Portrait of a Lady on Fire

Name: Portrait of a Lady on Fire
Genre: Drama, History, Romance
Released: December 6, 2019
Duration: 122 min
Rating: 95
Cast: Adele Haenel, Armande Boulanger, Cécile Morel, Christel Baras, Clément Bouyssou

2019

METASCORE

Universal acclaim based on 48 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Universal acclaim based on 284 Ratings

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8.7

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8.7	User Score Universal acclaim based on 284 Ratings

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Portrait Of A Lady On Fire

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Movie Details & Credits

Alamode Film | Release Date: December 6, 2019 | R

Starring: Adele Haenel, Armande Boulanger, Cécile Morel, Christel Baras, Clément Bouyssou, Guy Delamarche, Luàna Bajrami, Michèle Clément, Noémie Merlant, Valeria Golino

Movie Facts:

Debuts 3/27 at 12am PST on Hulu.

Summary: France, 1760. Marianne is commissioned to paint the wedding portrait of Héloïse, a young woman who has just left the convent. Because she is a reluctant bride-to-be, Marianne arrives under the guise of companionship, observing Héloïse by day and secretly painting her by firelight at night. As the two women orbit one another, intimacy andFrance, 1760. Marianne is commissioned to paint the wedding portrait of Héloïse, a young woman who has just left the convent. Because she is a reluctant bride-to-be, Marianne arrives under the guise of companionship, observing Héloïse by day and secretly painting her by firelight at night. As the two women orbit one another, intimacy and attraction grow as they share Héloïse’s first moments of freedom. Héloïse's portrait soon becomes a collaborative act of and testament to their love. … Expand

Director: Céline Sciamma

Genre(s): Drama, History, Romance

Rating: R

Runtime: 122 min

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Metascore

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Critic Reviews

100

Richard Brody

Aug 4, 2020

The movie dramatizes the constraints of the era, the imposition of a narrow and religion-based morality, the stern discipline that’s internalized as a result, the elision of women and their world from public life, and the firm expectations of family and society that Héloïse will endure in her unwanted marriage. Yet it does more than merely depict them—it embodies them, in the characters’ poised stillness, which makes the airy surroundings feel as rigid as stone. Read full review

100

Justin Chang

Dec 5, 2019

It’s the rare movie that can take something as ancient as myth and use it to break your heart anew. Read full review

100

Leslie Felperin

May 19, 2019

Assaying [Sciamma's] first period film, an exquisitely executed love story that's both formally adventurous and emotionally devastating, she sticks the landing like a UCLA gymnast in peak condition. It's so good you'll want to watch again in slow-motion immediately afterwards just to see how she does it. Read full review

100

Bilge Ebiri

Feb 12, 2020

Portrait of a Lady on Fire builds and builds and builds, as we keep waiting for an explosion, a big emotional climax. And, not unlike with another great recent import, Pedro Almodóvar’s "Pain and Glory," it arrives with the very last shot — which I won’t reveal other than to say it’s one of the finest pieces of acting and one of the most moving images I’ve seen in eons. Read full review

Joshua Rivera

Feb 17, 2020

The conversations in Portrait of a Lady on Fire are among the most memorable people have had on a screen in some time, with each line a stanza in a poem, a reversal, a shift in perspective. With every exchange, the relationship between Marianne and Héloïse changes subtly. Read full review

Marjorie Baumgarten

Feb 19, 2020

What the film excels at, however, is the anticipatory desire. It builds slowly, concluding with a stunning sequence that is all breathless remembrance and self-satisfaction that is both wordless and impalpable. The film will seem the height of romantic desire to some, but will be a slow burn for others. Read full review

Christopher Gray

Sep 5, 2019

What's most stirring about Céline Sciamma's film is the lack of artifice in Héloïse and Marianne's feelings for one another. Read full review

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User Reviews

uglyworldwide

Dec 7, 2019

this is nothing but pure art. every scene feels like they just cut from a novel.

9 of 14 users found this helpful95

idkwhatimdoin

Aug 16, 2020

probably the best movie i've ever seen! the magnificent cinematography and the amazing actresses make you feel like you're part of this beautiful love story. i'd definitely recommend it to anyone who is looking for something which for once isn't the typical heterosexual love story that youprobably the best movie i've ever seen! the magnificent cinematography and the amazing actresses make you feel like you're part of this beautiful love story. i'd definitely recommend it to anyone who is looking for something which for once isn't the typical heterosexual love story that you can find everywhere.… Expand

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

xiaolumeta

Mar 29, 2020

Celine Sciamma's screenplay for Portrait of a Lady on Fire is stunning. Bringing the audience's eyes towards the eyes, noses, and other facial features of Heloise and Marianna, the texture is a very present part of the film. The costume design, the acting, the cinematography, the direction,Celine Sciamma's screenplay for Portrait of a Lady on Fire is stunning. Bringing the audience's eyes towards the eyes, noses, and other facial features of Heloise and Marianna, the texture is a very present part of the film. The costume design, the acting, the cinematography, the direction, the score, and most of all, the Art direction were through the roof. With matching images to Bergman's Persona, stellar direction for an even more stellar screenplay, I can't praise this film enough.

The use of score reminds me of Miyazaki's embedding of Hisahashi's music into his films. Not gonna write much more on the themes of the film as I just wrote this blob of text to fill in a rating.

96/100

(first metacritic/letterboxd review so am unsure of the direction of my reviews for these types of sites atm.)… Expand

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

Andremax

Feb 21, 2020

Portrait of a lady on fire is tender, beautiful, human and visually artistic

4 of 5 users found this helpful41

Mayfieldja

Mar 18, 2020

Arguably the greatest romance film of the last 20 years. It's elegant, insanely intelligent, and expertly dives into themes that seem just as real today as they might have in the late 1800s. 9 out of 10

-SM

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

JLuis_001

Jan 18, 2020

If I were to be angry about the Oscar nominations (Which I'm not, because awards don't dictate the quality of a film) I would be incredibly upset by the enormous disdain the Academy shown to Céline Sciamma and her wonderful film and not by Greta Gerwig and her right but conventionalIf I were to be angry about the Oscar nominations (Which I'm not, because awards don't dictate the quality of a film) I would be incredibly upset by the enormous disdain the Academy shown to Céline Sciamma and her wonderful film and not by Greta Gerwig and her right but conventional adaptation of Little Women.… Expand

5 of 7 users found this helpful52

BradFeet

May 22, 2020

It's boring. Depressing. Just skip to the nude scenes and love scenes. it's not worth your almost 2 hours.

1 of 8 users found this helpful17

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