50
Philadelphia Inquirer by Carrie Rickey
Not a movie, it's a museum catalog of gorgeously rendered portraits and landscapes. What a crashing disappointment.
What are people saying?
What are critics saying?
75
Displays so much promise with its beautiful cinematography and superb portrayal by Cate Blanchett that you scarcely notice (or even care) that the story is a bit thin.
80
Washington Post by Desson Thomson
Has an intoxicating, old-fashioned feel about it. We are instantly lost in the period, thanks to cinematographer Dion Beebe's almost haloed images and Joseph Bennett's authentic, restrained production design.
40
Chicago Reader by Jonathan Rosenbaum
I never thought that a thoughtful director like Gillian Armstrong would get trapped in such Euro-nonsense, but I guess there's a first time for everything.
50
Armstrong is fortunate to have the luminous Blanchett, who, along with her equally fine supporting cast, helps compensate for what the film lacks.
50
Entertainment Weekly by Lisa Schwarzbaum
A frustratingly inert story, a bookend to last year's wooden ''Captain Corelli's Mandolin.''
38
It isn't as ridiculous as this year's other version of a local best seller set during WWII ("Captain Corelli's Mandolin"), but it's arguably even less entertaining.
60
Film Threat by Michael Dequina
The radiant Blanchett makes Charlotte's individual journey from lovelorn lady to independent woman believable and involving, and that's ultimately what counts the most -- even if the destination is less than ideal.
30
The New York Times by Stephen Holden
The movie works so diligently to convey a spirit of heroic uplift and fails so completely that it feels like a tragic misfire.
40
A bland and dour screen version of Sebastian Faulks' highly engrossing bestseller.