Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Mild
- paranoid
- claustrophobic
- eerie
- late night viewing
- arthouse thriller night
What critics said
Critics found an atmospheric but uneven psychological thriller whose stylish direction and performances could not overcome its convoluted, emotionally distant plotting.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Delphine’s post-publication creative crisis is intensified by her involvement with an obsessive admirer and ghost-writing anxieties.
The story repeatedly destabilizes the boundary between Delphine’s perceptions, writing, and external events.
Elle’s admiration and closeness to Delphine develop into obsessive interference in her personal and creative life.
Book signings, literary work, and private residences in Paris frame Delphine’s increasingly enclosed emotional world.
Films like Based on a True Story, and why
Single White Female
psychological obsession, unstable identity, and claustrophobic female-centered suspense
The Tenant
creative crisis, reality distortion, and eerie psychological manipulation
Persona
female friendship turning into paranoid psychological entanglement
Movie Details
- Director
- Roman Polanski
- Release Date
- 2017-11-01
- Runtime
- 97 min
- Rating
- 5.7 / 10 (528)
Cast
- Emmanuelle Seigner
- Eva Green
- Vincent Perez
- Dominique Pinon
- Brigitte Roüan
- Camille Chamoux
- Josée Dayan
- Noémie Lvovsky
- Leonello Brandolini
- Édith Le Merdy
Common questions
- What is Based on a True Story about?
- A novelist in creative crisis finds her life and identity invaded by an admirer whose devotion may conceal a more disturbing agenda.
- What is Based on a True Story like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Based on a True Story as measured, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as layered.
- Is Based on a True Story violent?
- Only mildly. Ember rates the violence in Based on a True Story as mild.
- What did critics think of Based on a True Story?
- Critics found an atmospheric but uneven psychological thriller whose stylish direction and performances could not overcome its convoluted, emotionally distant plotting.
- Which films are like Based on a True Story?
- Films with a similar feel include Single White Female, The Tenant, and Persona.
- How long is Based on a True Story?
- Based on a True Story runs 97 minutes.
