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The Death of Mr. LazarescuMovie Reviews

Poster art for "The Death of Mr. Lazarescu."
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Metascore®84 out of 100 | Universal acclaim

Critic scores range from 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating more favorable reviews.

  • 100
    Chicago Tribune | Michael Phillips

    It is a black comedy, among the blackest. It is also more grueling in some stretches than anything in "United 93." Read full review

  • 100
    Chicago Sun-Times | Roger Ebert

    Like "United 93" and the work of the Dardenne brothers, it lives entirely in the moment, seeing what happens as it happens, drawing no conclusions, making no speeches, creating no artificial dramatic conflicts, just showing people living one moment after another, as they must. Read full review

  • 100
    Entertainment Weekly | Lisa Schwarzbaum

    Mr. Lazarescu is that rich and riveting a film of universal small human moments and big-system failure. Read full review

  • 91
    The Onion (A.V. Club) | Noel Murray

    An intoxicating performance piece in which skilled actors pinball off each other with such energy and nuance that the audience almost forgets about the dying man on the edge of the frame. The style alone makes the movie's point. Read full review

  • 90
    Newsweek | David Ansen

    Puiu's is the art of the seemingly artless: he takes a story that's utterly unglamorous and mundane, and transforms it into something mythic. Read full review

  • 90
    Variety | Jay Weissberg

    Picture's dour take on the dehumanizing process of medical treatment is leavened by black humor and dialogue that always rings true. Read full review

  • 90
    Village Voice | J. Hoberman

    An explicit ode to mortality, not without a certain grim humor. Read full review

  • 80
    The New Yorker | David Denby

    The Death of Mr. Lazarescu, for all its terrible matter-of-factness, produces tumultuous feelings of amazement and revolt. Read full review

  • 80
    The New York Times | Stephen Holden

    A thorny masterpiece. Read full review

  • 70
    Los Angeles Times | Kenneth Turan

    Though it is undeniably bleak and pessimistic and marked by a texture of observation worthy of British director Mike Leigh, The Death of Mr. Lazarescu is not as forbidding as it sounds. Read full review

Avg. Fan Rating:
Average Rating = 2.5 out of 5

The Death of Mr. Lazarescu Featured Trailers + Video Clips