Dear Reader: Update, Movie Review Intelligence will discontinue
publishing this website at the end of May (more...)
Search a Movie:
HOUSE OF PLEASURESMovie Reviews
French language drama about the women who work at a brothel at the turn of the 20th century. Cast:Noémie Lvovsky, Hafsia Herzi, Celine Sallette, Jasmine TrincaDirector:Bertrand BonelloRelease Date:November 25, 2011DVD Release:March 13, 2012From:Sundance SelectsLength:2 hr. 2 min.
House of Pleasures played in limited release to very good reviews. • Scott Tobias wrote for the AV Club, "Without soft-pedaling it, director Bertrand Bonello nonetheless mourns the extinction of the brothel, where the women at least had each other." • And Karina Longworth wrote in LA Weekly, "...haunting, darkly gorgeous.... a moody, literate, highly complicated genre-fuck." More Reviews Below...
House of Pleasures Positive Reviews (13 Reviews, reviews below)
Roger Ebert, RogerEbert.com: OUTSTANDING(cg) "...a morose elegy... No one, male or female, has any fun, but the men behave as if they do. They are all half-stupefied by the languor in which they drown."(See all of Roger Ebert's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 670 words, 02/10/12
we have an app for when you're out and about
get our iPhone app... or get our mobile web app...
movie review intelligence
NEW YORK/LOS ANGELES/CHICAGO/TORONTO (6 Reviews)
Stephen Holden, New York Times: GOOD "...somber, hypnotic... not an erotic stimulant so much as a slow-moving, increasingly tragic and claustrophobic operatic pageant set almost entirely in the brothel."(See all of Stephen Holden's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 689 words, 11/25/11
Gary Goldstein, Los Angeles Times: GOOD (NOT GREAT) "On the one hand, the film plays like an intimate series of beautifully composed paintings.... On the flip side, it can often feel like the world's earliest reality TV show..."(See all of Gary Goldstein's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 247 words, 12/16/11
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: OUTSTANDING(cg) "...a morose elegy... No one, male or female, has any fun, but the men behave as if they do. They are all half-stupefied by the languor in which they drown."(See all of Roger Ebert's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 670 words, 02/10/12
J. Hoberman, Village Voice: GOOD "Director Bertrand Bonello's posh maison close is a realm of beautifully dressed (and undressed) whores, alternately languid or high-spirited, if sadly victimized."(See all of J. Hoberman's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 273 words, 11/23/11
Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle: VERY GOOD(cg) "...a strange film, very original and very good.... It's about forcing us to think about people we never would otherwise and seeing their struggles and humanity."(See all of Mick LaSalle's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 197 words, 03/30/12
ALTERNATIVE/INDIE PRESS (4 Reviews)
J. Hoberman, Village Voice: GOOD "Director Bertrand Bonello's posh maison close is a realm of beautifully dressed (and undressed) whores, alternately languid or high-spirited, if sadly victimized."(See all of J. Hoberman's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 273 words, 11/23/11
Scott Tobias, AV Club: OUTSTANDING(cg) "Without soft-pedaling it, director Bertrand Bonello nonetheless mourns the extinction of the brothel, where the women at least had each other."(See all of Scott Tobias's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 255 words, 09/10/11
Phil Coldiron, Slant: OUTSTANDING(cg) "Not many films have ever approached the possibilities afforded by the slippery subjectivity of cinematic time so directly, or with such intelligence."(See all of Phil Coldiron's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 1,461 words, 11/22/11
HIGHBROW PRESS (3 Reviews)
Stephen Holden, New York Times: GOOD "...somber, hypnotic... not an erotic stimulant so much as a slow-moving, increasingly tragic and claustrophobic operatic pageant set almost entirely in the brothel."(See all of Stephen Holden's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 689 words, 11/25/11
Jeannette Catsoulis, NPR: GOOD "...a decadent portrait of the end of an era. Within its walls, fiction and reality, old and young, master and servant coexist... a nightmare disguised as a dream."(See all of Jeannette Catsoulis's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 467 words, 11/24/11
Gary Goldstein, Los Angeles Times: GOOD (NOT GREAT) "On the one hand, the film plays like an intimate series of beautifully composed paintings.... On the flip side, it can often feel like the world's earliest reality TV show..."(See all of Gary Goldstein's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 247 words, 12/16/11
MOVIE INDUSTRY (5 Reviews)
Leslie Felperin, Daily Variety: GOOD "...presents an accessible, credible portrait of what life was like for sex workers way back when, with all the career's pleasures (few) and perils (many)."(See all of Leslie Felperin's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 822 words, 05/15/11
Deborah Young, Hollywood Reporter: VERY GOOD "...elegiac... fascinates with its exquisite period atmosphere and repulses in its cruel spectacle of young women trapped in a life from which there is practically no exit."(See all of Deborah Young's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 786 words, 05/16/11
Gary Goldstein, Los Angeles Times: GOOD (NOT GREAT) "On the one hand, the film plays like an intimate series of beautifully composed paintings.... On the flip side, it can often feel like the world's earliest reality TV show..."(See all of Gary Goldstein's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 247 words, 12/16/11
Emanuel Levy, Cinema 24/7: FAIR(cg) "French director Bertrand Bonello never manages the clarity or emotional pull to allow his new feature to kick into an unexpected gear and rise above the standard issue."(See all of Emanuel Levy's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 821 words, 05/17/11
Stephen Holden, New York Times: GOOD "...somber, hypnotic... not an erotic stimulant so much as a slow-moving, increasingly tragic and claustrophobic operatic pageant set almost entirely in the brothel."(See all of Stephen Holden's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 689 words, 11/25/11
17.5 Percentage Points Average Difference Between Reviews (Norm is 18.4pp; <18.4pp = More Consistent; >18.4pp = More Mixed)
House of Pleasures's reviews are separated by an average 17.5 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.
House of Pleasures (13 reviews) Roll over dots for each review
Coverage:House of Pleasures's reviews cover 16.0% of potential readers (average is 67.9%). Volume:The film's reviews total 7,581 words involume (average is 20,172 words). Length:The film's reviews average 583 words in length (the norm is 517 words).
House of Pleasures Coverage, Volume & Length (13 Reviews, reviews below)
Reviews Broke 57.9 Hours After Release (Norm is 1.2 Release)
House of Pleasures's reviews on average broke 57.9 hours 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 House of Pleasures's opening day. Click on any bar for a list of the reviews for that day.
House of Pleasures (13 reviews, click on bars for reviews)
Mobile Web App version 1.2 shows a list of all current movies and review information. You can click through to the cast, director, synopsis, release date and rating on page two, plus individual reviews on page three. The information is updated on a live/real-time basis. You can also search our database of films. Designed for when you're on the move and want the latest info, this app will work on any mobile web browser. From your mobile device -- only from a mobile device -- open our Mobile Web App here...
