67
Metascore
12 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 88Slant MagazineClayton DillardSlant MagazineClayton DillardIt advocates risk and consciousness as the only means to overcome the cold, repressive hand of so-called normative thought.
- 88Chicago TribuneGene SiskelChicago TribuneGene SiskelThe story is not sensationalistic, although its love scene could not be more emotional. It`s a gentle story of someone being brought in from the cold.
- 80Washington PostPaul AttanasioWashington PostPaul AttanasioThis is an astonishingly polished and nuanced first film. It deserves to be celebrated, not quibbled with.
- 75TV Guide MagazineTV Guide MagazineThough not without problems, Desert Hearts is a triumph for director Donna Deitch and an inspiration for any independent filmmaker.
- 70Time OutTime OutDeitch is well served by Shaver as the teacher and Charbonneau as the young seducer. Best of all, however, is the way the movie dignifies all its characters.
- 63Chicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertChicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertI might have enjoyed Desert Hearts more if it had been more subtle and observant about the two women. It might have been a better movie if it had been about discovery instead of seduction.
- 60The New York TimesVincent CanbyThe New York TimesVincent CanbyDesert Hearts has no voice or style of its own. It's as flat as a recorded message from the telephone company.
- 50Los Angeles TimesSheila BensonLos Angeles TimesSheila BensonFor a story about sexual awakening and discovery, Desert Hearts is a taut, fatally careful movie with no looseness--and no abandon--to it and no feeling for detail that would let these characters really live.
- 50Christian Science MonitorDavid SterrittChristian Science MonitorDavid SterrittThe movie seems sincere in wanting to explore rather than exploit its subject, but any potential insights are cut off by too-obvious characterizations and plot twists. [04 Apr 1986, p.23]