fɹˈɛntʃ kɹˈɪɾɪks hæd hˈeɪɾᵻd ðə lˈeɪdi ænd ðə dˈuːk bɪkˈʌz ɪt poːɹtɹˈeɪd ðə fɹˈɛntʃ ɹˌɛvəlˈuːʃənˌɛɹiz ɪn ɐ nˈɛɡətˌɪv lˈaɪt ɪnstˈɛd ʌv æz ɐ mˈuːvmənt fɔːɹ dʒˈʌstɪs; ðeɪ hæd fˈaʊnd ɪt slˈoʊ ænd ˈɪɹᵻtˌeɪɾɪŋ ænd sˌoʊ wɜːɹ ɛkspˈɛktɪŋ ɐnˈʌðɚ ɹˈoʊmɚ fˈɪlm tə bˈiː "lˈaɪk wˈɑːtʃɪŋ pˈeɪnt dɹˈaɪ".
French critics had hated The Lady and the Duke  because it portrayed the French revolutionaries in a negative light instead of as a movement for justice; they had found it slow and irritating and so were expecting another Rohmer film to be "like watching paint dry".