Click here to copy URL

Marianne & Leonard: Words of Love

2019

Nick Broomfield

Documentary, Self: Leonard Cohen, Marianne Ihlen

6.8

358

Documentary "Marianne & Leonard: Words of Love" is a beautiful yet tragic love story between Leonard Cohen and his Norwegian muse Marianne Ihlen. Their love began on the idyllic Greek island of Hydra in 1960 as part of a bohemian community of foreign artists, writers, and musicians. The film follows their relationship from the early days on Hydra, a humble time of “free love” and open marriage, to how their love evolved when Leonard became a successful musician. [+]

	Media	Author	Review
		Steve Pond The Wrap	"It’s a gentle, rhapsodic film, an emotional change of pace for its director and a moving portrait of a love that still resonates."
		Todd McCarthy The Hollywood Reporter	"'Marianne & Leonard' more makes note of the depth and complexities of Cohen’s life than it gets to the bottom of it all."
		Dennis Harvey Variety	"[It] ends up being a recap of Cohen’s life and career — not exactly fresh documentary terrain. Still, it’s an entertaining flashback to an always-diverting countercultural epoch"
		Amber Wilkinson The Times	"In its best moments this is a vivid evocation of the 'free love' period and a testimony to an enduring, if difficult affection between two people (…) Rating: ★★★ (out of 5)"
		Brian Tallerico rogerebert.com	"It has a cumulative emotional power, especially if you love Cohen’s work as much as I do (...) [A] beautiful testament to their unique relationship and the unique place on which it formed."
		David Fear Rolling Stone	"What makes this film unmissable, however, is the fact that we get Marianne’s story more or less in full as well."
		David Ehrlich IndieWire	"The rare moments when 'Words of Love' really digs into Cohen’s behavior tend to reinforce how little we know of the woman he left behind."
		Andrew Anthony The Guardian	"Tender, funny and hauntingly moving"
		Clarisse Loughrey The Independent	"Bloomfield’s approach is too wrapped up in the old obsessions with male genius and the rock-and-roll lifestyle to really give Ihlen her dues (…) Rating: ★★ (out of 5)"
		Paddy Kehoe RTÉ	"Marianne Ihlen, a Norwegian woman, was a constant presence throughout the singer Leonard Cohen's life. 'Marianne and Leonard: Words of Love' documents their relationship evenly and sensitively (…) Rating: ★★★★ (out of 5)"
		José Teodoro Now Toronto	"Their story may be too poignant and too complex to be lassoed into a workmanlike documentary such as this, but it’s what we have and it’s very much worth watching."
		Paul Whitington Irish Independent	"Broomfield’s film has an unhurried, digressive style that seems oddly appropriate to its dreamy, quasi-mythical story (...) There are many amusing talking heads (…) Rating: ★★★★ (out of 5)"
		Tara Brady Irish Times	"Broomfield maintains a delicate balance throughout (...) For some reviewers, 'Marianne and Leonard' is hagiography; for others, it’s a hatchet job. Neither of these polarities pertains (…) Rating: ★★★★ (out of 5)"

Return to movie

We encourage you to check the reviews' original sources. Intellectual property rights of these reviews belong to their authors and/or the correspondent media from which they have been extracted. If you'd like to help us to add more reviews to your favorite movies, just send us a message.