
Violette
2013, Drama/Biography, 2h 19m
50 Reviews 500+ RatingsWhat to know
critics consensus
Led by an outstanding performance from Emmanuelle Devos, Violette is a rewarding, bracingly honest look at social mores and the literary life. Read critic reviews
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Cast & Crew
Violette Leduc
Simone de Beauvoir
Jacques Guérin
Berthe Leduc
Jean Genet
Maurice Sachs
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Critic Reviews for Violette
All Critics (50) | Top Critics (26) | Fresh (43) | Rotten (7)
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This well-acted, wonderfully photographed biopic explores the troubled life of French feminist author Violette Leduc and her complicated ties to Simone de Beauvoir...
June 30, 2020 | Full Review… -
She [Emmanuelle Devos] gives a tremendous performance, somehow managing to turn an emotion as ugly as self-loathing into something beautiful to behold.
December 3, 2014 | Rating: A- | Full Review… -
[Leduc] remains a small and rather irritating sideshow to the more powerful St Germain crowd, and the focus on her life is surprisingly dull.
October 3, 2014 | Rating: 2/5 | Full Review… -
For all the chaos and pain, it is weirdly romantic: a glorious tale of wish-fulfilment, confirming that writers really can attain self-validation through the pen.
October 2, 2014 | Rating: 4/5 | Full Review… -
A beautiful true-life character study that does elegant justice to a largely unheralded writer.
October 2, 2014 | Rating: 4/5 | Full Review… -
A deeply satisfying combination of fascinating subject, ace performers and refined directorial sensibility.
October 2, 2014 | Rating: 4/5 | Full Review…
Audience Reviews for Violette
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Jul 09, 2014During the occupation, Violette Leduc(Emmanuelle Devos) works in the black market in order to support her and her lackadaisical friend Maurice(Olivier Sy) in the country. That does not come without its risks as she also spends three days in jail while Maurice idles back at the farmhouse they share. While he placates her anger with a composition notebook she uses to write her thoughts, he makes a break for it. The next time she hears about him is in Paris when he is in deeper trouble but she ignores him in favor of a novel by Simone de Beauvoir(Sandrine Kiberlain) about a menage a trois which inspires Violette to write her own book to give to Simone to publish. "Violette" is a remarkably assured and multi-layered movie. Ironically, it takes its time in recalling the history of somebody who could not stop moving. It definitely helps that Emmanuelle Devos is excellent in portraying such a complex, and at times, difficult person. Violette is also one of several writers like Jean-Paul Sartre and Jean Genet(Jacques Bonnaffe) at this period of time who were challenging the more conservative elements of French society through their writing and personal stories, sort of the French Beats if you will but with feminist voices included. In general, this movie also serves as a valuable reminder of how difficult it is for writers to be recognized in any time period, making encouragement one of the most valuable gifts they can receive.Walter M Super Reviewer
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