Death and the Maiden (1994) User Reviews

an absorbing, relentless psychothriller

[Jonny_Numb · 8/10 · 30 April 2006]

"Death and the Maiden" begins in a purposely disorienting way--a woman walks around her secluded, South American villa, preparing dinner, when the power suddenly goes out. Her husband is returned home by a stranger after his car gets a flat; later, after assuaging his wife's spastic bouts of unexplained paranoia, the stranger returns with the husband's spare tire. The husband, wanting to reward the man's generosity, invites him in for a drink. The wife, who is extremely on edge, escapes the house undetected and steals the stranger's car, pushing it off a cliff and into the ocean below. After this, the film settles down into a three-character psychodrama of the highest order.

Roman Polanski, a director who can mine tension with a bare minimum of means, uses deliberate lighting, specific camera angles, and a well-paced narrative to create a film where the suspense is endlessly being ratcheted up a notch, often in ways that are quite surprising. The wife, Paulina (Sigourney Weaver), suspects the stranger (Ben Kingsley) of raping and torturing her years ago; her husband, Gerardo (Stuart Wilson), is a lawyer who is enlisted to get the man's confession. The game of psychological cat-and-mouse that ensues is absorbing.

Both Kingsley and Wilson fare well in their roles, but it is Weaver who energizes the film. Her performance is absolutely (this deserves all caps) RUTHLESS, filled with moments of raging violence, icy detachment, and degradation (emphasized in graphic recollections of torture); if you thought Ellen Ripley was fearless in the face of the Queen Alien, "Death and the Maiden" shows an altogether different kind of tough exterior for the actress. In a way, I was reminded of the graphic revenge that took place in the infamous rape drama "I Spit on Your Grave"; while "Death and the Maiden" is superior, it is just as similarly driven (though the rape and torture is left to our imaginations), and its psychological edge, matched with top-drawer performances, moves it further from a 'filmed play' and into more visceral terrain. And, as he's so good at doing, Polanski keeps us guessing till the very end.

Highly recommended.

Unbreathable

[marcosaguado · 7/10 · 17 March 2004]

Three characters, one suffocating place. The bizarre world of Roman Polanski transported to a true, painful and little known historical context. The film is an X ray into secret, open wounds. We're never sure what happens in Sigourney's mind, but we're aware that her pain and her anger are real. We are unable to take sides, we're too afraid. We want for the ordeal to end and yet, we're glued to the discomfort and uncertainty. Recommended for masochists and film lovers.

Best work of Polanski after Chinatown and Tess

[JuguAbraham · 8/10 · 29 September 2001]

It is easy to heap praises on a film based on a good play--the subject overwhelms you. It is however not so easy to probe what is attractive in a good film beyond the two obvious elements--the subject and the acting.

I confess that I have loved Polanski's "The Ninth Gate" for the teaming of Polanski and Wojciech Kilar. This is the second film where the duo weaves magic with great music--beyond the Schubert piece around which the film revolves. The two gentlemen from Poland are truly gifted.

There is another person I admire and that is Rafael Yglesias. When he works on a screenplay, he makes the original look very different. He did that with Hugo's "Les Miserables" and got brickbats from purists. With Ariel Dorfman's literary work, the liberties are not so striking.

The cinematography of Tonino Delli Colli, Polanski's collaborator in "Bitter Moon" is again riveting: cloudy exteriors; stark interiors. The close-ups and long shots of Weaver are those of a lawyer, making the viewer a party to the "court case in progress"

Finally, this is Sigourney Weaver's finest film and can at best be only compared to her performances in "Gorillas in the Mist" and "Year of Living Dangerously."

Polanski is a director who has made good and indifferent films. I congratulate him on putting together his team of actors, cameramen, musicians and others to make this one. Only "Chinatown" and "Tess" were more enjoyable than this work of Polanski (including his early cinema).

Bound, Bindings

[tedg · 2 October 2010]

Films like this generally are problematic. They are written as plays and kept as plays when carried over, so the filmmaker is limited to a preset notion of the space.

"Rope" was taken as a challenge in this regard, with a master visionary exploiting the confinement. It was, in effect, a learning experience for him without much reward for us, beyond what the play itself carried. Here in this film, we have something similar I believe. Polanski is a rare talent, a filmmaker that understands confinement — indeed his whole life is defined by the concept. He was approached to direct-for-hire and took the job, I believe, because he wanted a similar learning experience.

So what we have here is a screenplay that was frozen before the man started his film and which he has taken unaltered. Someone else selected the actors, making what I think were bad choices. On this, Polanski designed the eye, making what I see as a whole different movie on top of the play.

The play is about a woman who had been victimized by state torture. She believes she has encountered her torturer; the film is about the encounter and the extent to which you can trust her narrative or the accused. Her husband presides; he is literally a lawyer selected by the new president to sort out just these sorts of conflicting truths. The question is: will the accused confess? Well he does before the film is over, but was his confession true?

Neither one of these two gives us much reason to trust them as characters. They both are liars. What Polanski does is subtly more the stance of the camera so that we alternate between who is the narrator so far as the lines compared to who is the aligned watcher and whose narrative space is tentatively trusted. It is a remarkable exercise, of just the kind that he would devour.

I believe he used these skills in a similar weave of untrusted narrative in his next film, "Gate," which I think is an unappreciated masterpiece. But unless you happen to be tuned into this movie on a movie, this narrative about narrative, you will find this a pretty tame encounter.

Unless you happen to live in a country that sponsors torture.

Ted's Evaluation -- 2 of 3: Has some interesting elements.

A midnight knock at the door Death and the Maiden

[jaredmobarak · 7/10 · 17 November 2007]

Roman Polanski has always appeared to me as director who utilizes large casts and set pieces. Not quite a crafter of epics, but big pictures nonetheless. Sure his first film, Knife in the Water, was on a small scale, it was his debut. I was thinking more of The Ninth Gate, The Pianist, and Oliver Twist. Interestingly, right before that trio of large productions, he brought us Death and the Maiden, an Ariel Dorfman play using only three characters to tell its story of revenge, deceit, and acceptance. While on the surface it feels very staged and theatrical, the film delivers some powerhouse performances from its leads that keep the suspense high and allow the viewer to really invest in the numerous monologues for their importance to the story and not for their long-winded staginess.

The story revolves around a couple played by Sigourney Weaver and Stuart Wilson. They appear to have been at one time political activists against their government. Due to this, Weaver's character had been kidnapped and tortured in order to spill the names of her co-conspirators. She never gave in and eventually was released to go back home to her husband. Wilson, a lawyer, has more recently been named to a committee to bring to justice those who had a hand in those atrocities, but with a decree of amnesty in effect, only the ones who are dead. While he sees this as a step in the right direction, Weaver sees it as worthless because she is not dead and wants the men responsible for her torture punished.

We enter the film in the middle of their argument after a kind gentleman on the road drove Wilson back to his house through the rain due to a flat tire on his part. This kind stranger, played by Ben Kingsley, arrives later that night to drop off the spare tire he forgot was in his car. With his wife and children out of town, he decided to bring it back late rather than the next day, because he would just be lonely at home. It is this visit which brings memories of her torture back to Weaver as she believes the voice she hears is the man that raped her—a doctor sent in to make sure the interrogators didn't kill her, but who eventually gets egged on to join in on the abuse. Hatching an elaborate plan to get him to confess his sins and then kill him, making it look like an accident, is set into motion. Wilson is caught between his new friend's kindness and his wife's strong feelings that this is the man.

Polanski is definitely a pro at giving his audience suspense. Having only a single location to film in and just three actors, he uses long takes, close-ups of his leads as they deliver speeches, and gets some emotional performances out of them. Weaver is very good. I never saw her as much of an actress, besides the whole tough chick persona she gave with the Alien series, but she proves she has the chops here. Always on the edge of hysteria, one can't know if what she is saying is due to dementia and paranoia or if it truly is her memory uncovering an evil man's secret. Wilson is great as well, trying to comfort his wife and her captor to appease her rage and help him to lie that the accusations are true in order to expedite his escape. His facial reactions are key to the story because there are some parallels to the man he knows and her story that match-up a bit too conveniently. He is allowed the chance to take the gun and turn it on both characters at separate occasions before the film is over, yet his confusion only lets him stand there motionless; he doesn't know who to believe.

It is Kingsley, however, that delivers a performance full of nuance. His affable nature gets the audience to never consider that he could be the rapist he is accused of being. We are slowly given the conception that he is an innocent man caught in the crazed delusions of Weaver's character. In this regard, we are the Wilson role, trapped in the middle hoping she doesn't do anything rash. Also, when the facts start to be revealed, the parallels become too much to not start to doubt Kingsley's innocence. His duress is real, though, and his fear genuine. The movie's third act is brought out in three layers, all separated by his fear, eventually malice, and final dejection. In the end, he is the one caught in an emotional tug-of-war and he does it all to perfection, culminating in a finish that suits the story, opening the eyes of all three people to the past and how they will live in the future to come.

Polanski has taken this play and created a filmed performance of it. Closely resembling David Mamet's adaptation of his own work Oleanna, Death and the Maiden is a tightly woven tale that absorbs the audience in and slowly pulls back the layers of lies to eventually uncover the truth lying underneath it all. His use of the Schubert orchestrations is brilliant and a marker for Weaver's descent into her psyche and repressed memories. To bookmark the film with a concert of the music is a nice addition as the story at hand begun and ended with that string quartet. From it being the sound she heard during her capture to a cassette version being found in Kingsley car, the entire story hinges on its inclusion.

Brilliant dark character study

[The_Void · 9/10 · 23 June 2005]

When it comes to dark and morbid thrillers, there's no one around that can handle them like Roman Polanski does. It is with that in mind, therefore, that I say Polanski is the best man for the job of adapting Ariel Dorfman's stage play; 'Death and the Maiden'. He proves this with the resulting movie, which is a thrill ride, combined with a character study all wrapped up in a layer of morbidity; needless to say, the film really hits home. Polanski handles this story, and his actors with the utmost precision and I have no qualms with labelling this movie as one of the man's masterpieces. I have no idea quite why it hasn't been better received, as although it's not up there with the likes of Knife in the Water, Chinatown and Rosemary's Baby; this is Polanski doing what Polanski does best, and when he's at his best; the man is brilliant. The story follows a chance encounter between a political lawyer and his neighbour, whom the man's wife is certain, is the same man who brutally beat and raped her while blindfolded under the reign of a fascist regime. What follows is a three-way character study between the victim, the man she thinks is her oppressor, and her husband; who is caught in the middle.

The themes of truth and justice are rampant in this tale and as we watch to see if the villain of the piece really is the man who oversaw torture in the oppression, we are always reminded of the idea of the difference between a right and just punishment, and otherwise. As this is based on a stage play, it is the actors that are very much the star of the show. The three-pronged cast makes for a great ensemble, and every single one of them impresses. Sigourney Weaver gives determination and anger to her victim, and it is easy to believe that this woman really was tortured and beaten. Stuart Wilson is great also as the man caught in the middle of a horrible situation, but it is Ben Kingsley that provides the real standout performance. He manages to skilfully tread a line between an evil madman and a pathetic innocent victim brilliantly, and he ensures that at all times we are asking the question "did he?". Polanski's direction is superb, and the thing that most impressed me is the way that he firmly positions the tale in the middle of nowhere. This ensures no distraction, and makes sure that we are put firmly within our character's plight.

On the whole, this is one of the best films that Polanski ever made. Considering his prowess as a filmmaker; that is really saying something and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this film to anyone who enjoys movies.

This is a fine three-hander in traditional style with competent acting from Sigourney Weaver and Ben Kingsley

[ma-cortes · 7/10 · 17 November 2023]

A tense, claustrophobic political thriller features a talented ensemble both on screen and behind the scenes. Dealing with a political activist is convinced that her guest is a man who once tortured her for the government. Paulina Escobar (Sigourney Weaver) is a political activist whose husband is a prominent lawyer (Stuart Wilson) in an unnamed South American country just out of a dictatorship. One day a storm forces her husband to ride home with a neighbor. That chance encounter brings up demons from her past, as she is convinced that the neighbor , Dr. Miranda (Ben Kingsley), is her torturer. As she becomes prosecutor , judge, jury and perhaps executioner. Prepare yourself for the moment of truth !. Tonight, mercy will be buried with the past !. How long would you wait... How much would you risk... How far would you go... for the truth?

A dramatic, stagy and twisted film in which there is a cruel game between revenge and compassion from the Ariel Dorfman play. Here the main accused learns the dangers of picking up stranded motorists, as he is bound, gagged and roughed up by the new empowered and vengeful Paulina. The film is slow-moving and extremely interesting, until the final part in which tension , suspense and thriller enhances, getting success enough. This is an attractive story in short budget about the classic confrontation between three stars, with ordinay battle of wills . None of it is exactly unpredictable, but director Roman Polanski does it well within its limitations and gettting well-observed portraits from the three only protagonists. Interpretations are really fabulous Sigourney as a former political prisoner and torture victim who turn the tables on the man - magnificently by Ben Kinsgley - she believes was her tormentor, while pressing her civil rights lawyer husband- stunningly performed by Stuart Wilson- into duty as defence attorney.

Although it is mostly performed indoors and minimal scenarios , it contains colorful and appropriate cinematography by Tonino Delli Colli, as well as a tense and poignant musical score by Wojciech Kilar. The motion picture was co-written by Rafael Yglesias and Ariel Dorfman and professionally directed by the Polish Roman Polanski . Polanski's cinematic trajectory is hard , problematic and full of incidents. In 1968, Polanski went to Hollywood, where he made the psychological thriller, Rosemary's Baby (1968). However, after the brutal murder of his wife, Sharon Tate, by the Manson Family in 1969, the director decided to return to Europe. In 1974, he again made a US release - it was Chinatown (1974) . It seemed the beginning of a promising Hollywood career, but after his conviction for the sodomy of a 13-year old girl, Polanski fled from he USA to avoid prison. After Tess (1979), which was awarded several Oscars and Cesars, his works in 1980s and 1990s became intermittent and rarely approached the caliber of his earlier films. In 1992 made Bitter Moon , but it doesn't succeed as the erotic drama it's intented to be and including some ludicrous lines from what must be Polanski's worst movie . It wasn't until The pianist (2002) that Polanski came back to full form. His career is full of hits and some flops , such as : his big success Rosemary's Baby , Chinatown, The pianist , Oliver Twist , Frantic, Dance of vampire , among others . And The Ghost Writer (2010) in which Polanski was arrested September 2009 in Switzerland, post-production was never put on hold , he then oversaw every step of the film and made all of the artistic decisions. He finished editing the movie while in a Swiss prison and in December 2009, Roman was released on bail but placed under house arrest . And later Polanski made Carnage (2011) , Venus in furs (2013) , J'accuse (2019) and D'après une histoire vraie (2017) or Based on a True Story. Death and the Maiden(1994) is a decently made Polanki film, whose rating results to be 7/10 .

A superb THRILLER

[Nimbo · 10/10 · 18 August 1998]

This movie, Death and the Maiden, is a remarkable production given that it is a stage drama put on film. There is virtually only one set. The actors are incredible. You never lose the essence of the Director, Roman Polanski. Your interest never wanes in this thriller. Sigourney Weaver is outstanding. She is shattered by her initial confrontation with her torturer, Ben Kingsley. And then her recalling of the atrocities at his hands gives her tremendous strength, the strength of a tiger. The climax is unsettling but proves the virtue of forgiveness and acceptance even with extreme misgivings. This is a movie that stays in your memory. Kudos to all concerned.

Could have been so much more...

[moviesleuth2 · 6/10 · 23 February 2010]

We hear about it all the time; people have been harmed in the most unspeakable ways, causing pain that most of us cannot begin to even imagine. If this happened to you, what would you do if the person who hurt you walked into your house? This kind of moral quagmire has been approached before in films. Many times, in fact. The torture angle is new though. Unfortunately, that's all that's new about this story.

But this is the situation that one woman, Paulina Escobar (Sigourney Weaver), an ex-activist who was horrifically tortured in order to give up the name of a fellow activist (who later became her husband), finds herself in, when a man (Ben Kingsley) is invited into their home after helping her husband (Stuart Wilson). She is convinced that this man, Dr. Miranda, is the one who brutalized her. He denies it, of course. And her husband, now a high-powered lawyer, is caught in the middle.

This film could have gone in two opposite directions: a high-powered, claustrophobic thriller or a leadened message movie. Fortunately, it's not the latter (no one is going to mistake this movie for a UNICEF infomercial), but sadly, it's not the former either. It's somewhere in the middle. There are moments of where it works, but overall it's pretty boring.

Part of the reason is that the most important part is miscast. Sigourney Weaver is a good actress, but she's not right for this role. She has moments of effectiveness (Weaver is good at being vulnerable), but when she tries to act menacing, she's awful. Ben Kingsley is terrific, though, as the may-or-may not be torturer. He keeps us on our toes, and we never know whether or not he's innocent. Noted character actor Stuart Wilson is actually able to keep up with the Oscar-winner and Oscar-nominee.

The problem isn't necessarily with Roman Polanski's approach. "Death and the Maiden" is heavy on the atmosphere, although it could have used some more claustrophobia to increase the tension. The problem is that the script, based on the play, is rather bland. There's nothing that really draws us into the story, and it doesn't take any risks. Thus what could have been a powerful and provocative drama or thriller (take your pick) becomes inert.

It's not a total waste; the film effectively keeps us guessing who's telling the truth. But the suspense isn't there, even though it has plenty of opportunity to build. However, the ending of the film is horrible. What happens not only doesn't make sense, it's actually more than slightly reprehensible.

This isn't a bad film, just a wasted opportunity.

A great combination of suspense, psychology and politics.

[patitas · 10/10 · 24 July 2006]

Death and the Maiden is a thriller. A woman who had been tortured in a repressive government meets a man who has been her torturer, or has he?

It is also a psychological film. A married couple deals with uncovering the whole truth about their past.

And it is political. Although it is supposed to be a fictional story, it has more than a strong resemblance with the brutal tortures during Pinochet's dictatorship in Chile. It is not filmed in that country, but they use Chilean money, they eat Chilean bread and they mention Tavelli, a popular café in Santiago.

Beautiful music. Schubert's Death and the Maiden, is played throughout the movie.

A great film to view with people who enjoy having discussions after.

Enjoy!

Polanski Doing Polanski

[michaeltrivedi · 7/10 · 28 September 2017]

Death and the Maiden is a good film. I can't say it's great, and I definitely cannot say it is bad.

I have been watching a lot of Polanski lately, I am intrigued by how interesting his work is. He makes movies that I would not say are great by any means, but they just work very, very, very well. It's a weird dynamic. I can't say he's even my favorite director, but I know no other directors I can say are better.

This movie is really good, and takes place mainly in the confines of a small house in Latin America. It does not feel claustrophobic, and the dialogue is absolutely great. The action and feeling you can get from an entire movie shot in one house is amazing. Watch this film!

7 Stars!!

Suspenseful, psychological thriller

[cshipley10 · 10/10 · 3 April 2005]

In this movie, Sigourney Weaver is thoroughly believable with her trademark edge, rarely seen in other women actors. The doctor, although obviously with selfish motives, kept me guessing until the end as to whether he was guilty of the crimes of torture she claimed he committed against her, having not seen the face of, but only having heard the voice of the man she remembered. You don't know the truth until the end. It is very riveting. Her relationship with her husband is very realistic, as well, and very revealing about both of their characters. All three roles were depicted as intensely real. I enjoyed this thriller from the moment it began to the very end. You are immediately engaged in her reality, rather than experiencing a slow build up seen with most movies. Very satisfying because no character was one-sided, but they were multi-dimensional, with each having a unique history. Bravo!

Exemplary filmic adaptation of a great enigmatic play

[gridoon2024 · 7/10 · 23 April 2017]

Roman Polanski does something that is not easy here: he transfers a play to the screen, and never lets you forget that it is a play you're watching, but he makes it completely cinematic at the same time. The play itself is a great enigma about truth, doubt, vigilantism and justice. I don't want to give away the ending, but it is masterfully designed and executed. It's an intense and compelling film, the kind that invites long debates after it's over. The three leads are perfectly cast: Weaver and Kingsley are at the peak of their powers, but Wilson is much more than just "a third wheel". *** out of 4.

Totally Overrated!

[pangipingu · 4/10 · 18 November 2020]

Well, I have seen several adaptations of plays, but tbh this was the worst of them. Even though many critics have applauded the performances, that was the very thing I found unconvincing.

Justice for Maiden

[Chrysanthepop · 22 August 2012]

One of the most outstanding elements about Roman Polanski's films is the tension in atmosphere and between the characters. The director has consistently succeeded in drawing the viewer by creating tension. Moreover, his use of dark themes and the lesser known add further appeal. After all, who isn't curious about the dark? Polanski also makes full use of what he's got, starting from the cast to the most basic of props. 95% of 'Death and the Maiden' was shot consecutively (in accordance with the script) which couldn't have been an easy thing to do if time and money are constraints. The film only has three actors and each one performs superbly. Ben Kingsley's disturbing and chilling portrayal of a sleazy sadistic doctor lingers in mind. Stuart Wilson is brilliant as the ambivalent lawyer torn between his beliefs. This is also a pleasant turn from the villainous characters he's more famous for. Sigourney Weaver is spellbinding as the former prisoner who finally gets the opportunity to seek her own justice. Polanski tactfully brings forth political and psychological issues without preaching to the audience.

some minor flawed issues were the lighting. I felt it was too strong in places (where the only source of light was candles). It looks like there was some poor green screen filtering in a few of the outdoor scenes even though I don't think a green screen was used. However, these faults are too minor when viewing the film as a whole.

'Death and the Maiden'is a simple but engaging and haunting story told through the perspective of three complex characters. It's one of Polanski's finest.

Intense, disturbing, depressing

[DennisLittrell · 6/10 · 24 May 2004]

(Note: Over 500 of my movie reviews are now available in my book "Cut to the Chaise Lounge or I Can't Believe I Swallowed the Remote!" Get it at Amazon.)

I would not recommend this for most people. It is painful to watch and artificial, very stagy (not surprising since it was adapted from a stage play written by Ariel Dorfman), and ultimately not redemptive (as the video jacket claims), but perverse and depressing.

Sigourney Weaver gives a raw-edged performance almost entirely in one key. She plays a woman (Pauline Escobar) who was raped and tortured by a Nazi-like doctor named Roberto Miranda played by Ben Kingsley in some unidentified South American country. Since Dorfman is from Argentina, we'll assume it's Argentina. Certainly this sort of thing happened there during the time of the "Disappeared." The other member of the three-person cast is her husband (Gerardo Escobar) played by Stuart Wilson. Roman Polanski directed.

The title comes from Franz Schubert's string quartet of the same name which was played by the doctor as he tortured Pauline.

This is a polarizing film. Women who have ever suffered anything at the hands of men will identify with Weaver's character and may find the film brilliant. Most men will not even be able to watch it.

There is some ambiguity in the ending, as to whether Roberto really was guilty as charged. My opinion is that he was without doubt. The final scene (which I can't describe since it would give away too much) is really a statement about the nature of horror and how it can live on amidst the most familiar settings, a man patting his son on the head, some people attending a concert.

I thought Wilson gave the most balanced performance. He had the most difficult role since it required subtlety and that he walk a fine line between accepting something monstrous in his presence or disbelieving his wife. He also had to be a weak sister, as it were, to the dominating presence of Sigourney Weaver who played most of the film with a gun in her hand. Yet he had to provide the strength of character and to symbolize the sense of justice. Kingsley looked very much the part of a sneaky little sickie, and his usual caged intensity was much in evidence.

Bottom line: any film that exposes the atrocities committed by the right wing dictatorships that dominated South and Central American during the Cold War is on the side of the angels; however most viewers I think will find this too intense and disturbing. Beware of some crude sexuality.

Unbearable situation

[Mort-31 · 10/10 · 3 August 2001]

Rarely does a film with only three actors create such unbearable tension and cover political aspects too. Also, the film has great actors: Ben Kingsley gives the impression that he himself didn't know whether his character was guilty or not; Stuart Wilson is a typical confused lawyer-husband; and Sigourney Weaver probably gives her best performance – of course, she's got a good role.

I enjoy stories, where people get in situations so terrible and unnatural that they are unable to see their extent. They cannot think clearly and so their thinking structure changes and they begin to take completely absurd things into consideration. Every person reacts a little differently to the situation. I love this, and that's why I give this movie the best rating. I couldn't find any flaws in the movie, actually.

Interesting, yet unconvincing.

[des-25 · 7/10 · 25 November 1999]

"Death and the Maiden" claims to be a thriller, but fails to provide the classic surprise ending which is the trademark of almost every great suspense movie ever made.

It features two names forever etched into movie history; Ben Kingsley and Roman Polanski.

The pace is slow almost stagnant, and the characters are just unable to convince me that this is a way one would be likely to act if one should somehow find oneself in similar positions. The setting in some South American republic taking it's first steps towards democracy is made unrealistic by the fact that the language is English and neither Mr. nor Mrs. Escobar look all that South American.

Having said all this, it's not a bad movie. You do get a very uncomfortable feeling of what it might be like to be captured and robbed of your constitutional rights. I think Sigourney Waever does an excellent job. The scene, were she tells her husband what happened to her, is the best one in the movie.

In conclusion I'd say that this movie is more of an education than it is entertainment, but it's worth watching despite the obvious errors.

Incredible Ending- SPOILER ALERT!!

[best_peas · 9/10 · 13 March 2004]

!!SPOILER ALERT!! !!SPOILER ALERT!!

I was glued to the screen for the whole movie, and I'm happy that the ending gave a worthy payoff. Paulina is by far the strongest person in that house. Even though Gerardo loves her, he also envies and resents her, because she is so much stronger than he is. He tells Dr Miranda how she saved his life by not giving up Gerardo's name, even under torture, and Gerardo knew he would have confessed everything right away. Paulina thinks he gave up too much in order to get appointed to the investigating committee- he agreed to only look at cases where people died, which to her was a betrayal of all the torture survivors.

Gerardo vacillates weakly through the whole movie. He typifies all people who cannot bring themselves to take unpleasant, decisive action against other people, so he's always pinned on the very uncomfortable horns of his own dilemmas. He cannot accept the necessity of killing Dr Miranda to save himself and Paulina, even though Dr Miranda himself recognized the necessity- if he's innocent, they've committed a serious crime against him. If he's guilty, he deserves death, and by kidnapping him they've compromised any potential legal case against him. Either way, they must kill him to save themselves. But Gerardo does not have the strength to face this. Paulina is matter-of-fact- "we have to kill him." Gerardo's character suggests why evil people always seem to succeed- they have no such restraints, and the law fails victims of crimes.

At the end, when Dr Miranda finally confesses, Paulina sees that he too is a victim. A morally weak man who got sucked into becoming a torturer, and who discovered he liked it. Paulina is the only "pure" character in the movie; her clarity of moral vision remains steadfast. And, she kept her word- she said she would let him go if he confessed. When she got a genuine confession, when he admitted what he had done, and vindicated everything Paulina said, that was her liberation. No more excuses from the likes of Gerardo- he could no longer deny her experiences and judgement. She no longer has to protect him by not telling him everything.

Gerardo, in his own way, is as weak as Dr Miranda. He would rather disbelieve Paulina than believe Dr Miranda is her torturer, because believing Paulina means he has to do something about it. His weak blathering about "the law" and process is priceless. Edmund Burke had people like Gerardo in mind when he said “All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.”

The final scene sums up everything, without a single word of dialog. All three are attending a live performance of "Death and the Maiden." Paulina looks up and makes eye contact with Dr Miranda, who is sitting in the balcony with his family. She's not happy to see him, but she has found a measure of peace. Gerardo sees him, and suddenly he looks like he's sitting on spikes. Ben Kingsley is such a wonderful actor- the look he gives Paulina is a combination of "we have a special bond from our shared experiences," and the type of gratitude that a torture victim displays to a captor who shows him any kindness.

Great movie, great performances.

A great story

[campblood13 · 7/10 · 11 August 2003]

The whole notion of this actually happening is somewhat far fetched, but is very interesting. Ben Kingsley gives one of the best performances I have seen. The performances are limited, but they have to be because of the isolated setting. Sigourney Weaver does a good job as the still victimized woman. Stuart Wilson as the her husband is not all that believable. He just keeps whining and is in denial about everything that has happened.

I love how Kingsley can go from being charming and sweet tempered, to cursing and angry the next. It was a real insight to this character as a man hiding himself. The ending of the film was nauseating, not in a bad way. Roman Polanski is one of my favorite directors, because he has made a lot of good films. 7/10 Good to Very Good

a tasty psychological thriller

[tsjohn · 9/10 · 18 September 2006]

An incredibly powerful and stylish psychological thriller. Just a treat to see the talents of Polanski, Weaver, Kingsley, and the little known Wilson all on display in this complex and suspenseful story. Great to see the time and effort taken by Polanski to create such rich character development. Can't think of many movies (Sex, Lies and Videotape also comes to mind) that takes such a wonderfully unforced and unhurried pace to bring the characters to life with all their complex layers.

The interaction between Weaver and Kingsley is just mesmerizing. Then again, would you expect anything less from these two consummate pros? Actually, I've always been a fan of Weaver, but no doubt in my mind this is her most powerful, but unfortunately most overlooked performance of her career. One achingly emotional and gripping scene by Weaver of a confessional nature at the crux of this movie goes on unedited seemingly for minutes. It's one of the most moving moments of movie making I've ever had the pleasure of witnessing.

Kingsley is also at his best here. He's just one of those actors who could read a phone book and I'd sit and watch! An incredible piece of acting which asks a great deal of the viewer - to continuously doubt and question his character's TRUE identity - and pull it off believably.

Well, sorry to be so vague when it comes to plot points, but I wouldn't dare spoil this fine unknown gem for those willing to take a chance on a movie for the not-so-faint of heart. The themes are extremely adult here, but for those who appreciate a drama you can sink your teeth into that isn't afraid of some powerful realism, this is a no-brainer!

over 3000 died under torture but no criminals???

[hooshi · 7/10 · 5 November 1999]

The title refers to Scubert's masterpiece. The heroine, a torture victim, remembers that it was being played while she was being raped and tortured ,which makes her hate Schubert, music, herself and the modern society's claim to civilization and Justice.In the post-Pinochet "Democracy" you can investigate those crimes against humanity, report them with charts, statistics, etc.,but you can not name the perpetrators, nor can anybody be tried or questioned because of them, and that is what drives our heroine mad, and makes her act "irrationally".I think Polanki's version is o.k, but the original Steppenwolf theatre presentation was much more compelling.

3 characters, 1 location - and the suspense never ends!!!

[JosipVujcic · 10/10 · 25 March 2001]

Roman Polanski has proven himself as one of the leading directors for quite some time - but nobody seems to take any notice! (yes I know people try to forget him becouse of the 'incident'...)

The same applies for Sigourney Weaver. I've gon mad when a certain guy said how it's funny that Sigourney Weaver actually made other movies except Alien(s) - but nobody saw them! I showered him with titles such as 'The Ice Storm', 'Gorillas in the Mist', 'Working Girl', ...... and finally 'Death and the Maiden'. Off course - he saw none of them! It's sad how (in my humble oppinion) the best actress we currently have is so underrated. But hey - tell me who else got a leading actress Oscar nomination for a sequel of a Sci-Fi movie...??? She also was nominated for both leading and supporting actress in the same year (Gorillas & W. Girl) and strangely lost both!!! The Academy kept ignoring her Oscar worthy performances in 'The Ice Storm', 'Map of the World' and one of the best female performances of the decade 'Death and the Maiden'. She is unbelievable in this movie - the woman we saw as the World's heroine is so fragile and shaken in this movie that it is astonishing. She plays a sexualy molested (in the worst possible way) woman with all of her phobias and stirred feelings to the perfection - withought crossing the fine line to overacting. The scenes where she tortures Ben Kingsley are just amazing - as is the whole movie.

It takes strong actors and a brilliant director to make a movie which virtually takes place in one house - and has only three characters; and yet it never loses the suspense even for a minute.

This is a masterpiece, and one of rare movie that can be watched both by art-movie philes and the 'regular'-movie fans. This is Roman Polanski at his best since 'Chinatown' and Sigourney at her best ever!

'R' for Raw, 'R' for Roman Polanski👌

[abrar-83942 · 7/10 · 2 July 2021]

A simple plot sudden turns into an outstanding,breathtaking thirll! 🔥 R. Polanski was at his peak 💜 Sir Ben Kingsley just amazes 💓 just love this movie!

Polanski is so overrated

[kimbpaul · 1/10 · 15 May 2021]

This, like everything else I've seen from Polanski is just word vomit. I've always tried to watch his films bc he is reputed to be a film genius, but I just can't give him that credit. I find the best way to enjoy the scenery of a Polanski film is to mute the volume.