Brigitte is preparing for the role of the famous French singer Barbara. The actress carefully studies the character, gestures, manners, and intonations. She learns the music scores, mimics her facial expression, but, as Brigitte does and more and more of it, she gradually merges with the character. The director is also preparing to shoot the film: he studies archival footage and painstakingly selects the music. He is inspired and even possessed—but with Barbara or with her new incarnation?
On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 84% based on 19 reviews, and an average rating of 7/10.[7] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 68 out of 100, based on 7 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[8]
Jay Weissberg of Variety praised Jeanne Balibar's performance in the film, saying: "She has not only Barbara's look but also her gestures down pat, and the uncanny way in which the editing conflates actress with subject keeps interest relatively high."[9] Leslie Felperin of The Hollywood Reporter called the film "a self-reflexive and sometimes screamingly self-indulgent work that's strictly for hardcore French viewers and festivals."[10]
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