Hope Gap
Roadside Attractions | Release Date: March 6, 2020 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
58
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 24 Critic Reviews
Positive:
9
Mixed:
15
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
ObserverRex ReedMar 6, 2020
Hope Gap is pithy, engaging, and insightful — the kind of movie we desperately need more of. Read full review
88
The Seattle TimesMoira MacdonaldMar 12, 2020
Hope Gap is a deeply sad film, and maybe not what a lot of us are in the mood for these days, but it’s ultimately uplifting, in its quiet way. Read full review
75
Chicago Sun-TimesRichard RoeperMar 4, 2020
To Annette Bening’s credit, she finds just the right notes to illustrate Grace’s capacity for love, as well as her special gift for never letting up and driving you a little bit crazy. Read full review
75
The Film StageJared MobarakMar 4, 2020
While things do ultimately get heavy-handed at times (Grace comparing Edward’s act to murder is one thing, him comparing it to the utilitarian sacrifice of war is another), it never gets boring. Read full review
75
Entertainment WeeklyLeah GreenblattMar 4, 2020
If Bening’s genteel British accent sometimes feels a little wobbly, her character is by far the most vivid force in the film. Read full review
70
The New York TimesAisha HarrisMar 5, 2020
While you’ve seen this portrait before, and better, Nighy and Bening are so in tune with their characters that such rote renderings are easily forgiven. Read full review
70
Screen DailyTim GriersonSep 8, 2019
A modest, tasteful family drama ... None of this is terribly original, of course, but the leads consistently mine the complexity in Nicholson’s script. Read full review
67
Original-CinJim SlotekMar 12, 2020
The inexorable pace of this marital disintegration is masterfully dictated by its leads, Nighy (whose granite expression remains fairly unchanged whether unhappy with Grace or newly-alive with his new love) and Bening (without whose energy there would be no movie). Read full review
63
Movie NationRoger MooreMay 15, 2020
It’s always lovely to see Bening and Nighy, always a warm delight to set some of this tug of war on the pebbly beaches, rocky crags and chalky cliffs. Otherwise, it’s a “kitchen sink” drama, without many blowups, no big shocks and not a lot that sticks to the ribs after the credits have rolled. Read full review
60
Little White LiesLillian CrawfordDec 29, 2021
Hope Gap doesn’t go as deep into questions of love and loss as Nicholson’s 1993 screenplay for the CS Lewis biopic Shadowlands, but it benefits from the focus on an adult son, for whom the end of his parents’ marriage is shown to be just as hard to accept as it would be for a young child. Read full review
60
The GuardianLeslie FelperinSep 8, 2020
The performances are terrific, especially from Bening who adds yet another deeply nuanced study to her gallery of complicated, smart women of a certain age. Read full review
60
Rolling StonePeter TraversMay 7, 2020
Hope Gap is a deeply personal project for Nicholson, who is performing an autopsy on the marriage of his own parents, with him as the son trying to be faithful and fair to both combatants. Read full review
60
New York Magazine (Vulture)David EdelsteinMar 6, 2020
A brief, sad little piece that doesn’t quite hurdle the blood-brain barrier and rattle you to the core, but it does achieve a half-sublimity, thanks to coastal settings with white cliffs that inspire both awe and thoughts of flinging oneself off, and also thanks to poetry. Read full review
60
Los Angeles TimesGary GoldsteinMar 5, 2020
The movie, although truthful, moving and, at times, profound does more “telling” than “showing” and could have used a more visually commanding approach. Read full review
60
The Hollywood ReporterTodd McCarthySep 8, 2019
Hope Gap may engage the mind up to a point with its pithy dialogue and resourceful players, but it offers little insight into the complexities and wages of wedlock. Read full review
60
VarietyPeter DebrugeSep 8, 2019
Slow and stuffy, like a filmed play, but also considerably more nuanced and mature than your typical relationship drama. Read full review
58
The PlaylistGregory EllwoodSep 9, 2019
The problem, unfortunately, is that Hope Gap is based on Nicholson’s play “The Retreat from Moscow” and the proceedings never really leaves the theater. Despite the director’s attempts to throw in [a few] drone shots to break up the drama and make the affairs inherently more cinematic, there are few scenes that don’t seem as though they would be more intriguing played out in front of a live audience. Read full review
50
Austin ChronicleKimberley JonesMar 11, 2020
The sensation that dogs Hope Gap is that they forgot to roll camera on the most dramatic parts. What’s left over isn’t bad, only underwhelming. Read full review
50
RogerEbert.comChristy LemireMar 6, 2020
A drama that’s tastefully restrained to a fault in a particularly British manner. Read full review
50
Slant MagazineDerek SmithMar 5, 2020
So many grandiose tactics portend a grander revelation than the film’s otherwise low-key three-hander delivers. Read full review
50
Washington PostAlan ZilbermanMar 3, 2020
A slight, yet inoffensive tale, inspiring little more than a shrug, thereby making it hard to either wholeheartedly endorse or strongly criticize. Read full review
50
TheWrapRobert AbeleSep 8, 2019
Well-acted, understanding, and literate ... But when the emotional honesty still doesn’t make for compelling drama, you’re left wondering why, even with all the lights on, there’s a conspicuous lack of galvanizing human detail in the contours of this story. Read full review
40
CineVueChristopher MachellSep 8, 2020
It’s a shame that the real hope gap here is that between expectation and reality. Read full review
40
The GuardianBenjamin LeeSep 8, 2019
Nicholson fails to give his film the specificity and emotional depth required to make it seem necessary. We’ve been here before and nothing in the film’s 100-minute length truly justifies why we’re back here again. Read full review
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