Critics Have Spoken on Oscar Isaac’s Drama ‘In The Hand Of Dante’ As Rotten Tomatoes Score Is Revealed

Julian Schnabel’s new drama In the Hand of Dante has arrived with a major cast and a story that mixes crime, history, art, and one of the most famous works in literature. The film stars Oscar Isaac, Gal Gadot, Gerard Butler, John Malkovich, Al Pacino, Jason Momoa, and Martin Scorsese, but early reviews suggest that the ambitious project has not connected with many critics.

The movie is directed by Schnabel, who also co-wrote the screenplay with Louise Kugelberg. It is based on Nick Tosches’ 2002 novel of the same name and follows two connected stories from different time periods.

In the modern-day storyline, a writer named Nick Tosches becomes involved in a dangerous mission after being asked by a mafia boss to steal a handwritten copy of Dante Alighieri’s The Divine Comedy from the Vatican library. The story also follows Dante himself in the 14th century as he searches for inspiration while creating his legendary work.

The film explores themes of art, love, obsession, and the search for meaning. Through the parallel stories, In the Hand of Dante connects two men separated by centuries but linked by their desire to understand beauty and creativity.

Despite its interesting idea and impressive cast, critics have mostly given the movie negative reviews. The film currently holds a 34% score on Rotten Tomatoes based on 29 reviews.

The New York Times critic Jeannette Catsoulis praised some parts of the film, including its visual style, but felt the overall experience did not work. She noted that the performances are very intense and that the black-and-white scenes look beautiful, but described the movie as an “overlong and disastrously ill-judged project.”

RogerEbert.com critic Brian Tallerico also gave the film a negative review, comparing its problems to other ambitious projects that leave audiences confused. He wrote that, much like Megalopolis, there is a feeling that “only the filmmaker fully understands what in Dante’s fiery Hell all of this is supposed to mean.”

Other critics had similar concerns about the movie’s story and structure. Brian Eggert of Deep Focus Review said the film’s ideas about art and commerce are interesting but felt they were not supported by a strong emotional story. He wrote that the movie’s commentary was not enough to overcome its “lackluster love story.”

Mark Dujsik of Mark Reviews Movies also criticized the film’s execution, saying it feels like exaggerated stories that do not fully come together. Meanwhile, Brian Orndorf of Blu-ray.com called the film a difficult watch but admitted that it still has moments of interesting ideas and sudden bursts of energy.

Not every criticism focused only on the story. Some reviewers pointed to the film’s unusual tone, long runtime, and complicated narrative as major problems. Several critics felt Schnabel’s vision was too difficult to follow, even though they recognized the creativity behind the project.

With its large cast and unusual mix of historical drama and crime thriller elements, In the Hand of Dante was clearly designed to be a bold and artistic film. However, early reactions suggest that many critics found the movie’s ambition stronger than its final result.

While audiences may still respond differently, the first wave of reviews shows that Schnabel’s latest film is likely to become one of the more debated releases of the year.

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