An uneasy mix of comedy and ideas, which flatters both itself and its audience that it's smarter and wryer than it really is.
Comment
11/24/09
Cold Souls (2009)
75
%
Tomatometer
How does the Tomatometer work 
Reviews Counted:100
Fresh:75
Rotten:25
Average Rating:6.4/10
Consensus: Straddling existential drama and surrealist comedy, Sophie Barthes debut feature is beautifully shot and full of inventive quandaries.
Synopsis: In response to shiny, bigger, better American consumerism comes COLD SOULS, first-time feature director Sophie Barthes' surreal comedy in which souls can be extracted and traded as commodities.... [More]
Starring: Paul Giamatti, David Strathairn, Dina Korzun, Katheryn Winnick
Director: Sophie Barthes
Reviews for Cold Souls
Top CriticMuch of cinema is so predictable these days. Cold Souls isn’t.
11/22/09
Top CriticSmart and funny, it's an amusing showcase for a great idea and the terrific Giamatti.
11/22/09
Top CriticI love the bizarreness of the premise about a man who feels so heavy by the weight of his soul he puts it into cold storage, and although Cold Souls doesn't quite gel in the final analysis, there is much about this dream-inspired film that is wonderful
11/20/09
Top CriticThe film is at times hilarious, and yet it is surprisingly melancholy. Giamatti is an astounding actor, as anyone would know who saw his recent portrayal of John Adams, and he here gives a sterling performance, one that is ferociously comic and anarchic,
07/21/09
Top CriticCold Souls is odd and gloomy but the deadpan comedy and introspective musings are engaging and Giamatti’s tour de force is worth the price of admission.
11/13/09
Moving from antiseptic clinics to the streets of St. Petersburg, there's something appropriately chilly about "Cold Souls." But if it lacks warmth or a tidy ending, it is very funny, and has plenty of intellect. Much more than a chickpea's worth.
11/13/09
The credible production design impresses, the camerawork offers an exquisite chill and Giamatti is in his pomp.
11/13/09
For those who like Charlie Kaufman on paper but occasionally find themselves a little tested by his self-conscious meanderings in practice, the hilarious Cold Souls is a pleasingly tight and subtle execution of an eye-opening concept.
11/13/09
The writer-director Sophie Barthes does her best to keep things moving, but the film runs out of steam about halfway through.
11/13/09
Top CriticThe pedantic borrowings from Kaufman are obvious. Is there any other "–esque" to be detected? There's Allen-esque, but that comes with the Kaufman-esque territory. Maybe Huxley-esque? The anxiety of influence hangs heavily here.
11/13/09
Top CriticA trippy premise literally dreamed up by director Sophie Barthes, it is pensive and ponderous, offering a nod and wink to the likes of Philip K Dick and Charlie Kaufman. But it’s also peculiarly remote.
11/13/09
What might sound on paper like heavy-handed flick that tries to shove clever-clever ideas down your throat is nothing of the sort. Cold Souls is funny, thought-provoking, often witty and always boasts a tremendous lightness of touch.
11/13/09
Competently made but remarkably smug for a film unique only in its paucity of original ideas.
11/13/09
This clever, surreal comedy is closer to the more whimsical work of a young Woody Allen.
11/13/09
Top CriticWriter-director Sophie Barthes can't decide whether to take the idea seriously or comedically, with the result that it works neither as comedy nor drama.
11/13/09
While the idea's neat, there's no attempt to explore the weighty implications. It's a likeably quirky movie, mind, with Giamatti's hangdog features meaning a smile's never too far from your lips.
11/13/09
The film itself seems to inhabit the soul of another screenwriter, Charlie Kaufman, though it's more a respectful nod than a blatant steal. Barthes shows enough wit and daring of her own to mark her as one to watch.
11/13/09
Hugely enjoyable, frequently funny and ultimately thought-provoking comedy with a delightfully absurd script.
11/13/09
Like a collision of Charlie Kaufman and Woody Allen, this dark comedy is a surreal gem.
11/13/09
Latest News for Cold Souls
November 22, 2009:
Win Double Passes to Cold Souls
In the tradition of Charlie Kaufman and Woody Allen comes writer-director Sophie Bathes' debut Cold Souls an existential comedy about an actor (Paul Giamatti, playing himself)... More...
August 06, 2009:
Critics Consensus: It's Quiet For G.I. Joe. Too Quiet.
This week at the movies, we got real American heroes (G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, starring Dennis Quaid and Sienna Miller); kitchen chronicles (Julie & Julia, starring Meryl... More...
June 21, 2009:
Trailer & Poster review 
More...
What’s Hot On RT
Other News
Fresh Links
Featured
Dressing Wonderland
Tim Burton's costume designer talks to Movieline about her long collaboration with the filmmaker and Johnny Depp.
Wes Anderson on Fox
The director talks about puppetry perfection and his film, Fantastic Mr. Fox
Win Glee DVDs
We've got 20 copies of the hit TV series' Pilot Episode to giveaway.
Win tickets to Cold Souls
Double passes up for grabs to the new comedy starring Paul Giamatti.
Follow Rotten Tomatoes on Twitter
Get all the latest movie updates, reviews, interviews and features here.
Competitions
Win Star Wars prizes
Enough Prequel, Original Trilogy and Family Guy DVDs to fill a space cruiser
Win the entire 007 collection
Everything from Dr. No to Quantum of Solace could be yours.
Win Fight Club Special Editions and more
We're giving away the 10th Anniversary Blu-ray, plus Braveheart and the Rocky collection
IGN RSS Feeds