Oscar and Lucinda
Fox Searchlight Pictures | Release Date: December 31, 1997 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
65
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 22 Critic Reviews
Positive:
12
Mixed:
10
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
91
Entertainment WeeklyLisa Schwarzbaum
It exchanges the narrative fluidity of the page for visual composition of such strong beauty that the slowness of the storytelling becomes its own eccentric strength. Read full review
90
The New York TimesJanet Maslin
As directed exquisitely by Gillian Armstrong in a headstrong spirit that recalls her debut feature, "My Brilliant Career," this elliptical tale makes up in visual beauty whatever it lacks in universal meaning. Read full review
90
Los Angeles TimesKevin Thomas
Flawless contributions by Armstrong's crew make Oscar and Lucinda a vibrant period piece, buoyant yet incisive, and easily sustaining interest, if not generating deep involvement, throughout a just-under two-hour running time. [31Dec1997 Pg.8]
90
TimeRichard Schickel
Its business is to turn sure-thing expectations into a game of chance, and provide us with that rarity--a genuinely eccentric yet deeply insinuating film. Read full review
90
VarietyEmanuel Levy
Armstrong and Jones smoothly navigate the magical tale through numerous shocking twists and turns until they bring it to a most logical, emotionally satisfying conclusion. Read full review
89
Austin ChronicleMarjorie Baumgarten
Keeping with the spirit of its lead characters, Oscar and Lucinda is a movie best met with a gambler's faith: You may not be certain what it means in the end, but its magnificent payoff is nevertheless a sure thing. Read full review
80
The A.V. ClubKeith Phipps
It accumulates weight as it goes along, ultimately becoming as thoughtful and emotionally involving as it is beautiful to behold. Read full review
75
ReelViewsJames Berardinelli
Despite some obvious overplotting, Oscar and Lucinda is a mostly effective and often affecting motion picture that touches our hearts while daring our minds to balk at its implausible coincidences. Read full review
75
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
Here there is a dry wit, generated between the well-balanced performances of Fiennes and Blanchett, who seem quietly delighted to be playing two such rich characters. Read full review
75
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Rick Groen
In a sometimes misguided narrative, their scenes together are right on track -- they add lightness, even a shimmering hint of humour, to a symbol-laden drama. Theirs is a unique romance that has a sparrow's frail beauty -- it beats with a trembling, fluttering heart. Read full review
70
SalonCharles Taylor
Whatever the reason, Oscar and Lucinda winds up feeling like a collection of bits in search of vision and an emotional surge. Read full review
70
TV Guide MagazineMaitland McDonagh
Richly imagined and resolutely unpredictable, this dark and profoundly optimistic paean to passion -- for glass, for horses, for the thrill of the moment after a coin is flipped but before it falls -- is held together by Gillian Armstrong's solid direction and by strong, if occasionally strident, performances from Fiennes and newcomer Blanchett. Read full review
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