---
title: "Klute: the reviews"
canonical: "https://film.one/film/klute/reviews"
title_page: "https://film.one/film/klute"
critics_score: 69
critics_reviews: 8
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."
---

# Klute (1971): what the critics said

Critics' score 69 from 8 reviews: 4 positive, 3 mixed, 1 negative.

The available reviews lean towards approval, with Jane Fonda’s performance the clearest point of agreement, even among the dissenters. Critics repeatedly place her at the centre of the film, praising her control and complexity, while the more favourable accounts value its study of loneliness and alienation. Praise also gathers around the atmosphere, particularly Gordon Willis’s cinematography and Pakula’s chilly direction, which give the thriller its unease.

The reservations concern the mystery: several critics find it transparent, implausible or dependent on familiar murder-mystery conventions. For Slant Magazine, those weaknesses do little to diminish the force of the character study; Variety, by contrast, finds the film tedious and short of suspense, with Fonda its only rewarding element. The spread is wide, then, despite the agreement about its lead performance. Limited accessible text for some reviews makes the middle ground harder to characterise precisely.

## Radio Times — Alan Jones

Rating 5/5. 

Jones praises the film as an exceptional adult thriller. He singles out Jane Fonda’s performance and the suspenseful atmosphere created by Gordon Willis’s cinematography.

[Read the review](https://www.radiotimes.com/movie-guide/b-o59rs6/klute/)

## Slant Magazine — Chuck Bowen

Rating 4.5/5. 8 August 2019. 

Bowen praises the film as a piercing examination of loneliness, despite finding its mysteries implausible. He singles out Jane Fonda’s performance as Bree for its elegance, complexity, and heartbreaking self-sufficiency.

[Read the review](https://www.slantmagazine.com/dvd/blu-ray-review-alan-j-pakulas-klute-on-the-criterion-collection/)

## Empire — empire

Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 1 January 2000. 

The review finds the film an effective study of alienation, though its mystery is fairly transparent. It praises Pakula’s chilly direction and singles out Jane Fonda’s performance as the film’s centrepiece.

[Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/klute-review/)

## The New Yorker — Pauline Kael

Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 25 June 1971. 

Kael calls Klute a superior thriller-melodrama, though it falls short of being a work of art. She especially praises Jane Fonda’s controlled, compelling performance, while faulting the film’s murder-mystery conventions.

[Read the review](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1971/07/03/pipe-dream)

## RogerEbert.com

Fi1m's normalised score 65/100 (inferred from the text). 

The page is blocked, so the critic’s verdict cannot be verified. No specific praise or complaint is available from the page content.

[Read the review](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/klute-1971)

## The New York Times — Vincent Canby

Fi1m's normalised score 65/100 (inferred from the text). 24 June 1971. 

The page’s inaccessible text does not reveal the critic’s verdict. It also does not allow a reliable assessment of what the review singles out for praise or complaint.

[Read the review](https://www.nytimes.com/1971/06/24/archives/-klute-a-thriller-with-jane-fonda-and-donald-sutherland.html)

## Time Out — PT

Fi1m's normalised score 65/100 (inferred from the text). 

The available metadata does not reveal the critic’s overall verdict. It singles out Jane Fonda’s performance as the film’s real focus, rather than Donald Sutherland’s private eye.

[Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/klute)

## Variety — Variety Staff

Fi1m's normalised score 30/100 (inferred from the text). 31 December 1970. 

The review is largely negative, finding the film tedious and lacking suspense. It singles out Jane Fonda’s performance as the film’s only rewarding element.

[Read the review](https://variety.com/1970/film/reviews/klute-1200422474/)

---
© 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/klute.md