L'homme qu'on aimait trop 2014

Rex Reed, New York Observer: Lacking action to the point of seeming immobile, Mr. Techine nevertheless amasses a catalogue of anger, desire and sex, enhanced by stunning landscapes of villas and a parade of the rich and glamorous haut monde at play. Read more

Peter Debruge, Variety: A mobster movie without whackings, a thriller without suspense and a courtroom drama without resolution, this turgid retelling of an unsolved missing-persons case functions mostly as a portrait of a young woman who loved too passionately. Read more

Adam Nayman, AV Club: Like any good prosecutor, Techine gives us enough information to render a verdict without bullying us into agreement. His gift to his viewers is the space to think for ourselves. Read more

Kerry Lengel, Arizona Republic: The personalities and conflicts make for engrossing cinema, but final scenes are anticlimactic. Read more

Peter Keough, Boston Globe: More disappointing than the film's inertia and amorphousness is its sacrifice of the real-world themes of class, money, corruption, and power. Unable to decide what story he wanted to tell, Techine hedges his bets and loses everything. Read more

Peter Rainer, Christian Science Monitor: It has its true-crime fascinations, and, until its misbegotten 30-year flash-forward to Maurice's trial, it has a silky allure of sun-kissed depravity. Read more

Tom Long, Detroit News: 'In the Name of My Daughter" is one of those French films that leave you going "huh?" Read more

David Rooney, Hollywood Reporter: While the film has infinite problems, casting is key among them. Read more

Sheri Linden, Los Angeles Times: None of it is quite satisfying, especially when old-age makeup takes center stage. Read more

John Anderson, Newsday: Tawdry tale gets complex, layered treatment from French master Andre Techine. Read more

Richard Brody, New Yorker: The true story of a late-seventies murder case, which is well-known in France, is a ready-made classic melodrama. Read more

Graham Fuller, New York Daily News: This sinister French movie starts as an ordinary drama about a young divorcee returning from Africa to live near her wealthy mother on the Mediterranean coast. Then it turns into a sexy, sickening and gripping thriller. Read more

Nicolas Rapold, New York Times: While by no means misfiring, Mr. Techine is definitely capable of finer orchestrations. Read more

Tirdad Derakhshani, Philadelphia Inquirer: A fascinating, suspenseful story about obsessive love, money, the Mafia, and murder. Read more

Moira MacDonald, Seattle Times: It's a pleasure to take in the lush settings, to hear the delicately ominous score (by Benjamin Biolay) and to watch these actors circling each other. Read more

Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle: The characters' intense desires are framed within a sedate, workaday context, so that even though the characters' passions drive the action, director Andre Techine lends the film an appealing illusion of calm. Read more

Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star Tribune: The ongoing trend of real-life French wrongdoings inspiring lengthy film dramas reaches a wearisome peak here. Read more

Calvin Wilson, St. Louis Post-Dispatch: It doesn't help that the characters caught up in this fact-based melodrama aren't particularly engaging. Or that Techine doesn't seem to have much of a feel for the material. Read more

Geoff Andrew, Time Out: Techine displays a cool, clear-eyed intelligence, though not the wit of the late Claude Chabrol. Read more

Marsha McCreadie, Village Voice: Can such a film be anything other than exciting? Yes. Read more

Stephanie Merry, Washington Post: "In the Name of My Daughter" has good intentions of taking a sensationalistic riddle and turning it into a human story. But the pendulum ultimately swings too far, leaving an explosive tale behind in favor of one that fizzles out. Read more