The Water Diviner
Weinstein Company, The | Release Date: April 24, 2015 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
50
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 36 Critic Reviews
Positive:
14
Mixed:
19
Negative:
3
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
88
Chicago Sun-TimesRichard RoeperApr 23, 2015
A first-rate post-World War I drama with a heavy dose of sentiment and a gripping storyline. Read full review
80
Total FilmPhilip KempMar 30, 2015
The film’s only let down by its too-frequent recourse to narrative cliché. Read full review
75
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalleApr 23, 2015
Crowe is not messing around here, not trying to dream up opportunities to throw himself another close-up. He’s a genuine director. Read full review
75
Rolling StonePeter TraversApr 23, 2015
In The Water Diviner, Crowe strives to strike a universal chord about the futility of war. Simplistic? Maybe. But in crafting a film about the pain a parent feels after losing a child in battle, Crowe transcends borders and politics. It's not war being honored here, it's sacrifice and inconsolable loss. I'd call that a substantial achievement. Read full review
75
TheWrapInkoo KangApr 23, 2015
Crowe’s beauty-seeking, but exoticizing camera is slightly outmatched by his performance, which anchors the film with regret tinged with hope. But what continues to haunt after the credits finish rolling are the film’s explorations of the trauma of life after war: The brutally quick political shifts, the lingering shame of committing vicious and dishonorable acts, and the bitter knowledge that there’s no such thing as lasting peace. Read full review
75
New York PostSara StewartApr 22, 2015
Crowe makes the most of his own quiet presence, and this ode to the world’s never-recovered soldiers and their families is a fitting meditation on the insanity of war. Read full review
70
Arizona RepublicBill GoodykoontzApr 23, 2015
The story takes some unexpected turns, which Crowe handles well, without overplaying them. Overall, The Water Diviner is a solid effort, a good, old-fashioned movie when it's not delving into soap opera. Read full review
70
Screen DailyFrank HatherleyMar 30, 2015
The Water Diviner is a heart-warming tale of family, love and sacrifice told with four-square enthusiasm and manliness by director and star Russell Crowe. Read full review
70
The Hollywood ReporterMegan LehmannDec 9, 2014
The film gives a lot of space to emotions, but Crowe reins in his outsized personality to contribute an affecting, understated performance and, as director, underplays the allegories, particularly the recurring water motif, so they seep through the narrative organically. Read full review
63
Philadelphia InquirerSteven ReaApr 24, 2015
After toiling for the likes of Ridley Scott, Ron Howard, and Peter Weir all these years, Crowe takes command of his own camera crews and castmates, mounting an ambitious and sentimental period drama. Read full review
63
ReelViewsJames BerardinelliApr 24, 2015
The final production is so jammed with subplots and secondary characters that it often feels like the Cliffs Notes version of a complex novel. Read full review
63
Boston GlobeTy BurrApr 23, 2015
This big, brawny historical drama feels more personal to its maker as both an artist and an Australian. For better and for worse, the movie’s a labor of love and of national identification. Read full review
63
St. Louis Post-DispatchJoe WilliamsApr 23, 2015
Crowe is effectively restrained in his acting, but in his debut as a director, he overdoes the manipulative music and the pretty images from cinematographer Andrew Lesnie. Read full review
63
Movie NationRoger MooreApr 22, 2015
The performances are moving and get the job done, and Kurylenko (“Quantum of Solace”) wins us over by the way she slowly lets Connor, her enemy, win her sympathy. Read full review
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