Cold Souls is odd and gloomy but the deadpan comedy and introspective musings are engaging and Giamatti’s tour de force is worth the price of admission.
Comment
11/13/09
Cold Souls (2009)
76
%
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:99
Fresh:75
Rotten:24
Average Rating:6.4/10
Consensus: Straddling existential drama and surrealist comedy, Sophie Barthes debut feature is beautifully shot and full of inventive quandaries.
Theatrical Release:13-11-2009
Synopsis: In response to shiny, bigger, better American consumerism comes COLD SOULS, first-time feature director Sophie Barthes' surreal comedy in which souls can be extracted and traded as commodities.... [More]
Starring: Paul Giamatti, David Strathairn, Dina Korzun, Katheryn Winnick
Director: Sophie Barthes
Reviews for Cold Souls
The credible production design impresses, the camerawork offers an exquisite chill and Giamatti is in his pomp.
11/13/09
Top CriticFor those who like Charlie Kaufman on paper but occasionally find themselves a little tested by his self-conscious meanderings in practice, the hilarious Cold Souls is a pleasingly tight and subtle execution of an eye-opening concept.
11/13/09
Top CriticThe writer-director Sophie Barthes does her best to keep things moving, but the film runs out of steam about halfway through.
11/13/09
Top CriticThe pedantic borrowings from Kaufman are obvious. Is there any other "–esque" to be detected? There's Allen-esque, but that comes with the Kaufman-esque territory. Maybe Huxley-esque? The anxiety of influence hangs heavily here.
11/13/09
Top CriticA trippy premise literally dreamed up by director Sophie Barthes, it is pensive and ponderous, offering a nod and wink to the likes of Philip K Dick and Charlie Kaufman. But it’s also peculiarly remote.
11/13/09
What might sound on paper like heavy-handed flick that tries to shove clever-clever ideas down your throat is nothing of the sort. Cold Souls is funny, thought-provoking, often witty and always boasts a tremendous lightness of touch.
11/13/09
Competently made but remarkably smug for a film unique only in its paucity of original ideas.
11/13/09
This clever, surreal comedy is closer to the more whimsical work of a young Woody Allen.
11/13/09
Top CriticWriter-director Sophie Barthes can't decide whether to take the idea seriously or comedically, with the result that it works neither as comedy nor drama.
11/13/09
While the idea's neat, there's no attempt to explore the weighty implications. It's a likeably quirky movie, mind, with Giamatti's hangdog features meaning a smile's never too far from your lips.
11/13/09
The film itself seems to inhabit the soul of another screenwriter, Charlie Kaufman, though it's more a respectful nod than a blatant steal. Barthes shows enough wit and daring of her own to mark her as one to watch.
11/13/09
Hugely enjoyable, frequently funny and ultimately thought-provoking comedy with a delightfully absurd script.
11/13/09
Like a collision of Charlie Kaufman and Woody Allen, this dark comedy is a surreal gem, astutely examining the issue of identity. And it gives the cast, especially Giamatti, terrific characters to sink their teeth into.
11/13/09
It's an amuse-bouche, for exactly the kind of twerp who uses words like "amuse-bouche". If that's you, you'll love it. You big ponce.
11/13/09
It's a precious, whimsical premise, but while Barthes has some decent jokes, and a wonderful facilitator for those jokes in Giamatti, its underlying insights aren't all that profound and this ultimately feels more formulaic than it should.
11/13/09
As a tortured actor, Giamatti is the film's best asset in the marketplace, and French-born, US-trained Sophie Barthes certainly establishes herself as a name to watch with this ambitious debut.
04/08/09
Anchored by a great Giamatti performance, Cold Souls is built around a terrific idea and has serious fun with it. It also marks Barthes as a filmmaker to watch.
04/08/09
Top CriticMuch of cinema is so predictable these days. Cold Souls isn’t.
11/22/09
Smart and funny, it's an amusing showcase for a great idea and the terrific Giamatti.
11/22/09
Latest News for Cold Souls
November 22, 2009:
Win Double Passes to Cold Souls
In the tradition of Charlie Kaufman and Woody Allen comes writer-director Sophie Bathes' debut Cold Souls an existential comedy about an actor (Paul Giamatti, playing himself)... More...
August 06, 2009:
Critics Consensus: It's Quiet For G.I. Joe. Too Quiet.
This week at the movies, we got real American heroes (G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, starring Dennis Quaid and Sienna Miller); kitchen chronicles (Julie & Julia, starring Meryl... More...
June 21, 2009:
Trailer & Poster review 
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