A more conventional filmmaker would be defeated by Andreotti's murky history, but Sorrentino's flamboyantly Baroque approach - full of dazzling visual flourishes worthy of Scorsese in his pomp - delivers an indelible portrait.

| Nov 21, 2020

Sumptuous filmmaking at its most flashiest, "Il Divo" may distance some people but I found it to be riveting.

| Jan 17, 2020

A clever telling of the story about the epic levels of corruption in Italian public life that found the suitably opaque, vampiric presence of Andreotti at the centre of it.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Feb 1, 2019

A fascinating history of recent Italian politics.

| Original Score: 3.5/4 | Apr 2, 2010

... not so much a savage satire as one disenchanted with the institutional corruption of politics.

| Dec 5, 2009

... Sorrentino avoids the dreary conventions of the biopic in favor of a cheeky mix of music montages, dramatic re-enactments and hilariously deadpan takes ....

| Original Score: 7/10 | Sep 11, 2009

Combining clammy skin, busy hands, and a posture reminiscent of Snoopy in his vulture phase, [Servillo] (re-)creates a fascinating monster ... Given some CliffsNotes, the surrounding film might even be worthy of him.

| Sep 2, 2009

The film takes flight on the brilliant title performance by Tony Servillo (Gomorrah), who plays Andreotti like a mummified Alec Guinness, as if encased in layers of plaster of Paris.

| Aug 23, 2009

Inventive and fun... Toni Servillo gives a truly exquisite performance, easily the finest seen on U.S. screens in 2009 thus far.

| Original Score: 8/10 | Jul 21, 2009

This is a spectacular film about corruption in high places, specifically as that relates to the political life of Giulio Andreotti, seven times prime minister of Italy and a senator for life.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Jul 10, 2009

We may not know the man, but we know the dance, as seen in the highly diverting and hugely controversial Il Divo, a biopic as wly as its subject.

| Original Score: 3.5/4 | Jul 10, 2009

A stunning piece of work that feels both familiar and completely unique at the same time.

| Jul 10, 2009

Servillo does such a good job of suggesting the drive and intelligence of the man that he automatically becomes one of the great recent cinematic symbols of absolute political power and the questionable means utilized in order to achieve it.

| Jul 9, 2009

After I saw Il Divo, I suppose I should have felt indignation. I suppose I should also have felt that way after "The Godfather." But such films present such mesmerizing figures that I simply regard them, astonished.

| Original Score: 3.5/4 | Jul 9, 2009

Even with no knowledge of Italian government, you can enjoy this hip, un-stodgy, grimly entertaining dissection of it.

| Original Score: A | Jul 2, 2009

The enigmatic Andreotti is the perfect subject for a biopic in the European tradition.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Jun 30, 2009

You may not leave the theater with a firmer grasp of Italian politics, but you will leave with an appreciation of some outstanding filmmaking.

| Original Score: 3.5/4 | Jun 26, 2009

There is sufficient power in the imagery and performances to make Il Divo worth hacking through.

Full Review | Original Score: B | Jun 26, 2009

All in all, this phenomenal film illustrates Alexis de Tocqueville's observation that "The people get the government they deserve." In both meanings of the word, Il Divo is sensational.

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/4 | Jun 5, 2009

Il Divo joins Matteo Garrone's more expansive, more extraordinary Gomorrah -- which contains an even better performance from Servillo -- as a grim portrait of the trouble with modern Italy.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Jun 4, 2009