At its best when it remains with the women, and Marshall draws marvelous performances from all.
75
Philadelphia InquirerCarrie Rickey
Philadelphia InquirerCarrie Rickey
A pink-collar "Sex and the City" made urgent by the performance of Nathalie Baye.
70
Film.comErnest Hardy
Film.comErnest Hardy
At its core is a feminine realm (the beauty parlor) through which modern issues of alienation and casual-sex-as-a-drug are coupled with timeless questions about the natures of love and desire.
Lets you indulge your taste for soapy heartache without leaving you feeling that you have to wash the bubbles out of your mouth.
70
Village VoiceAmy Taubin
Village VoiceAmy Taubin
Thanks to some brilliant casting, Venus Beauty Institute provokes ideas about women, movies, sexuality, and age that extend beyond its frothy fiction.
67
Entertainment WeeklyOwen Gleiberman
Entertainment WeeklyOwen Gleiberman
Clever and smooth, yet, like Angèle herself (or Nathalie Baye), the film is almost too placid for its own good.
63
New York PostJonathan Foreman
New York PostJonathan Foreman
Slight but entertaining and occasionally touching.
58
Portland OregonianKim Morgan
Portland OregonianKim Morgan
Marshall does such a good job re-creating the otherworldly energy of a temple of youth that the rest of the picture feels strained and sometimes trite. Nevertheless, parts can be absorbing, reflective and touching.
40
Austin ChronicleKimberley Jones
Austin ChronicleKimberley Jones
Warmed my heart about as much as the cold cream Angèle slathers all over her wrinkling clients.