77
Metascore
8 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 100Chicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertChicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertCarnal Knowledge is clearly Mike Nichols' best film. It sets out to tell us certain things about these few characters and their sexual crucifixions, and it succeeds.
- 100The New York TimesVincent CanbyThe New York TimesVincent CanbyMore than any other film Nichols has made, Carnal Knowledge reminds me of his stage work at its best, particularly of the highly stylized Luv in which low comedy techniques were employed to illuminate material that might otherwise seem too cruel, or too anti‐heroic for a dramatic medium.
- 90TV Guide MagazineTV Guide MagazineAn uneven but unusually thoughtful melodrama, Carnal Knowledge avoids most of the the trendy excesses that make some other films of its era so difficult to watch today.
- 90Village VoiceAndrew SarrisVillage VoiceAndrew SarrisCarnal Knowledge is a movie that almost lives up to it's brilliant title. [08 Jul 1971, p.34]
- 60The New YorkerPauline KaelThe New YorkerPauline KaelAs Mike Nichols has directed the material, the effects are almost all achieved through the line readings, and the cleverness is unpleasant -- it's all surface and whacking emphasis.
- 50Chicago ReaderDave KehrChicago ReaderDave KehrThe picture has its moments of chilling insight, though essentially it is one more quaint early-70s stab at an American art cinema that never materialized.
- 50Time OutTime OutAs a slice of familiar Feiffer cynicism, tracing the arid sex life of two contrasting males from eager college days to drained middle age, this was never quite the major assault on sexism and male chauvinism it set itself up to be.