64
Metascore
41 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- Nymphomaniac is indeed a major work that tries and, to a large extent, succeeds to organically synthesize the world, ideas and filmmaking savvy of von Trier in one sprawling and ambitious cinematic fable. Somewhat shockingly given the subject matter, the most stimulating material in Nymphomaniac isn't the explicit sex but how sexuality is discussed and understood.
- 80The GuardianXan BrooksThe GuardianXan BrooksLars von Trier's Nymphomaniac bludgeons the body and tenderises the soul. It is perplexing, preposterous and utterly fascinating.
- 80The Hollywood ReporterTodd McCarthyThe Hollywood ReporterTodd McCarthyIt is never boring and does provoke and stimulate, although not as a turn-on, not remotely.
- 80VarietyPeter DebrugeVarietyPeter DebrugeRacy subject aside, the film provides a good-humored yet serious-minded look at sexual self-liberation, thick with references to art, music, religion and literature, even as it pushes the envelope with footage of acts previously relegated to the sphere of pornography.
- 80Time Out LondonDave CalhounTime Out LondonDave CalhounThere’s plenty of flesh (much of it belonging to porn doubles), although the film is rarely, if ever, what most people would call erotic or pornographic. It’s neither deeply serious nor totally insincere; hovering somewhere between the two, it creates its own mesmerising power.
- 80EmpireKim NewmanEmpireKim NewmanA provocative, engrossing, often hilarious, frequently tough picture. Not for all sensibilities but it’s among von Trier’s more playful, purely entertaining films, with insight and humour in even the horrors.
- 80Total FilmTotal FilmWith explicit sex and penetrating philosophy, this erotic odyssey requires close attention and an open mind.
- 80The DissolveNoel MurrayThe DissolveNoel MurraySo far, Nymphomaniac looks like a major work from a major director: a compendium of all von Trier’s career-long preoccupations with gender roles, authoritarianism, religion, obsessive behavior, and lust.