Suite Française

Total Film by

A much-admired text is respectfully brought to the screen in a film that nonetheless struggles under the burden of its war movie clichés.

Empire by Anna Smith

Sterling performances lift the occasionally soapy storyline in this semi-successful adaptation.

Time Out London by Dave Calhoun

The film is not without its problems – Michelle Williams is an elusive lead, and a wide array of characters come at the expense of depth – but it’s a knotty, thoughtful piece of work nonetheless.

Variety by Guy Lodge

Clumsy storytelling decisions, however, can’t entirely get in the way of a good story, and it’s when Suite francaise focuses on the simplest human dynamics of its yarn that it forges a sincere emotional connection.

The Hollywood Reporter by Leslie Felperin

Has sturdy production values, a tony cast and middlebrow tastefulness up the wazoo, but barely any soul, bite or genuine passion.

Movie Nation by Roger Moore

The central romance earns short shrift, with all these characters to service and all those story lines to get in. It doesn’t help that Williams’ Lucille doesn’t give herself over to the passion and never quite sells us this “relationship.” Schoenaerts broods over just what he might be putting on the line, but Williams is so cool that we don’t buy into the risks taken.

The Telegraph by Tim Robey

Well-played and divertingly handsome, it’s one of those pedigreed visions of love and war which backs away from specifics, reassuring us almost to death with its lavish craft. It’s thoroughly easy to sit through, when it should probably have been harder.