60
Washington Post by Desson Thomson
Brassed Off gets bogged down in sentimentality; and that political agenda is spread on thick.
What are people saying?
What are critics saying?
75
ReelViews by James Berardinelli
Brassed Off! is a traditional feel-good motion picture with an element of social commentary thrown in for good measure.
75
San Francisco Chronicle by Peter Stack
The characters are beautifully drawn in this bittersweet melodrama written and directed by Mark Herman.
50
The Globe and Mail (Toronto) by Rick Groen
As well-meaning elegies go, especially ones to working stiffs prematurely ripped from their subterranean roots, Brassed Off is the pits: It's a miner opus in a minor key.
75
Chicago Sun-Times by Roger Ebert
Brassed Off is a sweet film with a lot of anger at its core.
67
Austin Chronicle by Russell Smith
In the end, though, the undeniable power and emotional richness of this film swing the balance toward the good.
50
Herman isn't sure if he's doing a big-statement picture or a tiny treasure of a comedy, and his confusion throws Brassed Off off balance.
70
The New York Times by Stephen Holden
Brassed Off is shamelessly manipulative and sentimental, but in an agreeably familiar way.
50
Washington Post by Stephen Hunter
An odd duck of a movie, it's really a British Labor Party television commercial bitterly shoehorned into the cheesy format of an American triumph fantasy, with a horn section.
50
San Francisco Examiner by Walter Addiego
Writer-director Mark Herman seems genuinely moved by the plight of the mining communities, but his attempt to translate those feelings into a story shows the effects of hard labor.