Critics’ reviews

Corsage (2022)

24 reviews from 24 publications. Critics’ score 79: 20 positive, 4 mixed, 0 negative.

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79
Positive
20
Mixed
4
Negative
0

Most critics welcome Corsage as a witty, sympathetic reworking of the royal biopic, with Vicky Krieps providing the clearest point of agreement. Her performance is praised for making Elisabeth fierce, amused and contradictory, while suggesting the loneliness beneath her public composure. The reviews also favour Marie Kreutzer’s willingness to depart from costume-drama conventions, often finding the anachronisms playful and purposeful. Costumes, cinematography and sound receive praise for conveying both royal privilege and personal confinement.

The spread runs from enthusiastic endorsement to qualified approval, with no outright negative verdicts. Reservations concern slow pacing, the choice of period in Elisabeth’s life and how convincingly the modern touches fit. Eye for Film finds some of those touches less assured than the film’s deeper moments, while The New Yorker questions its easy ridicule of historical manners. Even these more reserved responses retain considerable admiration for Krieps.

Empire
20 December 2022 · Lou Thomas
90*

The review calls the film a surprising, funny and compelling period drama, despite some slow pacing. It especially praises Vicky Krieps’s performance and the playful anachronisms.

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The AV Club
23 December 2022 · Manuel Betancourt
90*

The critic calls the film a ravishing, masterful meditation on loneliness and finds its fictional historical approach both electric and energizing. They especially praise Vicky Krieps’s layered performance, which reveals the Empress’s inner life beneath her enigmatic expression.

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Little White Lies
festival review · Caitlin Quinlan
85*

Quinlan finds the film an invigorating, elegant reinvention of the costume drama. She particularly praises Vicky Krieps’s lively performance and the film’s visual texture.

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Los Angeles Times
28 December 2022 · Robert Abele
85*

A playful, provocative biopic that offers a tantalizing way forward for the genre. The critic particularly praises Vicky Krieps’s magnetic performance and Marie Kreutzer’s artful, defiant portrait of Elisabeth.

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Variety
20 May 2022 · Critics Pick · Jessica Kiang
85*

The review praises the film as a witty, liberating subversion of biopic and costume-drama conventions. It especially singles out Vicky Krieps’s performance for bringing the Empress vividly to life.

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The i Paper
23 December 2022 · Christina Newland
82*

Newland finds the film an unusual, worthwhile biopic and a bold, ambiguous portrait of historical womanhood. She praises Vicky Krieps and Marie Kreutzer for doing justice to Sisi’s complexity.

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Radio Times
★★★★ · David Parkinson
80

Parkinson presents the film as a fresh, gently anachronistic take on Empress Elisabeth’s life. He singles out Vicky Krieps for bringing new life to Elisabeth’s unfulfilled existence.

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Sight and Sound
4 October 2022 · festival review · BFI
80*

The review praises the film as a witty, modern reimagining that gives Empress Elisabeth agency and tragedy. It particularly singles out Vicky Krieps’s commanding, nuanced performance.

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Time Out
22 May 2022 · ★★★★ · Anna Smith
80

Smith presents the film as a spiky, witty period drama and praises Vicky Krieps as bold and brilliant. Krieps’s performance is singled out as the film’s driving strength.

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IndieWire
20 May 2022 · B · Adam Solomons
77

The critic finds the film a noble, often successful reclamation of Elisabeth’s story, though its ending leaves a bitter taste. Krieps’s electric performance, especially in scenes with Louis Le Prince, is singled out for praise.

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Slant Magazine
10 September 2022 · ★★★/4 · Keith Watson
75

Watson finds the film vibrantly alive despite its story of repression and midlife angst. He especially praises Vicky Krieps’s wry, unsentimental performance as Elisabeth.

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The Guardian
20 May 2022 · festival review · Peter Bradshaw
75*

Bradshaw finds the film austere and angular, but a shrewd study of anger and women’s confinement. He particularly praises Vicky Krieps’s exhilaratingly fierce, uningratiating performance.

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The Hollywood Reporter
23 May 2022 · festival review · Leslie Felperin
70*

Felperin finds the film a compelling, imaginative take on disaffected royalty, though its quiet period lacks a clear reason for its focus. She especially praises Vicky Krieps’s intelligent, regal performance and the striking costumes.

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The New Yorker
23 December 2022 · Anthony Lane
65*

Lane finds “Corsage” smart and forthright, though he questions its easy ridicule of past manners. He singles out Vicky Krieps’s tough, amused performance and the film’s vivid images of constraint.

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Screen Daily
20 May 2022 · festival review · Wendy Ide
64*

The review’s overall verdict is unavailable because the article text is paywalled. Its standfirst singles out Vicky Krieps’s portrayal of Empress Elisabeth as a chain-smoking, self-absorbed figure.

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The New York Times
22 December 2022
64*

The page content is blocked, so the critic’s verdict cannot be determined. No praised or criticized element is available to identify.

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The Skinny
19 December 2022 · ★★★★★ · Ben Nicholson
100

The review finds Corsage a gloriously revisionist portrait of a woman pushing against royal constraints. It singles out Vicky Krieps’s charismatic, contradictory performance as its chief strength.

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HeyUGuys
festival review
85*

The critic considers the film a fresh and compelling portrait of Elisabeth. They particularly praise Vicky Krieps’s outstanding, regal performance.

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The Wrap
22 December 2022 · festival review
85*

The critic praises the film as an intelligent, sympathetic and sharply witty portrait of Empress Elisabeth. Vicky Krieps’s nuanced performance is singled out as a particular strength.

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/Film
16 September 2022 · 8 out of 10 · Sarah Milner
84*

The critic finds the film well-crafted and thoughtful, with a compelling perspective on femininity and identity. She particularly praises Vicky Krieps’s performance and the sumptuous cinematography and costumes.

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Paste
5 January 2023 · 8.3/10 · Kathy Michelle Chacón
83

The review finds the film a warm, empathetic reimagining that makes Empress Elisabeth feel human. It especially praises Vicky Krieps’s performance and the sound design that conveys the empress’s loneliness.

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Deadline
20 May 2022 · festival review · Stephanie Bunbury
70*

Bunbury finds the film clever and austere in intention, yet lush in execution, and says its approach works for her. She particularly praises its meticulously considered visual construction and its probing portrait of privilege and frustration.

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The Playlist
20 May 2022 · festival review
70*

The headline indicates a positive review of the film. It singles out Vicky Krieps’s performance as Elisabeth for praise.

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Eye for Film
28 September 2022 · Anne-Katrin Titze
65*

Titze finds the film compelling but uneven, with some modern touches feeling less assured than its deeper moments. She particularly praises Vicky Krieps’s performance and the exquisite costume design.

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Ordered by the weight we give each publication, then by score. Scores are normalised to 100; * means inferred from an unrated review. Summaries are ours, not quotations; follow the links for the reviews themselves. How we rate