66
Metascore
7 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 80The Hollywood ReporterDeborah YoungThe Hollywood ReporterDeborah YoungThough shot in the most classic of idioms, the film commands attention with its mesmerizing performances and lively cross-cutting between key moments in the hero’s life.
- 75Slant MagazineWilliam RepassSlant MagazineWilliam RepassThroughout the film, Agnieszka Holland makes clear that she isn’t interested in easily digestible pop-psychology nuggets.
- 70The New York TimesNicolas RapoldThe New York TimesNicolas RapoldOften as thorny as its subject but also oddly fascinated by his near-magical abilities, “Charlatan” is a temporary cure for the common biopic.
- 70Los Angeles TimesMichael OrdoñaLos Angeles TimesMichael OrdoñaWhat audiences are likely to come away with most of all is a pondering over how these many sides could coexist in the same person, perhaps wondering what they think of him — and finding it difficult to arrive at an answer.
- 67IndieWireDavid EhrlichIndieWireDavid EhrlichCharlatan becomes entangled in its conflicting mesh of traits and time periods, but the film is only able to become more than the sum of its frustrating parts because it embraces those complications in the first place.
- 60The GuardianPeter BradshawThe GuardianPeter BradshawCharlatan is a film that does not quite satisfy the curiosity it arouses.
- 60VarietyGuy LodgeVarietyGuy LodgeCaught between a respectful tribute to Mikolášek’s medical achievements and a more salacious examination of his moral transgressions — with a tender if speculative gay romance propped somewhere in between — it’s an ambitious portrait of human imperfection that doesn’t strain to arouse much affection for its subject in the audience.