Edie

Empire by

Fleeting charm and pretty packaging will leave you partially satisfied but later craving a bolder film that puts its battle-worn title character to better use.

Variety by Alissa Simon

An uneven dramedy from U.K. commercials helmer Simon Hunter, working from a screenplay by Elizabeth O’Halloran that has a big problem in tone and beaucoup clichéd contrivance.

The Hollywood Reporter by Frank Scheck

Featuring an excellent performance by veteran British actress Sheila Hancock (The Boy in the Striped Pajamas), who is clearly up to both the challenging emotional and physical demands of the title role, Edie earns points for good intentions but never quite succeeds in managing to scale its thematic summit.

The New York Times by Jeannette Catsoulis

Hancock is wasted here, as are the meaty dramatic threads that Elizabeth O’Halloran’s formulaic screenplay never bothers to pull.

The Associated Press by Mark Kennedy

The uplifting Edie is worthy of your time, mostly thanks to Hancock and Scotland’s natural beauty.

The Guardian by Peter Bradshaw

We get some lovely photography of the Highlands and the breathtaking landscapes all around Inverness, and Hancock is always a potent presence. But she could have done more, conveyed more, with a story that wasn’t so basically simplistic and familiar.

Los Angeles Times by Robert Abele

Something tells me a documentary on Hancock simply navigating the rigors of Edie, as well as acting it to the fullest, might have been more readily inspiring.

The Observer (UK) by Simran Hans

With its drab, overpowering score, this tedious drama is nearly as gruelling as the trek up Scotland’s Suilven.

The Telegraph by Tim Robey

The film is way too much like a never-give-up Saga commercial for its own good.