86
Metascore
17 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 100Rolling StonePeter TraversRolling StonePeter TraversA movie of prodigious power and feeling that is also high-spirited, hilarious and scorchingly erotic.
- 100San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalleSan Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalleThe kind of picture to whip out the clichés for: Surprisingly original. Delightful. Brilliant. Funny as all heck. When 1989 is through, sex, lies, and videotape may well be remembered as the best film of the year. [11 Aug 1989, Daily Datebook, p.E1]
- 100Los Angeles TimesSheila BensonLos Angeles TimesSheila BensonElectrifying… As writer, director and editor, [Soderbergh’s] control is mesmerizing. It's also more than a little creepy; as though Soderbergh were drawing us, a step at a time, into a warm pool where intimate secrets flowed back and forth as simply as currents of water. [4 Aug 1989, Calendar, p.6-1]
- 100The New RepublicStanley KauffmannThe New RepublicStanley KauffmannSoderbergh is helped enormously by the interplay of his actors, whom he has cast like a master... [He makes] a film that goes past what it shows to disclose what can't be seen. It's a fine achievement. [4 Sept 1989, p.26]
- 88Chicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertChicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertIt has more intelligence than heart, and is more clever than enlightening. But it is never boring, and there are moments when it reminds us of how sexy the movies used to be, back in the days when speech was an erogenous zone.
- 88USA TodayMike ClarkUSA TodayMike ClarkTwenty years ago, you could view early works of big-splash directors and often tell where they were coming from - or going. Yet Soderbergh and his debut project are mysteries. What can possibly come next? You won't be able to drag me out of line opening night. [4 Aug 1989, Life, p.1D]
- 80Chicago ReaderJonathan RosenbaumChicago ReaderJonathan RosenbaumCunningly scripted and acted, and talky in the best sense, the film is engrossing to watch but not especially interesting to ponder afterward; it's certainly an improvement on formulaic Hollywood, but on a thematic level there's still more windup than delivery.
- 75Entertainment WeeklyEntertainment WeeklyCompulsively watchable.
- 70TV Guide MagazineTV Guide MagazineBeautifully edited by Soderbergh, the film is evenly paced, its subtleties accreting slowly, and by the end it gathers powerful emotional momentum.
- 50Christian Science MonitorDavid SterrittChristian Science MonitorDavid SterrittThe first half is full of verbal and visual surprises, but the later scenes are talky and dull, as if filmmaker Steven Soderbergh had lost interest in his subject and his characters. Which would be understandable, since the story often seems more calculated than heartfelt. [4 Aug 1989, Arts, p.10]