Yves Saint Laurent 2014

Farran Smith Nehme, New York Post: Saint Laurent (played with uncanny accuracy by Pierre Niney) goes through nervous breakdowns, addictions and affairs with gold diggers, but remains a comparatively opaque personality. Read more

Moira MacDonald, Seattle Times: Skillfully made ... Read more

Guy Lodge, Variety: Clothes make the man, but can't save the film, in Yves Saint Laurent, in which the life of one of haute couture's great innovators gets disappointingly by-the-numbers treatment. Read more

David Ehrlich, AV Club: Yves Saint Laurent epitomizes the mediocrity of a genre that often aspires to secondhand storytelling instead of first-rate art. Read more

Penny Walker, Arizona Republic: A visually sumptuous - and perhaps languidly paced - tale that immerses the viewer in a deeply atmospheric world. Read more

Peter Keough, Boston Globe: Alternately meek and tyrannical, repressed and Dionysian, Niney's Saint Laurent remains both empathetic and obscure. Read more

Ben Sachs, Chicago Reader: This glitzy biopic of the renowned French fashion designer doesn't offer much insight into its subject or milieu. Read more

Suzanne S. Brown, Denver Post: Much has been documented about Saint Laurent and Berge in films, books and exhibitions, but Yves Saint Laurent... attempts to show the personal side of the designer and his consort. Read more

Stephan Lee, Entertainment Weekly: Scenes between YSL and rock-steady lover Pierre Berge (Guillaume Gallienne) spark, but the film stays too reverent to truly turn heads. Read more

Boyd van Hoeij, Hollywood Reporter: Two transformative performances compensate for a screenplay with no real third act. Read more

Stephen Whitty, Newark Star-Ledger: Had he seen his own bio backstage, you can't help but feel he would have fussed with it a bit more before sending it out so unadorned. Read more

Elizabeth Weitzman, New York Daily News: Ultimately, this biopic seems far more interested in Saint Laurent's emotional passions, and the love story between him and Berge serves as the movie's core. Read more

Nicolas Rapold, New York Times: Mr. Lespert and his screenwriters tend to telegraph what's happening next with on-the-nose dialogue, leaving behind an orderly but not vividly realized biography (or necessarily a complete one). Read more

Christy Lemire, RogerEbert.com: A tasteful and formulaic biopic, visually lush but emotionally shallow. Read more

Maghan McDowell, San Francisco Chronicle: Ultimately, the story of Yves Saint Laurent makes a compelling argument for fashion as art, and begs to answer the question if there is such a thing as innate taste. Read more

Rob Nelson, Minneapolis Star Tribune: Its tendency to tell rather than show seems ill-suited to a portrait of the man who brought haute couture to the masses. Read more

Mary Houlihan, Chicago Sun-Times: The film takes on a dour note as way too much time is spent on Saint Laurent's drunken antics. He comes across as sullen and not very likable. This may be true to the man, but what of his other side? Read more

Danny Sinopoli, Globe and Mail: Despite being sumptuously shot and competently assembled, it provides no real insight into the tortured mind of its subject or the creative process in general. Read more

Bruce Demara, Toronto Star: Does a film with haute couture as its heart guarantee an elegant cinematic experience? In the case of Yves Saint Laurent, a biopic about the legendary French couturier, the answer is a tired non. Read more

Alonso Duralde, TheWrap: What makes this film go astray are the problems that plague so many screen biographies: too much narration, too much telling and not enough showing, and presenting an artist's accomplishments in lieu of exploring his perspective. Read more

Cath Clarke, Time Out: This polite film, though touching in places, is so desperate not to offend, it's the film equivalent of sensible shoes. Read more

Stephanie Zacharek, Village Voice: Yves Saint Laurent gives us some idea of what it cost to be Yves Saint Laurent. But it also makes us feel for the guy who wasn't ashamed to leave his fingerprints on the money. Read more

Stephanie Merry, Washington Post: When he wasn't silent, Yves Saint Laurent could be cruel and selfish. He may have been a genius, but if he was at all likable, this movie doesn't show it. Read more