Official Secrets
IFC Films | Release Date: August 30, 2019 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
63
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 28 Critic Reviews
Positive:
18
Mixed:
9
Negative:
1
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
60
EmpireIan FreerOct 14, 2019
Official Secrets is a timely, ambitious if broad take on a complex subject, but remains engaging and entertaining. anchored by Keira Knightley on great form. Read full review
60
Rolling StonePeter TraversAug 28, 2019
Official Secrets remains a compelling tale of injustice on an individual and global level. It’s a shame that it hasn’t been told better, but give it points for being told at all. Read full review
60
The GuardianBenjamin LeeFeb 1, 2019
Official Secrets is a well-intentioned retelling of a daunting act of courage and as a vehicle for informing more people of who Katharine Gun is, it’s effective, carefully laying out the incremental stakes as well as her noble intentions. Credit for this however lies almost solely with Knightley. Read full review
60
VarietyAmy NicholsonFeb 1, 2019
The crux of Gun’s struggle is that she risked everything to tell the truth, and the war happened anyway. Ultimately, her personal story was neither uplifting, nor tragic, which means the film surrounding her doesn’t hurtle toward a satisfying arc. Read full review
58
IndieWireJude DryAug 31, 2019
Like its heroine, Official Secrets is shouting into an echo chamber. Read full review
50
RogerEbert.comGlenn KennyAug 30, 2019
Along the way there’s a scene of a secret meeting in a parking garage that’s more realistic, maybe, than the shadowy one in “All The President’s Men,” but not nearly as gripping. This problem persists throughout. Read full review
50
The New York TimesManohla DargisAug 28, 2019
The director Gavin Hood, who wrote the script with Sara Bernstein and Gregory Bernstein, fits the pieces together coherently, no small thing given the complications. But the characters are malnourished and Hood’s attempts to build suspense often fall flat because he leans hard on genre conventions, on dark shadows, ominous music and abrupt sounds straight from a horror flick. Read full review
50
TheWrapRobert AbeleAug 27, 2019
A capably rendered, urgently argued portrait in courage that never quite rises above curious-footnote status. Read full review
50
The Film StageDan MeccaFeb 5, 2019
The story inside Official Secrets is one worth telling, but perhaps it would be better to read the book. Read full review
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