82
Metascore
39 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 91Entertainment WeeklyLisa SchwarzbaumEntertainment WeeklyLisa SchwarzbaumThe movie is smart, serious, and adult about something that matters, but not at the expense of a kind of awful, sensual revelry as le Carré's capacious plot hurtles to its big finish.
- 90Film ThreatFilm ThreatThe film is able to be a thriller, a political statement and a haunting romance all at once.
- 90New York Magazine (Vulture)Ken TuckerNew York Magazine (Vulture)Ken TuckerRalph Fiennes gives one of the year's subtlest, yet most exciting, screen performances.
- 88Rolling StonePeter TraversRolling StonePeter TraversDirector Fernando Meirelles and screenwriter Jeffrey Caine put a human face on John le Carre's novel of sex, lies and dirty politics in modern Africa. Prepare for a thrilling ride.
- 80The Hollywood ReporterKirk HoneycuttThe Hollywood ReporterKirk HoneycuttHis (Fernando Meirelles) impressionistic, guerilla style of filmmaking works surprisingly well in capturing the hypnotic urgency of le Carre's fiction. And his viewpoint is less British and more Third World.
- 80VarietyTodd McCarthyVarietyTodd McCarthySucceeds in capturing the book's essential themes and concerns, albeit in a hectic style that could not be more antithetical to that of the literary master of international intrigue.
- 80L.A. WeeklyElla TaylorL.A. WeeklyElla TaylorA smart, beautiful piece of storytelling, attentive to Le Carré's broad intent, while boldly taking a knife to his more egregious longueurs.
- 75PremiereGlenn KennyPremiereGlenn KennyWith almost palpable anger, Meirelles hammers home the point that crushing poverty is only one problem for Africa that the West needs to do something about.
- 75ReelViewsJames BerardinelliReelViewsJames BerardinelliTalky and intelligent, and never takes the cheap way out. It's also something of a downer.
- 70The New YorkerAnthony LaneThe New YorkerAnthony LaneThink about it a day later, though, and its hectic swoop from romance to thriller to campaign manifesto leaves oddly little afterglow. The gardener is the only constant here; so much else burns up and blows away.