The Lady | Rotten Tomatoes

The Lady

R

Released Apr 13, 2012

2 hr. 7 min.

Drama

Biography

List

36%

72 Reviews

Tomatometer

62%

5,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

The daughter (Michelle Yeoh) of a martyred Burmese general returns to her homeland and becomes a proponent of democracy.

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Critics Consensus

Even as The Lady focuses on Aung San Suu Kyi's romantic life parallel to her political ascendancy, Luc Besson's saccharine direction is too concerned with deifying the Nobel Prize-winner for her humanity to actually shine through.

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nilufer e

I didn't feel the amazing director Luc Besson's presence at any time, it was a good drama regarding a difficult choice made by a strong woman between her family and country which I disagree.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

Audience Member

This movie is amazing and i really love this!! I recommend for people who love to watch about politics and about other countries. I just hate that this revolution is happening back in Myanmar in 2021.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/10/23

Full Review

kevin w

Although directed by hotshot cowboy Luc Besson this biographic about one of the leaders that took Burma to democracy nonetheless feels like many other bio-pics wherein the go-to points are gone to, and without a great deal of flair. If it's a history lesson one seeks, you could do worst, and immersion in the life another culture is always a good thing. The leads do admirably (always a fan of Yeoh, which is why I showed up, and she could use helming other work) but, as I said, the story only follows an overview of the lives involved, like a great many other biographies.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

03/30/23

Full Review

Audience Member

After seeing this movie, am now inspired not to sacrifice myself but to eat Burmese food!

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

01/29/23

Full Review

Serge L

Very nice reenactment of Aung San stuck in Burma to combat the miltary junta. She was the catalyst, acting slowly but relentlessly toward democratie. Ironically, the junta motivated her to start the fight. The film was made before Burma arrived there so may have contributed some help. The people in the film are unusually good-looking, maybe it is common in these countries. Even the bad guys here seems sensitive to beauty. Bad guys that probably belong more to the mafia than a dictatorship.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

01/28/16

Full Review

Audience Member

Very nice reenactment of Aung San stuck in Burma to combat the miltary junta. She was the catalyst, acting slowly but relentlessly toward democratie. Ironically, the junta motivated her to start the fight. The film was made before Burma arrived there so may have contributed some help. The people in the film are unusually good-looking, maybe it is common in these countries. Even the bad guys here seems sensitive to beauty. Bad guys that probably belong more to the mafia than a dictatorship.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

02/20/23

Full Review

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Luc Besson

Director

Michelle Yeoh

Aung San Suu Kyi

David Thewlis

Michael Aris

Jonathan Raggett

Kim Aris

Jonathan Woodhouse

Alexander Aris

Susan Wooldridge

Lucinda Philips

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Candice Frederick

Reel Talk Online

Screenwriter Rebecca Frayn's full feature debut is alluring, fascinating to watch and, most importantly, makes you care about Suu Kyi.

Sep 8, 2017

Full Review

Liam Lacey

Globe and Mail

The Lady is a slog, a two-and-a-half hour, painted-on-wood exercise in political iconography.

Rated: 1/4

Apr 27, 2012

Full Review

John Anderson

Newsday

"The Lady" is a two-hour trip into earnestness, from which audiences will want a little liberation of their own.

Rated: 2/4

Apr 27, 2012

Full Review

Jordan M. Smith

IONCINEMA.com

His story telling clings hard to sentimentality rather than historical facts, but thanks to an Oscar worthy performance by Yeoh and a stark realism...The Lady makes for a powerful, if not weighty, biopic.

Feb 9, 2020

Full Review

Stephen Saito

Moveable Fest

Surely the definitive biography of Suu Kyi has yet to be made, but even if "The Lady" requires footnotes, it's intriguing enough to inspire one to go look them up.

Dec 20, 2018

Full Review

Kaleem Aftab

The List

It takes some doing to rob the biopic of Nobel prize-winning pro-democracy Burmese activist Aung San Suu Kyi of drama and tension. But, with his skewed view of history and ropey storytelling, Besson manages it.

Rated: 2/5

Nov 6, 2018

Full Review

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Synopsis

The daughter (Michelle Yeoh) of a martyred Burmese general returns to her homeland and becomes a proponent of democracy.

Director: Luc Besson
Screenwriter: Rebecca Frayn
Distributor: Cohen Media Group
Production Co: Siam Movies, France 2 Cinéma, Canal+, France Télévision, EuropaCorp, Left Bank Pictures
Rating: R (Violence|Some Bloody Images)
Genre: Drama, Biography
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Apr 13, 2012, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Aug 10, 2016

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