All Critics (29)
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Top Critics (1)
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Fresh (10)
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Rotten (14)
Bel Ami is a patchwork that on close inspection reveals clunky segues, odd characterisations, disjointed character motivations and curious narrative pacing in its craftsmanship.
Guy de Maupassant's elegant writing, economical but effective characterisations and sharp story telling skills are not much in evidence in this rather clumsy adaptation
He might have fangs in Twilight, but here, heartthrob Robert Pattinson has bitten off more than he can chew, unable to spit out the easy confidence required of a man whose passport to success bears the stamp of sex, lies and adultery
Something is missing, and that is Maupassant's acute and detailed social observation.
A cornucopia of cleavages and lingering close-ups of Robert Pattinson's trouser department. For some readers, that may be a strong recommendation. Others may find this version of Guy de Maupassant's 19th-century novel unintentionally hilarious.
Robert Pattinson is proof some guys have all the luck!
Nothing deepens; no one gets interesting; and we end right back where we started - not averse to R. Pattz per se, but wondering if this particular vehicle is quite the thing.
Despite a strong cast, Bel Ami fails to make a lasting impression - other than to leave you wondering if you've been watching a costume drama or a comic farce.
A charming cad romances women useful to his social ambitions in 19th Century Paris.
Georges is nowhere near likeable enough to make us enjoy his successes, and by the end he's no more corrupt than he was at the start.
Robert Pattinson has to do an awful lot of hollow-eyed smouldering in this hammily enunciated French period drama, taken from the 1885 novel by Guy de Maupassant.
The picture is handsomely staged and easy-on-the-eye but never establishes a fluent pace or tone, while the general point of the story escaped me.
The directors give the story a barbed conviction and the female players, especially, act to the hilt.
Welcome to the costume-drama equivalent of Project X, celebrating misogyny and male sociopathy as just the way things are, and what else can ya expect from the world?
A brooding tale of sex and scheming that is brought to life by its cast. More playful than you might expect, it's still a deliciously dark period piece that stays true to the tone of the novel.
More fair-weather friend than fine friend.
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