The Choral
Sony Pictures Classics | Release Date: December 25, 2025 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
60
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 24 Critic Reviews
Positive:
9
Mixed:
12
Negative:
3

Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
90
The New York TimesGlenn KennyDec 26, 2025
A moving account of music as a way of coping with war, as well as keeping it at bay. Read full review
80
The TelegraphRobbie CollinNov 12, 2025
This wintry tale of art blooming in adversity is far from a schematic feel-good jaunt. . . it’s an anthem for doomed youth in a familiar Bennett key: wry, melancholic, sneakily profound. Read full review
80
The GuardianPeter BradshawNov 6, 2025
The humour is delivered with the same conviction and discreetly weighted force as the sadness, and the same goes for this film’s determinedly unbowdlerised view of sex. Read full review
78
Austin ChronicleRichard WhittakerJan 15, 2026
Bennett’s true genius is not merely in his words – although few have ever achieved his flair for simplicity and wit. It’s in his compassion. Read full review
75
Boston GlobeOdie HendersonJan 13, 2026
The Brits do this kind of light and dark juggling act better than almost anybody (see “Billy Elliot” or “The Full Monty”), and the filmmakers and their cast deliver a movie that’s perfect for viewing on a lazy Sunday afternoon at the movie theater. Read full review
75
Original-CinLiz BraunJan 9, 2026
The Choral is a beautifully made film with a great cast and impeccable credentials, a collaboration between writer Alan Bennett and director Nicholas Hytner, as were The History Boys and The Lady in the Van. Alas, it’s a bit dull. Read full review
70
The Travers TakePeter TraversJan 2, 2026
Stodgy? Maybe. But the sincerity of this old-fashioned crowdpleaser starring Ralph Fiennes as wartime choirmaster is a refreshing alternative to the glut of computer-generated junk that crowds our movie houses. Read full review
67
IndieWireKate ErblandSep 13, 2025
The result is a light, low-key crowdpleaser that occasionally steps into more harrowing territory before neatly spinning right out of it. Read full review
63
RogerEbert.comZachary LeeJan 5, 2026
While the lessons of “The Choral” feel applicable to our present moment, Hytner is careful to ground its story in a richly realized setting of a different era. Read full review
60
Time OutPhil de SemlyenNov 10, 2025
Measured rather than playing to the gallery, The Choral is Brassed Off in a minor key – an elegant, Yorkshire-set exploration of music as a spiritual morale-boost in the darkest times. With Ralph Fiennes gravely essaying the controversial choirmaster at its heart, it does a lovely job of swerving the obvious notes but misplaces its stirring crescendo. Read full review
60
VarietyGuy LodgeOct 21, 2025
Art counts for a lot more than patriotism to Guthrie, and the happy surprise of Nicholas Hytner‘s film — despite its twee, veddy English trappings — is that it largely takes his side. Read full review
60
Next Best PictureJason GorberSep 24, 2025
Anchored by another admirable performance by Fiennes, it mines its milieu effectively enough. Even if the end result doesn’t quite live up to the majesty of Elgar’s opera, or even the truly transformative societal shifts that the Great War wrought on this land, there’s enough to admire about what takes place on screen in this telling to recommend it. Read full review
60
Screen DailyRobert DanielsSep 13, 2025
The Choral is a narratively jumbled film whose unrestrained sweetness and adept ensemble tie up some of the film’s looser ends. Read full review
60
The GuardianBenjamin LeeSep 13, 2025
There are moments of creaky comedy and some bluntly emotional dialogue that one can more easily picture in front of a specifically catered-to live audience. Read full review
60
ColliderTherese LacsonSep 13, 2025
The Choral offers a unique look at WWI, while struggling to maintain balance between its compelling lead and somewhat lackluster storytelling with its other subplots. Read full review
55
The Daily BeastNick SchagerDec 24, 2025
A typical provincial British tale about everyday Englishmen and women banding together to accomplish a controversial task against long odds, it’s akin to a warm glass of milk. Read full review
50
Movie NationRoger MooreMay 4, 2026
It’s a grand looking production and a well-cast, well-acted and high-minded film. But Hytner and Bennett have conjured up a Big Show and an Important Statement, and so cluttered the narrative that they lose track of which statements they’re serious about making. Read full review
50
Screen RantRachel LaBonteJan 2, 2026
It's far from a poorly-constructed movie, but the tonal issues and refusal to invest in its strongest personalities make it a frustrating watch. Read full review
50
The Hollywood ReporterFrank ScheckDec 23, 2025
Even Fiennes, who delivers a typically expert, understated performance, doesn’t manage to make us fully invested in the stagey proceedings. Read full review
50
The PlaylistGregory EllwoodSep 13, 2025
It’s a marvel that Bennett crafted this screenplay almost at the age of 90. And his dialogue is often sharp and witty. The scenario is ripe for a captivating and moving drama. And yet, perhaps this was one project that needed a different director at the helm for the material to truly resonate. Read full review
47
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Barry HertzJan 8, 2026
While Nicholas Hytner’s new film The Choral is, above all, exceedingly polite, there is no need to be genteel about the movie’s qualities. This is a period piece of insignificant impact and distressingly drippy intentions, its filmmakers so concerned with their project being considered handsome and respectable that they fail to spark any emotional response beyond the most passive of shoulder shrugs. Read full review
38
Slant MagazineRoss McIndoeOct 16, 2025
This is a historical drama with a handsome enough period setting and a couple of pleasant musical moments but whose roteness keeps it from resonating. Read full review
38
New York PostJohnny OleksinskiSep 13, 2025
What they’ve chopped up is a cacophony of half-baked characters and rushed ideas that leave you puzzled and unsatisfied. A better title would be “The Chore.” Read full review
30
Wall Street JournalKyle SmithDec 26, 2025
Universal conscription for every able-bodied man from 18 to 40 is about to be instituted, and the events of this shallow, cheap and corny story seem unlikely to offer much in the way of comforting memories for those who get sent to the trenches. Read full review
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