"A compelling Spanish film about the withering effects of jealousy in the life of a young monarch whose sexual passion for her husband becomes an obsession." -- Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat, SPIRITUALITY AND HEALTH   "It's like an old Warner Bros. costumer jived with sex -- this could be the movie Errol Flynn always wanted to make, though Bette Davis, cast as Joan, would have killed him." -- David Elliott, SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE   "De Ayala is required to supply too much of the energy in a film that is, overall, far too staid for its subject matter." -- Dan Fienberg, L.A. WEEKLY   "Ends up being mostly about ravishing costumes, eye-filling, wide-screen production design and Joan's wacky decision to stand by her man, no matter how many times he demonstrates that he's a disloyal satyr." -- John Hartl, SEATTLE TIMES   "There's no point of view, no contemporary interpretation of Joan's prefeminist plight, so we're left thinking the only reason to make the movie is because present standards allow for plenty of nudity." -- Chris Hewitt, ST. PAUL PIONEER PRESS   "The film is beautifully mounted, but, more to the point, the issues are subtly presented, managing to walk a fine line with regard to the question of Joan's madness." -- Andy Klein, NEW TIMES   "Less a study in madness or love than a study in schoolgirl obsession." -- Jackie Loohauis, MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL   "The film benefits from a phenomenal central performance by Lopez de Ayala." -- Maitland McDonagh, TV GUIDE'S MOVIE GUIDE   "Forget the Psychology 101 study of romantic obsession and just watch the procession of costumes in castles and this won't seem like such a bore." -- Roger Moore, ORLANDO SENTINEL   "focuses on Joan's raging hormones and sledgehammers the audience with Spanish inquisitions about her “madness” so much that I became mad that I wasted 123 minutes and $9.50 on this 21st century torture device." -- John A. Nesbit, CULTUREDOSE.NET

Hot Pick   "Shame on writer/director Vicente Aranda for making a florid biopic about mad queens, obsessive relationships, and rampant adultery so dull." -- Rod Armstrong, REEL.COM

Cream of the Crop ROTTEN 46% Avg. Rating: 5.9/10   "Adroit but finally a trifle flat, Mad Love doesn't galvanize its outrage the way, say, Jane Campion might have done, but at least it possesses some." -- Michael Atkinson, VILLAGE VOICE   "There's a little violence and lots of sex in a bid to hold our attention, but it grows monotonous after a while, as do Joan and Philip's repetitive arguments, schemes and treachery." -- Gary Dowell, DALLAS MORNING NEWS   "Nothing more or less than an outright bodice-ripper -- it should have ditched the artsy pretensions and revelled in the entertaining shallows." -- Rick Groen, GLOBE AND MAIL   "The trouble with making this queen a thoroughly modern maiden is that it also makes her appear foolish and shallow rather than, as was more likely, a victim of mental illness." -- Kirk Honeycutt, HOLLYWOOD REPORTER   "Equal parts bodice-ripper and plodding costume drama." -- Loren King, CHICAGO TRIBUNE   "A sexy, peculiar and always entertaining costume drama set in Renaissance Spain, and the fact that it's based on true events somehow makes it all the more compelling." -- Mick LaSalle, SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE   "An often watchable, though goofy and lurid, blast of a costume drama set in the late 15th century." -- Elvis Mitchell, NEW YORK TIMES   "Like an Afterschool Special with costumes by Gianni Versace, Mad Love looks better than it feels." -- Wesley Morris, BOSTON GLOBE   "Overwrought, melodramatic bodice-ripper." -- V.A. Musetto, NEW YORK POST   "A bodice-ripper for intellectuals." -- Michael O'Sullivan, WASHINGTON POST ( More... )

  "A long-winded and stagy session of romantic contrivances that never really gels like the shrewd feminist fairy tale it could have been."
-- Frank Ochieng, FILMCRITIC.COM