80
Screen International by Allan Hunter
It is a governing sense of restraint that lends the film such an emotional kick, and breathes fresh life into an old classic.
What are people saying?
What are critics saying?
80
An outstanding cast savours performing a play that has stood the test of time. Avoiding sentimentality, this is a valuable rejoinder to those who would sugar-coat mass slaughter.
40
The Guardian by Charles Bramesco
The character dynamics are still as rich as when Sherriff first realised them, and C Company’s supporting servicemen add a few complementary hues to this portrait of militarised despair.... And yet Dibb’s direction doesn’t leave the actors enough room to breathe.
80
CineVue by Christopher Machell
Journey’s End is a worthy adaptation, offering a sombre psychological depiction of innocence lost.
80
Claflin and Bettany stand out among an impressive ensemble in a harrowing, powerful WW1 drama well worth enduring.
80
CineVue by Maximilian Von Thun
Despite paying no attention to events beyond the trenches, Journey’s End is nonetheless deeply political in its depiction of the class tensions that characterised the war.
83
The Playlist by Oliver Lyttelton
Journey’s End is about as good an adaptation as you can imagine of the material, and a film with compassion and humanity that goes far beyond its perhaps uncompromisingly prestige-y exterior.
80
The Guardian by Peter Bradshaw
The first world war is one of the 20th century’s oldest, grimmest tales of futility and slaughter. Dibb and his excellent cast put new passion into it.
60
Perhaps the play’s overfamiliarity is the one thing holding this back in the end: you’re expecting it to cross the barrier from solid to gut-wrenching, and that never quite happens.
60
The Hollywood Reporter by Todd McCarthy
Although well made and acted, the real question surrounding this microscopic look at men enduring the severe pressure of trench warfare is what relevance it may have for a modern audience. The answer is, probably not much.