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W.E.Movie Reviews
Drama about a lonely New York woman who is obsessed with the story of Wallis Simpson and King Edward VIII. Cast:Abbie Cornish, James D'Arcy, Oscar Isaac, Andrea RiseboroughDirector:MadonnaRelease Date:December 9, 2011DVD Release:May 1, 2012From:The Weinstein CompanyLength:1 hr 54 min
W.E. played in key cities to weak reviews. • Linda Barnard wrote in the Toronto Star, "...a glorious mess of a disappointing costume drama, which shows all the directing restraint of a kid with a new box of paints and not much more focus." • And Connie Ogle wrote in the Miami Herald, "I never thought I'd say this, but at least as far as directing goes, Madonna needs to loosen up a little." More Reviews Below...
Richard Corliss, Time: POOR "...we suspect that, if viewers emerging from this movie were asked to name their worst of the year, they'd cry 'W.E.,' 'W.E.,' 'W.E.,' all the way home."(See all of Richard Corliss's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 698 words, 12/09/11
David Germain, Associated Press: WEAK(cg) "...poorly conceived, awkwardly orchestrated... The images have the sheen of a really grand music video or perfume commercial, and the movie has about as much insight."(See all of David Germain's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 571 words, 02/03/12
Lisa Schwarzbaum, Entertainment Weekly: FAIR(cg) "...a desultory vanity project... But for those very reasons, 'W.E.,' by world-renowned personage and lesser-known filmmaker Madonna, is not without twisted interest."(See all of Lisa Schwarzbaum's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 248 words, 01/27/12
Peter Travers, Rolling Stone: POOR(cg) "Madonna directs again! Oh, no! Oh, yes!... By the time you realize you don't know what's going on you will have stopped caring. Consider that a mercy."(See all of Peter Travers's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 231 words, 02/03/12
Claudia Puig, USA Today: MODERATE(cg) "The dialogue is particularly wooden, and the entire project feels more like an extended music video than a narrative film.... There is, however, plenty of pretentious folderol."(See all of Claudia Puig's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 446 words, 02/03/12
Roger Ebert, RogerEbert.com: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...elegant, ambitious and relentlessly monotonous... Its period details seem authentic, its casting of historical figures is convincing, and its visual style is mannered..."(See all of Roger Ebert's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 799 words, 02/10/12
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NEW YORK/LOS ANGELES/CHICAGO/TORONTO (12 Reviews)
Manohla Dargis, New York Times: FAIR "As a mystical female friendship movie, it has its pull, but it never coheres, shredded by its editing and its pretensions, like Mrs. Simpson dancing to the Sex Pistols..."(See all of Manohla Dargis's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 872 words, 02/03/12
Elizabeth Weitzman, New York Daily News: WEAK(cg) "...while it cannot be counted as a successful directorial effort, there are genuine elements of interest... The most notable is a nervy central performance..."(See all of Elizabeth Weitzman's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 336 words, 02/03/12
Betsy Sharkey, Los Angeles Times: POOR "Far too simplistic and borderline offensive... essentially says all it takes for a woman to feel fulfilled is the love of a good man and a good martini close at hand."(See all of Betsy Sharkey's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 679 words, 12/09/11
Kyle Smith, New York Post: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "I found the movie fascinating. Except for the boring bits.... sheds light on two inveterate intriguers: Wallis Simpson... and Madonna..."(See all of Kyle Smith's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 758 words, 02/03/12
Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune: WEAK(cg) "...this is a seriously intentioned picture, not a vanity project. It is also seriously wrongheaded. 'W.E.' trips all over its own ungainly storyline..."(See all of Michael Phillips's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 476 words, 02/10/12
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...elegant, ambitious and relentlessly monotonous... Its period details seem authentic, its casting of historical figures is convincing, and its visual style is mannered..."(See all of Roger Ebert's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 799 words, 02/10/12
Karina Longworth, Village Voice/LA Weekly: POOR "...the work of a woman who apparently hasn't spent time with normal human beings in a while.... Madonna's anachronistic use of music is the least of her movie's problems."(See all of Karina Longworth's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 264 words, 02/01/12
Linda Barnard, Toronto Star: WEAK(cg) "...a glorious mess of a disappointing costume drama, which shows all the directing restraint of a kid with a new box of paints and not much more focus."(See all of Linda Barnard's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 825 words, 02/03/12
Rick Groen, Toronto Globe & Mail: WEAK(cg) "...a heavily made-up face masquerading as a movie and demanding to be admired - demands that might just leave you with an acute pain in the other end."(See all of Rick Groen's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 666 words, 02/03/12
Ann Hornaday, Washington Post: WEAK(cg) "Both frantic and inert, the strained effort to wring heroic meaning from two un-heroic characters proves a task too daunting for even Madonna's flinty determination."(See all of Ann Hornaday's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 680 words, 02/10/12
Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star-Tribune: MODERATE(cg) "The film's few grace notes come from the cast.... Madonna gorges on glamour, architectural porn and haute couture but starves the mind."(See all of Colin Covert's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 355 words, 03/02/12
Bill Goodykoontz, Arizona Republic: WEAK(cg) "The production is nice looking, and telling the Edward-and-Wallis story from her side is an interesting idea, but it's one that Madonna simply can't pull off here."(See all of Bill Goodykoontz's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 630 words, 02/17/12
Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle: POOR(cg) "Madonna has flair without ability, but she does have flair.... She is trying to do a job, and the results may be off, but they're not contemptible.... it's sincere and ambitious."(See all of Mick LaSalle's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 553 words, 02/10/12
Shawn Levy, Portland Oregonian: MODERATE(cg) "...a lurid movie, visually and dramatically, and it's acted unsteadily by the principles... The nearest thing to 'W. E.' is Sofia Coppola's 'Marie Antoinette'..."(See all of Shawn Levy's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 344 words, 03/16/12
Joe Williams, St. Louis Post-Dispatch: MODERATE(cg) "...escorts us to such lovely locales, but instead of marking the territory as her own, Madonna has directed a potentially provocative story like a virgin."(See all of Joe Williams's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 362 words, 03/16/12
Tom Long, Detroit News: FAIR(cg) "...not awful. It looks quite nice at times, and Andrea Riseborough delivers an exquisite if overdrawn performance as Wallis."(See all of Tom Long's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 301 words, 02/10/12
Connie Ogle, Miami Herald: MODERATE(cg) "Andrea Riseborough makes the most of her moments.... I never thought I'd say this, but at least as far as directing goes, Madonna needs to loosen up a little."(See all of Connie Ogle's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 710 words, 03/02/12
ALTERNATIVE/INDIE PRESS (7 Reviews)
Karina Longworth, Village Voice/LA Weekly: POOR "...the work of a woman who apparently hasn't spent time with normal human beings in a while.... Madonna's anachronistic use of music is the least of her movie's problems."(See all of Karina Longworth's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 264 words, 02/01/12
Nathan Rabin, AV Club: POOR(cg) "...a glorified cinematic romance novel with blindingly slick, expensive production values that never begin to mask the fundamental emptiness at its core."(See all of Nathan Rabin's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 365 words, 02/02/12
Diego Costa, Slant: VERY GOOD(cg) "Madonna handles this film like a masterful aesthetician. The absolutely enthralling soundtrack patches everything together along with the grainy handheld close-ups..."(See all of Diego Costa's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 810 words, 12/11/11
John Anderson, Wall Street Journal: GOOD (NOT GREAT) "Can 'W.E.' be a provocation by accident and still be worthwhile?... the techniques speak a brutal honesty about both Wallis and her biographer..."(See all of John Anderson's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 908 words, 02/03/12
Manohla Dargis, New York Times: FAIR "As a mystical female friendship movie, it has its pull, but it never coheres, shredded by its editing and its pretensions, like Mrs. Simpson dancing to the Sex Pistols..."(See all of Manohla Dargis's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 872 words, 02/03/12
Anthony Lane, New Yorker: WEAK "We don't want to hear any more about ancient constitutional crises. We want to watch a three-way with a former King of England, in a bungalow."(See all of Anthony Lane's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 812 words, 01/30/12
Betsy Sharkey, Los Angeles Times: POOR "Far too simplistic and borderline offensive... essentially says all it takes for a woman to feel fulfilled is the love of a good man and a good martini close at hand."(See all of Betsy Sharkey's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 679 words, 12/09/11
Andrew O'Hehir, Salon: WEAK "...a reasonably watchable and mostly non-narrative curiosity, a handsome fantasy mounted by someone who has no storytelling ability and no connection to real life."(See all of Andrew O'Hehir's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 855 words, 09/14/11
MOVIE INDUSTRY (5 Reviews)
Leslie Felperin, Daily Variety: WEAK "Burdened with risible dialogue and weak performances... doesn't have much going for it apart from lavish production design and terrific, well-researched costumes..."(See all of Leslie Felperin's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 982 words, 09/01/11
Todd McCarthy, Hollywood Reporter: FAIR "Hop-scotches between glamorous locations, as well as between decades and story... as easy on the eyes and ears as it is embalmed from any dramatic point of view."(See all of Todd McCarthy's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 817 words, 09/01/11
Betsy Sharkey, Los Angeles Times: POOR "Far too simplistic and borderline offensive... essentially says all it takes for a woman to feel fulfilled is the love of a good man and a good martini close at hand."(See all of Betsy Sharkey's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 679 words, 12/09/11
Manohla Dargis, New York Times: FAIR "As a mystical female friendship movie, it has its pull, but it never coheres, shredded by its editing and its pretensions, like Mrs. Simpson dancing to the Sex Pistols..."(See all of Manohla Dargis's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 872 words, 02/03/12
John Anderson, Wall Street Journal: GOOD (NOT GREAT) "Can 'W.E.' be a provocation by accident and still be worthwhile?... the techniques speak a brutal honesty about both Wallis and her biographer..."(See all of John Anderson's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 908 words, 02/03/12
15.4 Percentage Points Average Difference Between Reviews (Norm is 18.4pp; <18.4pp = More Consistent; >18.4pp = More Mixed)
W.E.'s reviews are separated by an average 15.4 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.
Coverage:W.E.'s reviews cover 87.9% of potential readers (average is 67.9%). Volume:The film's reviews total 21,149 words involume (average is 20,194 words). Length:The film's reviews average 542 words in length (the norm is 517 words).
Reviews Broke 44 Days After Release (Norm is 1.2 Release)
W.E.'s reviews on average broke 44 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 W.E.'s opening day. Click on any bar for a list of the reviews for that day.
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