for directing actresses, and both Seydoux and Kruger luxuriate in the end-of-an-era-ness.
Although it was shot at Versailles, and its actors are dressed to the 18th-century nines, Farewell, My Queen has a loose, reportorial intimacy about it.
Full Review
| Original Score: 3/4
Film Experience
Psychologically knotty and bracingly immediate... Léa Seydoux is riveting.
Full Review
| Original Score: B+
