Esther Kahn (2000)

50% of critics liked it
(24 reviews)
56% of users liked it
(670 ratings)

The English-language debut of French director Arnaud Desplechin, Esther Kahn charts the ascension of a lower-class Jewish girl from a turn-of-the-century London ghetto to one of the stage's leading actresses. Esther (Summer Phoenix) feels set apart from her large, raucous family, who are all… More The English-language debut of French director Arnaud Desplechin, Esther Kahn charts the ascension of a lower-class Jewish girl from a turn-of-the-century London ghetto to one of the stage's leading actresses. Esther (Summer Phoenix) feels set apart from her large, raucous family, who are all employed in the garment business. Her life is changed when she attends a Yiddish theatre performance, and she is suddenly determined to become an actress. After joining a small theatre company, she becomes the protégé of Nathan (Ian Holm), a stage veteran who instructs her in her chosen craft. Esther gradually works her way up in the ranks -- taking a lover, brainy French theatre critic Philippe (Fabrice Desplechin), along the way -- until she is cast in the title role of Hedda Gabler, which she performs to great acclaim. ~ Rebecca Flint Marx, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: Unrated, 2 hr. 43 min.
Directed By: Arnaud Desplechin
Written By: Arnaud Desplechin, Emmanuel Bourdieu, Arthur Symons
Genres: Drama

In Theaters: Mar 1, 2001 Limited
On DVD: Dec 3, 2002
Studio: Le Studio Canal Plus

Critic Reviews

Rasmi Simhan, Dallas Morning News
The narrator and the other characters try to convince us that acting transfigures Esther, but she's never seen speaking on stage; one feels cheated, and Esther seems to remain an unchanged dullard.
Kevin Thomas, Los Angeles Times
What makes Esther Kahn so demanding is that it progresses in such a low-key manner that it risks monotony. But it's worth the concentration.
Andrew Sarris, New York Observer
Ms. Phoenix is completely lacking in charm and charisma, and is unable to project either Esther's initial anomie or her eventual awakening.
Gene Seymour, Newsday
It's a lot to ask people to sit still for two hours and change watching such a character, especially when rendered in as flat and impassive a manner as Phoenix's.
Megan Turner, New York Post
The French director has turned out nearly 21/2 hours of unfocused, excruciatingly tedious cinema that, half an hour in, starts making water torture seem appealing.
A.O. Scott, New York Times
The problem is that rather than dramatizing this premise, Mr. Desplechin is content to state it.
Jeffrey M. Anderson, Combustible Celluloid
I found it endlessly fascinating.
Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews
It's a strange film, one that was hard for me to warm up to.
Manohla Dargis, L.A. Weekly
Beautiful and baffling.
Jeremy Heilman, MovieMartyr.com
Attempting to determine whether the offstage trauma that she's undergoing is genuine or an extreme form of method acting becomes the film's dramatic crux, and it's more than enough to hold the viewer's attention
Jon Popick, Planet Sick-Boy
The biggest problem I have (other than the very sluggish pace) is we never really see her Esther blossom as an actress, even though her talent is supposed to be growing.
Frank Swietek, One Guy's Opinion
An ambitious, serious film that manages to do virtually everything wrong; sitting through it is something akin to an act of cinematic penance.
Ed Scheid, Boxoffice Magazine
Like its title character, Esther Kahn is unusual but unfortunately also irritating.
David Ehrenstein, New Times
Beautifully produced.
Athan Bezaitis, Filmcritic.com
if you are an actor who can relate to the search for inner peace by dramatically depicting the lives of others onstage, then Esther's story is a compelling quest for truth.
Ken Fox, TV Guide's Movie Guide
Ranks among the best films ever made about the acting profession.