50
Besson responded to something in the story that prompted him to step outside his comfort zone, but exactly what that was is unclear in this well-intentioned but pedestrian retelling of a stirring true story.
What are people saying?
What are critics saying?
40
The New York Times by A.O. Scott
Paralyzes history and human drama with relentless hagiography.
40
Los Angeles Times by Betsy Sharkey
We have a fumbling and fawning - if sincere - tribute to the living legend and a director who has never seemed more out of his element.
50
This handsomely mounted picture is, at nearly 2 1/2 hours, far too long and indigestible for a film whose protagonist spends most of her screen time under house arrest.
40
Who would have thought that the man behind such wackadoo fantasies as "The Professional" and "The Fifth Element" was capable of being so bloody boring?
40
Village Voice by Melissa Anderson
Impersonally directed by cinéma du look pioneer Luc Besson, The Lady was written by first-timer Rebecca Frayn, whose script has all the elegance and nuance of Google Translate.
63
Slant Magazine by Michael Nordine
The goings-on can rarely be called truly compelling, even if they're almost always generally pleasant.
50
There's something immobile at the center of The Lady, a kind of Botoxed biopic with an unlikely director - Luc Besson - manning the syringe.
42
This is an inspiring and important story, but worthiness doesn't automatically equal quality. Had Besson looked for unexpected ways into Suu Kyi's life, or even had he indulged his old impulses and made a slick, surface-y Luc Besson movie, then The Lady might've been more memorable.
40
The Guardian by Peter Bradshaw
One of those agonisingly well-intentioned films whose heart is in the right place, but everything else is wrong.