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No consensus yet.
All Critics (23) | Top Critics (6) | Fresh (19) | Rotten (4) | DVD (4)
[Polanski's film] is textured and smooth and even, with lateral compositions subtly flowing into each other; the sequences are beautifully structured, and the craftsmanship is hypnotic. But the picture is tame. Jan 2, 2018 | Full Review…
[Polanski's film] is textured and smooth and even, with lateral compositions subtly flowing into each other; the sequences are beautifully structured, and the craftsmanship is hypnotic. But the picture is tame.
Pauline Kael
Tess is a sensitive, intelligent screen treatment of a literary masterwork. Feb 19, 2010 | Full Review…
Tess is a sensitive, intelligent screen treatment of a literary masterwork.
Variety Staff
Tess tells one rather more about its director's much publicised preoccupations than about Hardy's themes. Jun 24, 2006 | Full Review…
Tess tells one rather more about its director's much publicised preoccupations than about Hardy's themes.
This is a wonderful film. Oct 23, 2004 | Rating: 4/4 | Full Review…
This is a wonderful film.
Roger Ebert
Without Mr. Polanski's name in the credits, this lush and scenic Tess could even be mistaken for the work of David Lean. May 20, 2003 | Rating: 5/5
Without Mr. Polanski's name in the credits, this lush and scenic Tess could even be mistaken for the work of David Lean.
Janet Maslin
een in the context of Roman Polanski's career it becomes something rich and strange, shaded into terror by the naturalistic absurdism that is the basis of Polanski's style. Jan 1, 2000 | Full Review…
een in the context of Roman Polanski's career it becomes something rich and strange, shaded into terror by the naturalistic absurdism that is the basis of Polanski's style.
Dave Kehr
We are driven back to Hardy at the end and Tess is proof, if proof is needed, of the power of that individual imagination which can survive changes of form. Mar 26, 2018 | Full Review…
We are driven back to Hardy at the end and Tess is proof, if proof is needed, of the power of that individual imagination which can survive changes of form.
Peter Ackroyd
(PODCAST) The greatest filmic literary adaptation any filmmaker has produced. Aug 31, 2017 | Rating: A+ | Full Review…
(PODCAST) The greatest filmic literary adaptation any filmmaker has produced.
Cole Smithey
Roman Polanski is one of those men who, despite his icky treatment of women in real life, manages to create strong and compelling female characters for the screen. Apr 18, 2014 | Rating: 3/4 | Full Review…
Roman Polanski is one of those men who, despite his icky treatment of women in real life, manages to create strong and compelling female characters for the screen.
Matt Brunson
This is Kinski's show and she flat out steals it. Mar 6, 2014 | Rating: 7/10 | Full Review…
This is Kinski's show and she flat out steals it.
Christopher Long
The film, like its source, is filled with pessimistic fatalism, but it spares no pity for the instruments of fate [...] What, if anything, this meant to Polanski remains unknowable. Feb 25, 2014 | Rating: 4/5 | Full Review…
The film, like its source, is filled with pessimistic fatalism, but it spares no pity for the instruments of fate [...] What, if anything, this meant to Polanski remains unknowable.
Keith Phipps
Unexciting. Feb 6, 2014 | Rating: B | Full Review…
Unexciting.
Dennis Schwartz
A resonant and visually stunning period piece about a beautiful but unfortunate young woman born in an ungrateful time and divided between two men who are bound to abuse her - and even if the film may feel too long, the cinematography and art direction are a marvel to behold.
Super Reviewer
A not quite traditional take on Thomas Hardy's book, Polanski nonetheless breathes some fresh air on the material and makes it very intriguing.
Beautiful to look at, not just the scenery but the art direction as well but overlong and somewhat ponderous. Director Polanski's silent tribute to his late wife Sharon Tate at the end of the opening credits with a simple "To Sharon" after his credit is quite moving. She had left the Hardy novel with a note that she thought he would make a fine film of it when she headed back to the states just before her death.
The mean and downward day by day of a gorgeous peasant girl. beautifully adapted to the screen by Roman Polanski. A film dedicated to his wife Sharon Tate.
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