Critic Reviews

share

Diving Bell and the Butterfly, The (2007) Rank 3 Reviews

Expert Review Summary
Movie critics combined give Diving Bell and the Butterfly, The (2007) a score of 3.2948 out of 4
based on (106) reviews
Click on the numbers to the right of the graph to see reviews of that rating
Excellent
4
Excellent
(50)
Very Good
3
Very Good
(46)
Good
2
Good
(10)
Fair
1
Fair
(0)
Poor
0
Poor
(0)
Reviews by Score:
Diving Bell and the Butterfly, The (2007) scores a combined 3.25 out of 4 stars for MTV (Kurt Loder)MTV (Kurt Loder)
Bauby's horrific situation, and the purposefully muted reactions of the people around him...speak for themselves with spare eloquence. ...read the complete Diving Bell and the Butterfly movie review at MTV (Kurt Loder)
Diving Bell and the Butterfly, The (2007) scores a combined 3.25 out of 4 stars for New York Observer (Andrew Sarris)New York Observer (Andrew Sarris)
Astonishingly lyrical and profoundly moving. ...read the complete Diving Bell and the Butterfly movie review at New York Observer (Andrew Sarris)
Diving Bell and the Butterfly, The (2007) scores a combined 3.20 out of 4 stars for Los Angeles Times (Kenneth Turan)Los Angeles Times (Kenneth Turan)
The film, based on the memoir of Jean-Dominique Bauby, handles delicate subject matter with sensitivity and imagination. ...read the complete Diving Bell and the Butterfly movie review at Los Angeles Times (Kenneth Turan)
Diving Bell and the Butterfly, The (2007) scores a combined 3.20 out of 4 stars for About.com (Marcy Dermansky)About.com (Marcy Dermansky)
After I recovered from my initial horror, I was almost able to enjoy the experience of watching this discomfiting, entirely unique narrative. ...read the complete Diving Bell and the Butterfly movie review at About.com (Marcy Dermansky)
Diving Bell and the Butterfly, The (2007) scores a combined 3.20 out of 4 stars for Los Angeles Times (Kenneth Turan)Los Angeles Times (Kenneth Turan)
The film, based on the memoir of Jean-Dominique Bauby, handles delicate subject matter with sensitivity and imagination. ...read the complete Diving Bell and the Butterfly movie review at Los Angeles Times (Kenneth Turan)
Diving Bell and the Butterfly, The (2007) scores a combined 3.20 out of 4 stars for New York Times (A.O. Scott)New York Times (A.O. Scott)
With The Diving Bell and the Butterfly , Julian Schnabel demonstrates his own imaginative freedom in every frame and sequence. ...read the complete Diving Bell and the Butterfly movie review at New York Times (A.O. Scott)
Diving Bell and the Butterfly, The (2007) scores a combined 3.20 out of 4 stars for Maxim (Pete Hammond)Maxim (Pete Hammond)
Tough to watch? Sure. Worth it? Absolutely. Perhaps the most inspiring film in many years. ...read the complete Diving Bell and the Butterfly movie review at Maxim (Pete Hammond)
Diving Bell and the Butterfly, The (2007) scores a combined 3.20 out of 4 stars for filmcritic.com (Chris Cabin)filmcritic.com (Chris Cabin)
Butterfly colors inside the lines but it does so with a dandy sense of personal rhythm. ...read the complete Diving Bell and the Butterfly movie review at filmcritic.com (Chris Cabin)
Diving Bell and the Butterfly, The (2007) scores a combined 3.20 out of 4 stars for Scott Mantz' Movie Reviews (Scott A. Mantz)Scott Mantz' Movie Reviews (Scott A. Mantz)
A couple of years ago, I had one of those "fluke" moments. I was joking around with my then-girlfriend, and when I went to give her a big hug, I felt a sharp pain shoot through the bottom right-hand side of my back. ...read the complete Diving Bell and the Butterfly movie review at Scott Mantz' Movie Reviews (Scott A. Mantz)
Diving Bell and the Butterfly, The (2007) scores a combined 3.20 out of 4 stars for Jam! Movies (Bruce Kirkland)Jam! Movies (Bruce Kirkland)
It is a masterwork on both an artistic and emotional level. ...read the complete Diving Bell and the Butterfly movie review at Jam! Movies (Bruce Kirkland)
Diving Bell and the Butterfly, The (2007) scores a combined 3.20 out of 4 stars for TheMovieChicks.com (Cherryl Dawson and Leigh Ann Palone)TheMovieChicks.com (Cherryl Dawson and Leigh Ann Palone)
There are some heartbreaking and gut-wrenching scenes, but they're balanced with beautiful moments and the fact that Jean-Do never loses his sense of humor. ...read the complete Diving Bell and the Butterfly movie review at TheMovieChicks.com (Cherryl Dawson and Leigh Ann Palone)
Diving Bell and the Butterfly, The (2007) scores a combined 3.20 out of 4 stars for FirstShowing.net (Alex Billington)FirstShowing.net (Alex Billington)
It's hard to consider laughing at such a sad story, but pulling that off as well as it did shows Julian Schnabel's immense capability as a filmmaker. ...read the complete Diving Bell and the Butterfly movie review at FirstShowing.net (Alex Billington)
Diving Bell and the Butterfly, The (2007) scores a combined 3.00 out of 4 stars for Philadelphia Inquirer (Carrie Rickey)Philadelphia Inquirer (Carrie Rickey)
In at least one way, Jean-Dominique Bauby resembles Christy Brown, the Irish poet and artist who transcended cerebral palsy by writing and painting with an appendage as dramatized in My Left Foot. After a massive stroke in 1995 left Bauby almost ...read the complete Diving Bell and the Butterfly movie review at Philadelphia Inquirer (Carrie Rickey)
Diving Bell and the Butterfly, The (2007) scores a combined 3.00 out of 4 stars for Christianity Today (Brandon Fibbs)Christianity Today (Brandon Fibbs)
Reveals that the human capacity for life, for love, and even for joy is not dependent on circumstances, but is embedded in something far deeper and far more spiritual. ...read the complete Diving Bell and the Butterfly movie review at Christianity Today (Brandon Fibbs)
Diving Bell and the Butterfly, The (2007) scores a combined 3.00 out of 4 stars for Combustible Celluloid (Jeffrey M. Anderson)Combustible Celluloid (Jeffrey M. Anderson)
Within ten minutes the film had effortlessly knocked the chip from my shoulder. This is a very, very good film. ...read the complete Diving Bell and the Butterfly movie review at Combustible Celluloid (Jeffrey M. Anderson)
Diving Bell and the Butterfly, The (2007) scores a combined 3.00 out of 4 stars for Chicago Reader (Andrea Gronvall)Chicago Reader (Andrea Gronvall)
Julian Schnabel's skill as a painter informed his previous two films, Basquiat and Before Night Falls, and it's even more evident in this profoundly moving adaptation of Jean-Dominique Bauby's best-selling memoir. A celebrated editor for French Elle, ...read the complete Diving Bell and the Butterfly movie review at Chicago Reader (Andrea Gronvall)
Diving Bell and the Butterfly, The (2007) scores a combined 3.00 out of 4 stars for Ozus' World Movie Reviews (Dennis Schwartz)Ozus' World Movie Reviews (Dennis Schwartz)
Left me wondering if Schnabel's arty efforts were really worth the trouble when the real-life story itself was so moving and didn't need such artificial gloss. ...read the complete Diving Bell and the Butterfly movie review at Ozus' World Movie Reviews (Dennis Schwartz)
Diving Bell and the Butterfly, The (2007) scores a combined 3.00 out of 4 stars for San Francisco Chronicle (Mick LaSalle)San Francisco Chronicle (Mick LaSalle)
By the end, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly achieves a victory over difficult material, but celebrating that fact doesn't preclude recognizing the story is not a natural for movies and remains an uneasy match. ...read the complete Diving Bell and the Butterfly movie review at San Francisco Chronicle (Mick LaSalle)
Diving Bell and the Butterfly, The (2007) scores a combined 3.00 out of 4 stars for Boston Globe (Wesley Morris)Boston Globe (Wesley Morris)
If a movie about the human spirit doesn't do it for you, The Diving Bell thoroughly doubles as a movie about the cinematic spirit. ...read the complete Diving Bell and the Butterfly movie review at Boston Globe (Wesley Morris)
Diving Bell and the Butterfly, The (2007) scores a combined 3.00 out of 4 stars for MovieFreak.com (Sara M. Fetters)MovieFreak.com (Sara M. Fetters)
With each successive feature Schnabel's hand becomes more confident, much more self-assured, the auteur's painterly eye perfectly suited to bring this uniquely rousing biographical journey to distinct one-of-a-kind life. ...read the complete Diving Bell and the Butterfly movie review at MovieFreak.com (Sara M. Fetters)
Diving Bell and the Butterfly, The (2007) scores a combined 3.00 out of 4 stars for Groucho Reviews (Peter Canavese)Groucho Reviews (Peter Canavese)
Qualifies as a masterpiece of sensual cinema and poetic subjectivity. ...read the complete Diving Bell and the Butterfly movie review at Groucho Reviews (Peter Canavese)
Diving Bell and the Butterfly, The (2007) scores a combined 3.00 out of 4 stars for Mark Reviews Movies (Mark Dujsik)Mark Reviews Movies (Mark Dujsik)
Julian Schnabel's telling of the story is ingenious. ...read the complete Diving Bell and the Butterfly movie review at Mark Reviews Movies (Mark Dujsik)
Diving Bell and the Butterfly, The (2007) scores a combined 3.00 out of 4 stars for Village Voice (Scott Foundas)Village Voice (Scott Foundas)
At this year's Cannes Film Festival, the American painter turned filmmaker Julian Schnabel won the jury's Best Director award for The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, his French-language adaptation of the bestselling memoir by the late Elle magazine ...read the complete Diving Bell and the Butterfly movie review at Village Voice (Scott Foundas)
Diving Bell and the Butterfly, The (2007) scores a combined 3.00 out of 4 stars for ColeSmithey.com (Cole Smithey)ColeSmithey.com (Cole Smithey)
With the help of cinematographer Janusz Kaminski, director Julian Schnabel goes so far toward cinematically capturing the claustrophobic condition of his paralyzed and mute protagonist Jean-Dominique Bauby (Mathieu Amalric) that the artifice of his point- ...read the complete Diving Bell and the Butterfly movie review at ColeSmithey.com (Cole Smithey)
Diving Bell and the Butterfly, The (2007) scores a combined 3.00 out of 4 stars for Reel.com (--)Reel.com (--)
Jean-Dominique Bauby, Jean-Do to his loved ones, was an editor for the Parisian branch of Elle magazine before he suffered a stroke at 43 and became completely paralyzed save one eye. A playboy of sorts, he was also a great father, an irresponsible ...read the complete Diving Bell and the Butterfly movie review at Reel.com (--)
Diving Bell and the Butterfly, The (2007) scores a combined 3.00 out of 4 stars for Sly Fox (Kam Williams)Sly Fox (Kam Williams)
The Sea Inside meets My Left Foot. ...read the complete Diving Bell and the Butterfly movie review at Sly Fox (Kam Williams)
Diving Bell and the Butterfly, The (2007) scores a combined 3.00 out of 4 stars for Newsweek (David Ansen)Newsweek (David Ansen)
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly keeps opening up, its structure mimicking the awakening of its extraordinary protagonist's mind. ...read the complete Diving Bell and the Butterfly movie review at Newsweek (David Ansen)
Diving Bell and the Butterfly, The (2007) scores a combined 3.00 out of 4 stars for Time Out (Dave Calhoun)Time Out (Dave Calhoun)
A claustrophobic and imaginative treat. ...read the complete Diving Bell and the Butterfly movie review at Time Out (Dave Calhoun)
Diving Bell and the Butterfly, The (2007) scores a combined 3.00 out of 4 stars for Film Blather (Eugene Novikov)Film Blather (Eugene Novikov)
Schnabel's visuals are so confident, so moving, that I wished he had truly taken charge rather than being led around by a screenplay that can't cut the mustard. ...read the complete Diving Bell and the Butterfly movie review at Film Blather (Eugene Novikov)
Diving Bell and the Butterfly, The (2007) scores a combined 3.00 out of 4 stars for Film Experience (Nathaniel Rogers)Film Experience (Nathaniel Rogers)
less cloying and superficial than other movies of its subgenre and directed with true showman's flair. ...read the complete Diving Bell and the Butterfly movie review at Film Experience (Nathaniel Rogers)
Diving Bell and the Butterfly, The (2007) scores a combined 3.00 out of 4 stars for Rolling Stone (Peter Travers)Rolling Stone (Peter Travers)
[Director Schnabel's] best film yet, a high-wire act of visual daring and unquenchable spirit. ...read the complete Diving Bell and the Butterfly movie review at Rolling Stone (Peter Travers)
Diving Bell and the Butterfly, The (2007) scores a combined 3.00 out of 4 stars for House Next Door (Keith Uhlich)House Next Door (Keith Uhlich)
The Sea Inside by way of Lady in the Lake . ...read the complete Diving Bell and the Butterfly movie review at House Next Door (Keith Uhlich)
Diving Bell and the Butterfly, The (2007) scores a combined 3.00 out of 4 stars for Los Angeles Daily News (Glenn Whipp)Los Angeles Daily News (Glenn Whipp)
Julian Schnabel deftly sidesteps all the traps inherent in the illness movie genre, creating a stirring movie about a man's emotional awakening that takes its immobile protagonist on a journey from boyhood to infinity. ...read the complete Diving Bell and the Butterfly movie review at Los Angeles Daily News (Glenn Whipp)
Diving Bell and the Butterfly, The (2007) scores a combined 3.00 out of 4 stars for New York Daily News (Elizabeth Weitzman)New York Daily News (Elizabeth Weitzman)
In The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, director Julian Schnabel and his gifted lead, Mathieu Amalric, take us on an indelible tour through the highest and lowest points of the human experience. ...read the complete Diving Bell and the Butterfly movie review at New York Daily News (Elizabeth Weitzman)
Diving Bell and the Butterfly, The (2007) scores a combined 3.00 out of 4 stars for Newark Star-Ledger (Stephen Whitty)Newark Star-Ledger (Stephen Whitty)
The best parts of the film are when the two men work together, Schnabel providing reams of unconscious images and Amalric commenting on them. ...read the complete Diving Bell and the Butterfly movie review at Newark Star-Ledger (Stephen Whitty)
Diving Bell and the Butterfly, The (2007) scores a combined 3.00 out of 4 stars for Trades (Jim Pappas)Trades (Jim Pappas)
Sometimes filmmakers are inspired to make films because they are motivated by a desire to entertain people. Sometimes filmmakers use film as a medium to express themselves in a way they can't do otherwise. ...read the complete Diving Bell and the Butterfly movie review at Trades (Jim Pappas)
Diving Bell and the Butterfly, The (2007) scores a combined 2.80 out of 4 stars for Antagony & Ecstasy (Tim Brayton)Antagony & Ecstasy (Tim Brayton)
By turns terrifying and humane and even funny. ...read the complete Diving Bell and the Butterfly movie review at Antagony & Ecstasy (Tim Brayton)
Diving Bell and the Butterfly, The (2007) scores a combined 2.75 out of 4 stars for New Yorker (David Denby)New Yorker (David Denby)
Almost the first sound we hear in Joe Wright's "Atonement" is the tap of typewriter keys. Soon, the tapping becomes regular, like drumbeats, and it sets the tempo for the music that comes surging in. ...read the complete Diving Bell and the Butterfly movie review at New Yorker (David Denby)
Diving Bell and the Butterfly, The (2007) scores a combined 2.75 out of 4 stars for TIME Magazine (Richard Schickel)TIME Magazine (Richard Schickel)
Death may be, as the cliche has it, the ghost haunting the attic of everyone's mind, but the movies don't usually play it that way. ...read the complete Diving Bell and the Butterfly movie review at TIME Magazine (Richard Schickel)
Diving Bell and the Butterfly, The (2007) scores a combined 2.75 out of 4 stars for Washington Post (Ann Hornaday)Washington Post (Ann Hornaday)
On Dec. 8, 1995, 43-year-old Jean-Dominique Bauby, the stylish, high-living editor of French Elle magazine, suffered a stroke and went into a coma, awaking 20 days later having lost his power of speech, able to move only his left eyelid. Having ...read the complete Diving Bell and the Butterfly movie review at Washington Post (Ann Hornaday)
Diving Bell and the Butterfly, The (2007) scores a combined 2.50 out of 4 stars for KPBS.org (Beth Accomando)KPBS.org (Beth Accomando)
Jean-Dominique Bauby was 43-years-old when he suffered a stroke and was diagnosed with a rare condition known as "locked-in syndrome."In Bauby's case, this meant that he was left entirely paralyzed except for his left eye. ...read the complete Diving Bell and the Butterfly movie review at KPBS.org (Beth Accomando)
Diving Bell and the Butterfly, The (2007) scores a combined 2.50 out of 4 stars for Detroit News (Tom Long)Detroit News (Tom Long)
You wake up and the world is blurry. People are talking, you understand what they're saying, but they can't seem to hear you. Faces come into focus; it's a hospital. And then you notice you don't seem to be able to move. Except for one eye. And all ...read the complete Diving Bell and the Butterfly movie review at Detroit News (Tom Long)
Diving Bell and the Butterfly, The (2007) scores a combined 2.50 out of 4 stars for Moviepie.com (--)Moviepie.com (--)
From the opening moments of The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, you know you are in for something different. The camera is blurry and disoriented. It has a hard time focusing, lights seem too bright, then images disappear into groggy darkness. Voices come ...read the complete Diving Bell and the Butterfly movie review at Moviepie.com (--)
Diving Bell and the Butterfly, The (2007) scores a combined 2.50 out of 4 stars for The Deadbolt (Brian Tallerico)The Deadbolt (Brian Tallerico)
The landscape of cinema is littered with dramas centered around how the strengths of the inner human can overcome the weaknesses of their external frames. Most fail to convey the pain and emotion of the experience without sinking into melodrama and ...read the complete Diving Bell and the Butterfly movie review at The Deadbolt (Brian Tallerico)
Diving Bell and the Butterfly, The (2007) scores a combined 2.50 out of 4 stars for FilmStew.com (Richard Horgan)FilmStew.com (Richard Horgan)
The theatrical release schedule occasionally has a way of perversely lining up a pair of films that, on paper, would seem to have absolutely no chance of sharing anything in common. ...read the complete Diving Bell and the Butterfly movie review at FilmStew.com (Richard Horgan)
Diving Bell and the Butterfly, The (2007) scores a combined 2.50 out of 4 stars for Arizona Republic (--)Arizona Republic (--)
Schnabel, who had a brief moment as a painter atop the 1980s art-market bubble, has expanded into film and is more likely now to be remembered as director than painter. His new movie, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, may well be the best movie of the ...read the complete Diving Bell and the Butterfly movie review at Arizona Republic (--)
from $13.78
Compare Diving Bell and the Butterfly, The (2007) Prices
 (16 sellers)

User Reviews

Write a Review

User Comments

Add a Comment
 
TopTenREVIEWS
RSS Feed
Share
Newsletter
Newsletters
Home
Software
Electronics
Web Services
Science Tech
Small Business
Mobile
Movies
Music
Video Games
Gift Ideas
Header arrow
Top Movie Lists
All Time Movie Reviews
Header arrow
Blogs
Become A Reviewer
Movie Reviews: Adaptation
Diving Bell and the Butterfly, The (2007) Reviews
Diving Bell and the Butterfly, The (2007)

RANKINGS:

Expand All | Close All
Ratings and rankings are based on number of movie, review scores, awards & other criteria.
Overall Rating:
3.2919
Diving Bell and the Butterfly, The (2007) is ranked overall as out of 4 stars
Avg Critic Score:
3.2948
Diving Bell and the Butterfly, The (2007) is ranked overall as out of 4 stars
Learn More ...
Critic Reviews  |  User Reviews  |  Comments  |  Movie Facts  |  Cast
Awards  |  Deals & Prices
Ads by Google
Quick Links
Shop & Compare
Rebates
TopTenREPORTS
RSS Feed
See our Feeds
Sponsored Ad:
Related Videos
Sponsored Ad:
Related Review Sites
Video Editing Software
DVD Player Software
DVD to iPod Software
 
TopTenREVIEWS.com
Copyright © 2003 - 2009 TopTenREVIEWS, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission of TopTenREVIEWS, Inc. is prohibited