Death and the Maiden

It's an immensely successful movie - and far and away the most emotionally charged, psychologically uneasy and diabolically suspenseful thriller Polanski's made since his heyday. [27 Jan 1995, p. 26]

Death and the Maiden is a streamlined razor-ride of a movie: taut, riveting, and a psychological horror show that will leave nail-marks in your palms for days afterwards.

Even by their high standards, the performances of Weaver and Kingsley here are impressive, and Polanski ratchetts up the tension nicely. A chilling and thought-provoking piece.

Polanski, working from a fluid script by Dorfman and Rafael Yglesias ("Fearless"), gives the story its due. He creates an atmosphere of claustrophobic tension to rival his "Knife in the Water" and "Repulsion".

Even though he's psychologically expanded his source, the material is a bit too schematic to work as much more than a scaled-down thriller.

Polanski stages some lovely moments, particularly Paulina's candlelit dinner in her closet. But he also undercuts the high-minded ideals of Dorfman's original by exposing its radical chic pretentions.

Weaver's overacting and Dorfman's bold-faced dialogue oversell the scenario. Only Kingsley's sly turn gives Death And The Maiden any real feeling of disquiet.

The story of three characters trapped in an extreme situation is somewhat reminiscent of Polanski's early works. It may not be on a par with his greatest achievements, but seeing Weaver and Kingsley together makes it well worth the effort.

Greetings from Lithuania. "Death and the Maiden" (1994) is a thriller staring Sigourney Weaver, Ben Kingsley and Stuart Wilson, It is set in one location and focuses on one key event, which i won't spoil for everyone who haven't seen this movie yet. This is a tense thriller with great performances by all three involved - they all did terrific job. Directing by Roman Polanski was also good as it at its running time 1 h 40 min i wasn't bored and was involved into it. This movie isn't an action thriller by any means and is more of a character study movie. The ending was very good and not generic in my opinion. Overall, i liked "Death and the maiden" because it is not a typical thriller. It is based on a popular play that run many decades ago, and you can feel that it is all based on a play - one location, hand of characters and plenty of dialogs.

Considering what this movie's about, it's nearly impossible to talk about any of it without discussing the inherently problematic nature behind Roman Polanski directing it. If it were up to me, the man would've no longer been working after the year 1978. And, in this alternative timeline, I'm almost certain Ariel Dorfman's "Death And The Maiden" would have gotten picked up and adapted into a fantastic film, regardless of who directed it. "Death And The Maiden" is a lot like James Foley's 1992 adaptation of David Mamet's "Glengarry Glen Ross," in that regard. The direction itself? It's fine. A couple interesting little shots and camera movements here and there, but nothing too crazy. The material, though? Man, oh, man. This is just a terrific story, layered with intrigue and the slimy, cognitive-dissonance-inducing realities of the world we all inhabit. It's hauntingly staged and executed from a narrative standpoint, featuring some truly thought-provoking musings on justice, truth and the sliding scale of the human condition. The acting is to be commended as well, with high marks going to Ben Kingsley, especially. I was really riveted by this. I just wish the powers-that-be weren't so tone deaf in their selecting of someone to bring such an impactful story as this to the big screen.

Adapté d’une pièce de théâtre, le rythme lent puis hâché s’en ressent quelque peu mais ce huis-clos est l’un des films les plus réussis de Roman Polanski. Le doute subsiste jusqu’à la fin -une fin inattendue- sur la culpabilité du bourreau ou sur la folie paranoïaque de la victime !…Un sujet terrible et émouvant, habilement traité par le réalisateur et admirablement interprété par Sigourney Weaver et Ben Kingsley. La prestation de Monsieur Kingsley, je m’y attendais, il s’agit d’un acteur hors pair mais celle de Miss Weaver dans un rôle ô combien difficile, je ne m’y attendais pas vraiment : elle s’avère pourtant à la hauteur des enjeux, elle confirme qu’elle est bel et bien une très grande actrice !

It is a psychological thriller by a famous (some might say "infamous") director Roman Polanski. This movie is not new, he made it back in 1994 but I never saw it before. Most of it happens inside one room, with only three actors, so it could be quite a low budget film. For a thriller it is made remarkably well, it keeps you engaged almost to the end. Excellent performances from all three. Even though it lacks the depth of a real drama, it is still a very good piece of entertainment albeit dark.