The Young Victoria
Apparition | Release Date: December 18, 2009 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
64
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 29 Critic Reviews
Positive:
21
Mixed:
7
Negative:
1
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
83
Entertainment WeeklyOwen Gleiberman
The Young Victoria has a subtler flow than you might expect, and at times it's calmer than you may like. Director Jean-Marc Vallée's images have a creamy stateliness, but this is no gilded? princess fantasy. Read full review
83
Portland OregonianMarc Mohan
A fresh look at the first chapters in the monarch's life, while maintaining historical fidelity. Read full review
80
Chicago ReaderJ.R. Jones
The movie is perfectly appropriate for girls, and its opening scenes play like a more intelligent and historically grounded version of their G-rated princess dramas. Read full review
80
Los Angeles TimesBetsy Sharkey
This is a smartly told story, and as fresh as any contemporary romance. Read full review
80
SalonStephanie Zacharek
Emily Blunt shines as the tough-minded British queen in this lush, and even sexy, period romance Read full review
78
Austin ChronicleKimberley Jones
All told, The Young Victoria is a very well-made if not especially memorable picture, moving with all the grace and steadfastness of a waltz Victoria and Albert share, but absent any urgency or anything particularly exclamatory. Read full review
75
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
Emily Blunt makes Victoria as irresistible a young woman as Dame Judi Dench made her an older one in "Mrs. Brown" (1997). Read full review
75
Philadelphia InquirerSteven Rea
If the film itself isn't brilliant, its star most definitely is. Read full review
75
Washington PostAnn Hornaday
A sumptuous period drama. Read full review
75
USA TodayClaudia Puig
Once you get past the fact that lovely Emily Blunt doesn't look anything like the dour historical pictures of Britain's longest-reigning monarch, The Young Victoria is an appealing and well-crafted, if staid, portrait of a fascinating ruler. Read full review
75
New York PostKyle Smith
The Young Victoria achieves a fine balance. I guess that's what you get when a film is produced by both Martin Scorsese and Sarah Ferguson. Read full review
75
New Orleans Times-PicayuneMike Scott
As engrossing as The Young Victoria is, this isn't a movie that will stay with you very long. Mostly that's because Blunt's character does little by way of evolving. Read full review
70
VarietyDerek Elley
Well-groomed, upscale, three-hankie entertainment for the “Masterpiece Theater” crowd. Read full review
70
The Hollywood ReporterKirk Honeycutt
Emily Blunt, one of the best and most glamorous actresses to come out of England in recent years, makes an unusual but highly successful choice for the young Victoria. Read full review
70
The New York TimesManohla Dargis
Despite the filmmakers’ efforts to persuade us that The Young Victoria is a serious work, and despite some tense moments and gunfire, the movie’s pleasures are as light as its story. No matter. Albert may never rip Victoria’s bodice, but he does eventually loosen it, to her delight and ours. Read full review
70
New York Daily NewsElizabeth Weitzman
The film does look beautiful, and there's enough intrigue to inspire anyone to learn more about such a complex, fascinating life. It just would have been nice to see a little more of that complexity onscreen. Read full review
67
The A.V. ClubKeith Phipps
The film lays on its politics-as-chess-game metaphor a little thick, however, and its refusal to leave the corridors of power to see the impact of its developments on the country at large makes it feel stuffy after a while. Read full review
63
ReelViewsJames Berardinelli
The Young Victoria feels like a wasted opportunity and is among the least impressive in a long line of motion pictures about British royalty. Read full review
63
Boston GlobeTy Burr
It’s a muddled but plush experience overall, and if you’re a royalist completist or a historical romantic, you’ll probably have a decent time. Read full review
63
Miami HeraldConnie Ogle
A nice set of drapes and a striking ballgown or two are not enough to provide this interesting love story any serious heft or insight. Read full review
63
St. Louis Post-DispatchJoe Holleman
If not for Blunt's solid performance and good support from Friend and others, The Young Victoria would not be worth the price of the ticket. Read full review
60
EmpireKim Newman
An elegant, entertaining, informative picture with a gallery of vivid supporting turns, this provisionally crowns the winning Blunt as a Brit-pic star - but it skimps a bit on the bodice-ripping, blood and thunder. Read full review
58
Christian Science MonitorPeter Rainer
Blunt and Friend strike a few flinty sparks, and Julian Fellowes’s script has its share of dry-as-dust witticisms. Most of the time, though, it’s a stiff pageant. Read full review
50
The New YorkerAnthony Lane
From the start, it feels handsome, steady, and stuck; the ties that bind the historical bio-pic are no looser than those which constrain a royal personage, and the frustration to which Victoria would later admit is legible in the face of Emily Blunt, who takes the title role. Read full review
50
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalle
If you like this sort of movie - and actually, cards on the table, I like this kind of movie - you will not be sorry you saw it. But you will not come away from the experience feeling that you've seen Victoria, young or otherwise. Read full review
50
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Rick Groen
Really, Young Victoria is just a lot of costumes in fond search of some drama. And finding precious little. Read full review
40
Village VoiceElla Taylor
Man, British heritage cinema can be dull when assembly-lined for the export market. Read full review
40
Time OutDavid Fear
Vallée and his lead get high marks for kittenish revisionism. In all other respects, however, this movie is indistinguishable from every other throne-and-scepter biopic to hit the screen. Read full review
30
Film ThreatPhil Hall
Emily Blunt’s Victoria and Rupert Friend’s Albert come across like museum mannequins – utterly devoid of any genuine passion. Read full review
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