--- title: "Being There: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/film/being-there/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/film/being-there" critics_score: 86 critics_reviews: 11 licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Being There (1979): what the critics said Critics' score 86 from 11 reviews: 11 positive, 0 mixed, 0 negative. The reviews are uniformly positive, with praise clustering around Peter Sellers’ tightly controlled performance as Chance, the gardener whose ordinary observations are mistaken for political wisdom. Most critics admire how little Sellers does to make the misunderstanding convincing. Hal Ashby’s muted direction is another point of agreement: the measured pace gives the comedy time to work and allows poignancy into the satire. Several reviews also single out Melvyn Douglas, while the targets of public credulity and empty rhetoric draw consistent appreciation. The differences concern the strength of that praise rather than any outright rejection. The New York Times calls the premise fragile even while admiring the acting and unhurried handling. Slant Magazine finds blunt edges in the satire, tempered by Ashby’s bemused approach. Enthusiasm ranges from measured approval to wholehearted admiration, with no negative verdict among these eleven reviews. ## Radio Times — Calum Baker Rating 5/5. Peter Sellers delivers a masterful, stripped-back performance as the simple gardener Chance in this memorable satire, the last of his films released in his lifetime. Hal Ashby maintains a muted tone throughout that highlights the poignant elements in the story of a man mistaken for a political sage by Washington elites. [Read the review](https://www.radiotimes.com/movie-guide/b-broooj/being-there/) ## RogerEbert.com — Roger Ebert Rating 4/4. 1 January 1980. The film pulls off its risky one-joke premise with confidence and is one of the most provocative movies of the year. It features Peter Sellers in a narrow, perfectly controlled performance as the simple gardener whose truisms are mistaken for wisdom. [Read the review](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/being-there-1980) ## Little White Lies — Adam Woodward Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 8 September 2016. Sellers is at his understated best as the simple-minded gardener Chance in Ashby’s elegantly understated black comedy, his final film released while alive. The haunting closing long-take of Chance walking on water stands out as a powerful image of illusion, interpretation and the idea that life is a state of mind. [Read the review](https://lwlies.com/in-praise-of/peter-sellers-greatest-performance-being-there) ## The Hollywood Reporter — Ron Pennington Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 19 December 2016. Jerzy Kosinski’s delightful parable elevates the film into one of the most charming pictures of the year. Hal Ashby’s direction perfectly realizes the offbeat humor and gentle satire, with Sellers delivering his best performance as the childlike Chance. [Read the review](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/being-1979-review-957421/) ## Variety Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 31 December 1978. This is a highly unusual and unusually fine film, a faithful but imaginative adaptation that marks a significant achievement for Hal Ashby and Peter Sellers' most smashing work in years. Sellers' performance is the centerpiece, supported by subtle work from Shirley MacLaine and a spectacular turn by Melvyn Douglas. [Read the review](https://variety.com/1978/film/reviews/being-there-1200424539/) ## The New Yorker — Roger Angell Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 7 January 1980. Peter Sellers has the penetrating vacuity exactly right in this film about a moronic gardener who rises through misapprehensions to advise the powerful. Hal Ashby's direction makes the movie deeper and classier than the source novel, aided by a spectacular Melvyn Douglas performance. [Read the review](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1980/01/07/heads-and-hearts) ## Empire — Ian Nathan Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 1 January 2000. The critic highlights the film's sharp satire on society's hunger for meaning and the way Chance's TV-derived platitudes are taken as wisdom. Sellers' glazed, beatific performance and Ashby's measured direction are singled out for praise, with the film noted as increasingly relevant over time. [Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/55ce4058de95cf0744c56c26-review/) ## The New York Times — Vincent Canby Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 20 December 1979. The stately, beautifully acted satire has a funny but fragile premise about how ignorance and a sweet attitude can lead to fame and influence. Hal Ashby directs at an unruffled pace that lets Peter Sellers' double-edged mannerisms make their full impression. [Read the review](https://www.nytimes.com/1979/12/20/archives/film-ashbykosinksi-being-therewatching-tv.html) ## Slant Magazine — Eric Henderson Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 5 February 2009. Ashby’s bemused direction tempers the satire’s blunt edges in this poker-faced examination of America. The film recasts its central figure as a neo-Holy Fool whose simple observations are mistaken for profundity by the powerful. [Read the review](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/being-there/) ## The Times — Ed Potton Rating ★★★★☆. 17 January 2020. The critic finds the 1980 re-release of this satire about an ignorant simpleton rising to power in American society timely and almost plausible. Sellers gives a finely measured performance as the idiot savant, gently directed by Ashby. [Read the review](https://www.thetimes.com/culture/film/article/being-there-1980-review-topical-satire-of-an-ignorant-ruling-class-f5qr5phpg) ## The Playlist — Rodrigo Perez Rating A. 6 May 2011. The critic calls it a fitting swan song for Peter Sellers as the simple gardener Chance who is mistaken for a political sage. The piece singles out the film's sharp satire on how easily the public and media can be fooled by surface appearances and empty rhetoric. [Read the review](https://theplaylist.net/films-of-hal-ashby-a-retrospective-essentials-20110506/3/) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/being-there.md