60
A minor but satisfying entry in the "what if" historical-fantasy genre.
What are people saying?
What are critics saying?
40
A handsome contraption that's never very engaging, let alone convincing.
50
New York Daily News by Elizabeth Weitzman
Though all the elements are in place, there's not much magic to be found in Death Defying Acts, an intermittently entertaining but surprisingly modest romance from Gillian Armstrong.
38
The ingredients are there for a cute con game, but instead the movie turns out to be a mushy melodrama.
30
The New York Times by Neil Genzlinger
Ms. Zeta-Jones is too elegant for the lowlife she's supposed to be, Ms. Ronan isn't endearing enough to be a ragamuffin, and, under Gillian Armstrong's direction, never for a minute do you believe they're mother and daughter.
50
The Hollywood Reporter by Ray Bennett
What it lacks is a villain, and magic without danger is simply a parlor trick, which is what the film becomes.
80
This won't be remembered as one of the prodigiously talented Armstrong's great films (My Brilliant Career, High Tide, Little Women), but it's still 90 percent better than everything else out there.