Average Rating: 5.9/10
Reviews Counted: 8
Fresh: 5 | Rotten: 3
No consensus yet.
Release Date: Jun 23, 1995 Wide
liked it
Average Rating: 3.5/5
User Ratings: 1,220
In this stark drama based on actual events in a small French town in the early '30s, a pair of repressed sisters slowly lose their grip on reality, leading to horrific consequences at the home where they're employed as maids. Christine (Joely Richardson), a domestic servant in the home of haughty widow Madame Danzard (Julie Walters), takes pride in her efficiency and deference. Raised by nuns, Christine bitterly resents her penniless mother, but remains devoted to her younger, similarly
Jun 23, 1995 Wide
May 11, 2004
Koch Lorber Films
All Critics (16) | Top Critics (4) | Fresh (5) | Rotten (4) | DVD (5)
This dramatization of the story upon which Jean Genet's play The Maids is based is well acted and has some powerful moments.
Missable but intriguing expansion of the story that inspired Genet's The Maids.
If you catch the movie on cable, you're doing just as well.
On screen, it seems to be an effort at psychological edginess but the potentials of the medium renders the play as bland as Isabelle.
Though the subject matter is bleak and upsetting, the narrative is intelligently told.
It's disturbing, but not half as disturbing as it seems to think it is.
This film is a chilly and fascinating study of sexual repression and class conflict, well acted by all. The ending is a bit over the top.
April 29, 2007
Super Reviewer
A fascinating and disturbing true story, but unfortunately it fails due to uninspired film making and story telling. It was often dull and bland, though it works well when the tension is finally raised. The performances were pretty good all around, especially from Joely Richardson, but ultimately her character isn't
January 21, 2012Super Reviewer
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