The Duke Of Burgundy

[Peter Strickland's] new movie has more going on than cinematic mind games.

There's voyeurism, fetishism, bondage, lingerie and high-flown naughtiness galore, but that's hardly the movie's most conspicuous achievement.

The Duke of Burgundy is no mere style exercise or slavish homage. Strickland finds both humour and pathos in the situation of Cynthia and Evelyn, who are every bit as trapped as the insects they collect and catalogue.

This is voyeurism of a brilliant, deeply refined order. If the MPAA had a shot at rating Strickland's fantasy, they would try to condemn it without being able to explain why.

A tiny, tasteful throwback to more innocent times, when actresses with exotic names would strip off their costumes while embracing far-fetched scenarios - and one another.

It's an impressive achievement: the rendering of a private and extremely particular world in terms that any lover will understand.

The Duke of Burgundy is that rare thing that almost every movie promises, yet fails to deliver: it is something that you've never seen before.

Some of the most sophisticated filmmaking of the year married to one of the most humane, insightful stories.

It's a visceral experience that begs multiple viewings not to necessarily understand meaning, but to wrap your head around the abstraction.

It would be interesting to see how a daring female filmmaker would follow the story's fetishized elements toward their logical trajectories.

This is a very well acted movie with an interesting plot. The relationship between Cynthia and Evelyn is very complicated and interesting.

The core of psychological believability is what lifts Duke out of the category of "pretty pastiche."