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GAINSBOURG: A HEROIC LIFEMovie Reviews
French language biography of '60s pop star Serge Gainsbourg traces his life from childhood to his fame as a notorious bon vivant. Cast:Eric Elmosnino, Lucy Gordon, Laetitia Casta, Doug Jones, Anna MouglalisDirector:Joann SfarRelease Date:August 31, 2011DVD Release:March 6, 2012From:Music Box FilmsLength:2 hr 2 min
MARCH 6, 2012
Gainsbourg: A Heroic Life, Good (Not Great) Reviews Key Cities
Gainsbourg: A Heroic Life played in key cities to good not great reviews. • Michelle Orange wrote for Movieline, "...avoids the brash outlines of a biopic in favor of a certain sort of homage, the tender evocation of style and personality in place of strict chronology and narrative arc." • And Joe Williams wrote in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, "It's a comic-strip version of one man's life and times, but it's très cool." More Reviews Below...
Gainsbourg: A Heroic Life Positive Reviews (29 Reviews, reviews below)
Mary Pols, Time: GOOD "The film aims to create a sense of what it might have been like to be Gainsbourg.... through Eric Elmosnino, some of that marvelous cool comes through."(See all of Mary Pols's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 668 words, 09/02/11
Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly: GOOD(cg) "Erik Elmosnino is not just a dead ringer for Gainsbourg (which is to say, he looks like a deeply serious elf with a touch of Nosferatu), he nails his sexy, disheveled poetic machismo."(See all of Owen Gleiberman's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 73 words, 09/02/11
Roger Ebert, RogerEbert.com: VERY GOOD(cg) "Why was Gainsbourg a hero? The film leaves the question hanging. I am afraid it was only because, like Sinatra, he did it his way. Which no one can deny."(See all of Roger Ebert's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 659 words, 10/28/11
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NEW YORK/LOS ANGELES/CHICAGO/TORONTO (11 Reviews)
A.O. Scott, New York Times: MODERATE "...affectionate... visually hectic and lacks either the dramatic intensity or the arresting insight that might have lifted it out of the pedestrian realm of the admiring biopic."(See all of A.O. Scott's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 665 words, 08/31/11
Elizabeth Weitzman, New York Daily News: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "What the movie lacks in depth it makes up for in surreal humor, and -- just as he should -- Gainsbourg look-alike Eric Elmosnino seduces us effortlessly."(See all of Elizabeth Weitzman's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 119 words, 09/02/11
Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times: VERY GOOD "Unconventional, imaginative, nothing if not audacious... a portrait of creativity from the inside, a serious yet playful attempt to find an artistic way to tell an emotional truth."(See all of Kenneth Turan's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 733 words, 09/02/11
V.A. Musetto, New York Post: VERY GOOD(cg) "Gainsbourg isn't a household name here in the States. But that shouldn't stop audiences from enjoying Joann Sfar's good-looking, fanciful film."(See all of V.A. Musetto's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 308 words, 08/31/11
John Anderson, New York Newsday: VERY GOOD(cg) "...a mischievous, impressionistic hybrid.... one could hardly make an honest movie about Gainsbourg that wasn't as recklessly ambitious as this."(See all of John Anderson's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 300 words, 09/30/11
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: VERY GOOD(cg) "Why was Gainsbourg a hero? The film leaves the question hanging. I am afraid it was only because, like Sinatra, he did it his way. Which no one can deny."(See all of Roger Ebert's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 659 words, 10/28/11
J. Hoberman, Village Voice/LA Weekly: FAIR "...an ambitious attempt to cage the career of legendary French singer-songwriter-scamp Serge Gainsbourg.... less a movie than a pageant with a posh, retro look."(See all of J. Hoberman's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 597 words, 08/31/11
Greg Quill, Toronto Star: VERY GOOD(cg) "What the film lacks in depth as an explorative study of a character who, even now, seems larger than life, it more than compensates for in the sheer exuberance..."(See all of Greg Quill's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 494 words, 09/16/11
Stephen Cole, Toronto Globe & Mail: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "It's no fun looking after a determined, self-justified alcoholic... The death of a ladies man is pretty grim sport after the ladies have gone."(See all of Stephen Cole's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 622 words, 09/16/11
Michael O'Sullivan, Washington Post: WEAK(cg) "...an obscure and self-indulgent mess.... hits the main biographical points of Gainsbourg's life, albeit in a way that's often maddeningly vague..."(See all of Michael O'Sullivan's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 485 words, 10/14/11
Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star-Tribune: MODERATE(cg) "...the story of a genius with no moral sense and no interests beyond sensuality. The catchy, insinuating music can only carry you so far."(See all of Colin Covert's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 210 words, 10/21/11
Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle: MODERATE(cg) "...loses steam... starts relying too much on tiresome flourishes, such as the grotesque, life-size puppet that follows Gainsbourg around as his alter ego."(See all of Mick LaSalle's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 562 words, 10/28/11
Shawn Levy, Portland Oregonian: GOOD(cg) "...relates (some of) the facts of its subject's life well enough... does not fulfill its desire to mix the reality of Gainsbourg's days with the fantastical audacity of his image."(See all of Shawn Levy's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 331 words, 09/09/11
J. Hoberman, Village Voice/LA Weekly: FAIR "...an ambitious attempt to cage the career of legendary French singer-songwriter-scamp Serge Gainsbourg.... less a movie than a pageant with a posh, retro look."(See all of J. Hoberman's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 597 words, 08/31/11
Betsy Sherman, Boston Phoenix: OUTSTANDING(cg) "Eric Elmosnino gives a deft and moving performance as the insecure piano player who reinvents himself as Gainsbourg, pop poet and improbable ladies' man..."(See all of Betsy Sherman's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 154 words, 10/27/11
Scott Tobias, AV Club: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...what's surprising, and ultimately disappointing, is the degree to which director Joann Sfar allows biopic obligations to smother his more whimsical instincts."(See all of Scott Tobias's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 372 words, 08/30/11
Michelle Orange, Movieline: GOOD(cg) "...avoids the brash outlines of a biopic in favor of a certain sort of homage, the tender evocation of style and personality in place of strict chronology and narrative arc."(See all of Michelle Orange's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 807 words, 09/01/11
Bill Weber, Slant: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "A little bit of phantasmagoria and a lot more 'And-then-he-fucked'... at its best when its mythologizing is carnal and infused with cabaret..."(See all of Bill Weber's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 621 words, 08/27/11
A.O. Scott, New York Times: MODERATE "...affectionate... visually hectic and lacks either the dramatic intensity or the arresting insight that might have lifted it out of the pedestrian realm of the admiring biopic."(See all of A.O. Scott's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 665 words, 08/31/11
Ian Buckwalter, NPR: FAIR "...an exciting exercise in experimentation takes a turn into the mundane... In a film that treats Gainsbourg with as much reverence as this one does, it's just a letdown."(See all of Ian Buckwalter's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 674 words, 08/31/11
Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times: VERY GOOD "Unconventional, imaginative, nothing if not audacious... a portrait of creativity from the inside, a serious yet playful attempt to find an artistic way to tell an emotional truth."(See all of Kenneth Turan's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 733 words, 09/02/11
Jordan Mintzer, Daily Variety: GOOD "...strains at times to cram together every last biographical tidbit... it often does so with creativity, humor and a strong sense of visual storytelling."(See all of Jordan Mintzer's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 780 words, 01/21/10
Bernard Besserglik, Hollywood Reporter: WEAK "Joann Sfar makes no attempt to get behind legendary French singer/songwriter Serge Gainsbourg's refusal to face up to the addictions that he knew were killing him."(See all of Bernard Besserglik's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 495 words, 10/14/10
Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times: VERY GOOD "Unconventional, imaginative, nothing if not audacious... a portrait of creativity from the inside, a serious yet playful attempt to find an artistic way to tell an emotional truth."(See all of Kenneth Turan's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 733 words, 09/02/11
A.O. Scott, New York Times: MODERATE "...affectionate... visually hectic and lacks either the dramatic intensity or the arresting insight that might have lifted it out of the pedestrian realm of the admiring biopic."(See all of A.O. Scott's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 665 words, 08/31/11
15.8 Percentage Points Average Difference Between Reviews (Norm is 18.4pp; <18.4pp = More Consistent; >18.4pp = More Mixed)
Gainsbourg: A Heroic Life's reviews are separated by an average 15.8 percentage points. The norm for this measure is 18.4 percentage points. Less than 18.4 indicates more consistent reviews; greater than 18.4 indicates more mixed reviews. In the chart below, each dot represents a review, with the dots at the top more positive than the dots at the bottom. From left to right, the dots represent reviews in big, bigger and biggest publications. Roll over each dot for more detail.
Gainsbourg: A Heroic Life (29 reviews) Roll over dots for each review
Coverage:Gainsbourg: A Heroic Life's reviews cover 48.4% of potential readers (average is 67.9%). Volume:The film's reviews total 13,055 words involume (average is 20,194 words). Length:The film's reviews average 450 words in length (the norm is 517 words).
Gainsbourg: A Heroic Life Coverage, Volume & Length (29 Reviews, reviews below)
Reviews Broke 3 Days After Release (Norm is 1.2 Release)
Gainsbourg: A Heroic Life's reviews on average broke 3 days after opening. Norm for this measure is 1.2 hours before. The chart below shows reviews on opening day and the days before and after opening; the left side is earlier and the right side is later. The red bars extending above the horizontal mid-line represent more positive reviews, and the red bars extending below represent more negative reviews. The white space/red bar in the middle is Gainsbourg: A Heroic Life's opening day. Click on any bar for a list of the reviews for that day.
Gainsbourg: A Heroic Life (29 reviews, click on bars for reviews)
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