58
Metascore
16 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 80The Hollywood ReporterSheri LindenThe Hollywood ReporterSheri LindenThe film is steeped in beauty at least as much as it is in sorrow, the dance of Mediterranean light — Salomon would spend a good portion of her final fears in the South of France — a vibrant counterpoint to the creeping shadow of hatred and violence.
- 75The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Kate TaylorThe Globe and Mail (Toronto)Kate TaylorSometimes, the animators find an expressive style to match difficult content – a suicide, a mercy killing and several sex scenes – and sometimes they just make the images of Salomon and the refugee with whom she falls in love seem leaden in comparison to the artist’s sprightly line.
- 60Los Angeles TimesGary GoldsteinLos Angeles TimesGary GoldsteinFor the chance to become acquainted with Salomon’s tragic and unique tale, as well as with her enduring output, this well-intended portrait is worth a look.
- 60VarietyDennis HarveyVarietyDennis HarveyWhat might have seemed a familiar if sad drama in live-action form benefits from this relative novelty of presentation, which lends a certain universality, as well as heightened viewer access, to Salomon’s story. But the rather pedestrian animation here also makes Charlotte a bit of a disappointment.
- 58The PlaylistCarlos AguilarThe PlaylistCarlos AguilarAs much as Charlotte Salomon’s life is inherently worthy of admiration, and that it’s a valid creative choice on the directors’ part to make a tonally modest and straightforward depiction of the events, one can’t help but yearn for a version where her oeuvre and its stylized interpretation of her intimated universe had been a more deeply intertwined with how her prolific and unimaginably tragic story was told.
- 50The Film StageJared MobarakThe Film StageJared MobarakIt’s a compelling journey often rendered inert by quick transitions from one tragedy to another.
- 50Movie NationRoger MooreMovie NationRoger MooreWhile not all Holocaust sagas are created equal, an uncensored, grim realities and all treatment of Salomon’s life would certainly be novel enough to warrant the telling. That’s a case Charlotte never makes.
- 50The New York TimesLisa KennedyThe New York TimesLisa KennedyIn the end, Charlotte is bereft of the spirit of the artist who made the uncanny “Life? or Theatre?” What an even better tribute the movie would have been had it also taken heated energy from Salomon’s art.
- 25IndieWireChristian BlauveltIndieWireChristian BlauveltAny expectation that Salomon’s profound story might be depicted in grown-up, searching animation that’s still all too rare, is quickly dashed. Instead of being brought to a place of soulful contemplation, Charlotte merely becomes cinematic Ambien. What a tragedy.