The Bookshop
CDI Films | Release Date: August 24, 2018 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
62
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 22 Critic Reviews
Positive:
11
Mixed:
10
Negative:
1
Watch Now
Stream On
Buy on
Stream On
Stream On
Expand

Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
88
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Kate TaylorAug 22, 2018
Coixet occasionally overplays her hand – a dropped headscarf, a sudden death – as does a constipated Bill Nighy in the role of the reclusive widower who is Florence’s one ally, but overall, the film is stealthily impressive. Read full review
88
The Seattle TimesMoira MacdonaldMay 16, 2018
Those who love books, picturesque English villages and getting lost in actors’ faces should be very happy Read full review
83
Christian Science MonitorPeter RainerAug 31, 2018
For a movie that is about a collection of oddballs, it can sometimes feel rather generic. But at its core, the film is not a comedy at all. The eccentricities issue from real adversity. Read full review
83
Film Journal InternationalSimi HorwitzAug 23, 2018
The Bookshop is an exquisitely understated tragicomedy. Read full review
80
The Hollywood ReporterJonathan HollandAug 21, 2018
Its subversive undercurrent, embodied in fine performances by Emily Mortimer and Bill Nighy, is what makes it really interesting. Read full review
75
Washington PostMichael O'SullivanAug 28, 2018
Mostly, The Bookshop is a pretext to watch three great actors do their thing: Mortimer, as the film’s mousy but surprisingly formidable heroine; Clarkson, as her smiling adversary, Violet Gamart; and Bill Nighy, as the town’s reclusive loner — and its only voracious reader — Mr. Brundish, who comes to Florence’s aid and advocacy. Read full review
70
Wall Street JournalJohn AndersonAug 23, 2018
Ms. Clarkson is always fascinating; only on second viewing did I notice how much Ms. Mortimer was doing while Mr. Nighy was stealing a scene. In the end, though, it’s his movie. And likely wasn’t supposed to be. Read full review
70
The New York TimesJeannette CatsoulisAug 23, 2018
Wistful but never sentimental, it quietly turns the fortunes of one little store into a comment on the fate of many. Read full review
70
Village VoiceApril WolfeAug 21, 2018
Though nearly nothing happens in this movie besides a woman opening a shop and beginning a standoffish friendship with a reclusive man, I still found myself drawn in, just as I was drawn to Iain’s discreet disaster of a baked Alaska (please check it out if you haven’t seen this TGBBS episode); sometimes the quiet is enticing. Read full review
67
The Film StageJared MobarakAug 23, 2018
What appears to be a run-of-the-mill drama that will surely fall into the usual clichés of perseverance and eventual victory about a woman standing up to a small town of bullies that sees her as an outsider is actually much more complex. Read full review
63
Movie NationRoger MooreAug 21, 2018
Message and metaphor are all and The Bookshop, with its terrific cast and lovely setting, barely overcomes that burden. Read full review
60
Los Angeles TimesGary GoldsteinAug 23, 2018
Although it’s anchored by a deeply felt performance by the wonderful Emily Mortimer, with a marvelous supporting turn by the always-welcome Bill Nighy, the film, scripted and directed by Spanish filmmaker Isabel Coixet (“Elegy,” “Learning to Drive”), is at times a bit too mustily mounted and told to keep us as fully immersed as we might like. Read full review
60
Film ThreatFilipe FreitasAug 23, 2018
The adaptation of Penelope Fitzgerald’s 1978 novel The Bookshop by Spanish director Isabel Coixet (My Life Without Me, Elegy, Learning To Drive) is not devoid of plot disturbances but provides fair moments of gorgeous filmmaking and acceptable entertainment. Read full review
60
The GuardianPeter BradshawAug 21, 2018
It is a strange, subdued, rather miserable film, interestingly perceptive on conformism and philistinism as a way of life, and on the disconcerting wiles the inhabitants use in order to thwart Florence’s entirely reasonable plans. Read full review
50
San Francisco ChroniclePeter HartlaubAug 31, 2018
The Bookshop isn’t an especially good film, but there’s no shortage of good in it. Read full review
50
RogerEbert.comNell MinowAug 24, 2018
We come to it with high expectations and it is especially disappointing that this movie never comes together. Read full review
50
Screen DailyDemetrios MatheouAug 21, 2018
In theory there’s plenty here to engage: a critique of Little England philistinism, the arrival of provocative literature into a sleepy backwater that barely reads, the revolt of a courageous woman against the establishment. Yet none of that comes to life. Read full review
50
VarietyGuy LodgeAug 21, 2018
This is a frustratingly patchy adaptation, in which some of Fitzgerald’s shrewdest observations on the savage politics and politesse of supposedly tranquil English village life get a little bit lost in the Europudding. A fine, sensitive leading turn from Emily Mortimer helps shore up these quiet, lightly dust-covered proceedings, but can’t quite put The Bookshop in the black. Read full review
40
Austin ChronicleRichard WhittakerAug 29, 2018
Green's relationship with reclusive bibliophile Edmund Brundish (Nighy) is the most effective component, even if it does owe such a glaring debt to the superior "84 Charing Cross Road" (sorry, "You've Got Mail," but still the ne plus ultra of bookstore movies). Read full review
40
The TelegraphTim RobeyAug 21, 2018
Nighy and Mortimer have just a couple of scenes together, but they’re easily the film’s best: both actors sink gratifyingly into the nuances of this incipient friendship, bond over books you actually believe they’ve read, and give the film its best hope of doing Fitzgerald justice. Read full review
40
The Observer (UK)Wendy IdeAug 21, 2018
For all the real-estate machinations and nefarious scheming, there are too many inert scenes that drain the energy from this already plodding story. Read full review
38
Slant MagazineDerek SmithAug 21, 2018
The Bookshop is steadfast in avoiding drama at all costs. Read full review
More From This Movie

62 Critic Reviews

6.5 User Reviews

Details & Credits|Trailers

Current Movie Releases
By MetascoreBy User Score
1 81 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple
2 77 Project Hail Mary
3 75 Send Help
4 73 Hoppers
5 72 The Sheep Detectives
SEE ALL
Essential Links
New on Amazon Prime Video
New on Netflix
Coming Soon to DVD/Blu-ray
SEE ALL