70
Metascore
17 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 90Los Angeles TimesKenneth TuranLos Angeles TimesKenneth TuranIt's the best kind of unforced filmmaking, able to make its points with delicacy and tact. And the best thing about it is that it is Bottaro's feature directing debut. We have a lot to look forward to.
- 90The New York TimesStephen HoldenThe New York TimesStephen HoldenIn small but significant ways, Queen to Play defies expectations. It dangles the possibility of an affair between Hélène and Kröger in games that the film likens to courtship rituals in a classic screwball comedy.
- 80VarietyRonnie ScheibVarietyRonnie ScheibLike Sebastian Silva's "The Maid," Queen posits a radically different approach to class and gender empowerment.
- 75New York PostLou LumenickNew York PostLou LumenickQueen To Play is ultimately about people's capacity for emotional and intellectual growth at any age.
- 70Village VoiceErnest HardyVillage VoiceErnest HardyThe supporting cast is uniformly fine, but the film rests on the delicate shoulders of Bonnaire, who carries it with a soulful, magnetic presence.
- 70NPRElla TaylorNPRElla TaylorRelaxed and goofy in "Dave," "A Fish Called Wanda" and a host of other comedies, Kevin Kline has an endearing way of subverting his own grandee impulses when he's being funny. Give the actor a dramatic role, though, and he comes on all Shakespeare in the Park.
- 60New York Daily NewsJoe NeumaierNew York Daily NewsJoe NeumaierKline, who has done a lot of chewy character roles after several stage triumphs, is as sly and leonine as ever. His performance here obliterates that phony accent he used in "French Kiss."
- 58The A.V. ClubNoel MurrayThe A.V. ClubNoel MurrayQueen To Play has a winning heroine, who fantasizes about being special and then works hard to make it happen. Too bad the rest of the movie is so common.
- 50The Hollywood ReporterFrank ScheckThe Hollywood ReporterFrank ScheckThat the film works to the degree that it does is largely due to the sensitive performances. Bonnaire delivers a beautifully modulated turn.
- 40Time OutNick SchagerTime OutNick SchagerQueen to Play does slightly buck convention by depicting intellectual development (rather than lovey-dovey triumph) as the key to reshaping identity, as well as a form of class advancement and spiritual enlightenment. Such notions, however, are drowned out by deafeningly creaky conventions of cutesy self-discovery.