Death and the Maiden 1994

Caryn James, New York Times: Mr. Polanski treads lightly on the clumsier lines, and sustains tension by creating an elegant, unobtrusive dance with the camera. Read more

Jonathan Rosenbaum, Chicago Reader: Polanski certainly gets the maximum voltage and precision out of his story and actors, keeping us preternaturally alert to shifting power relationships and delayed revelations. Read more

Entertainment Weekly: Read more

James Berardinelli, ReelViews: Any degree of tension cultivated by Polanski is frequently undermined by Rafael Yglesias and Ariel Dorfman's sputtering script. Read more

Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: Richer than its materials might promise. Read more

Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle: Death and the Maiden forces the audience to confront questions about torture and punishment. Read more

Geoff Andrew, Time Out: Polanski wisely never opens out the action from the remote clifftop house. In keeping things claustrophobic, close-up and ambivalent, he heightens the suspense (not to mention the sexual tension). Read more

Todd McCarthy, Variety: Kingsley shrewdly tantalizes the viewer about his identity, and gets to deliver the text's most riveting monologue at the end. The lesser-known Wilson may be the first among equals, impressing strongly as the equivocating husband. Read more

Hal Hinson, Washington Post: The fundamental strength of Weaver's personality doesn't work here. Nor does her particular style of rage and sorrow. Read more

Desson Thomson, Washington Post: The Polanski touch -- apart from a little suspense here and there -- is limited. Read more