Their Finest
EuropaCorp USA | Release Date: April 7, 2017 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
76
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 30 Critic Reviews
Positive:
25
Mixed:
5
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
ObserverRex ReedApr 11, 2017
Beautifully cast, intelligently written and a gorgeously assembled range of beautifully gauged emotions about movies and war, Their Finest is one of the best films of a still-young 2017. Read full review
100
Wall Street JournalJoe MorgensternApr 6, 2017
One of the smartest, funniest and most surprising movies I’ve seen in years. Read full review
95
TheWrapAlonso DuraldeApr 5, 2017
Their Finest delivers in a way that would please the Ministry of Information: it’s rousing and emotional, there are laughs and tears, and it portrays people trying and, mostly, succeeding at being their best selves in the service of their country. Read full review
91
The PlaylistNoel MurraySep 17, 2016
The charming, rousing WWII romance Their Finest is a film that openly stumps for two causes: the value of women in the workplace, and the power of cinema to tell stories that people need to hear. Read full review
90
Los Angeles TimesKenneth TuranApr 6, 2017
Their Finest is a treat that has something on its mind, a charming concoction that adds a bit of texture and bite to the mix. Genial and engaging with a fine sense of humor, it makes blending the comic with the serious look simpler than it actually is. Read full review
88
The Seattle TimesMoira MacdonaldApr 20, 2017
Screen chemistry is an odd thing; often you only notice it when it isn’t there. (See: far too many Hollywood romantic comedies.) But Their Finest, an utterly charming film set in World War II-era London, contains a textbook example. Read full review
88
Boston GlobePeter KeoughApr 19, 2017
At its best, which is often, Their Finest by Danish director Lone Scherfig (“Italian for Beginners;” “An Education”) manipulates appearance and reality, relief and recognition, with exquisite finesse. As befits a film about making films. Read full review
80
Paste MagazineAndrew CrumpJul 13, 2017
Their Finest is a joy to watch, if not for Scherfig’s direction than for Arterton’s leading performance, a mixture of affronted gumption, feminine stoicism and vulnerability that adds up to towering portraiture. Read full review
80
CineVueMatthew AndersonApr 29, 2017
Their Finest by no means reinvents the wheel but in the hands of Scherfig - who previously directed An Education - it looks wonderful, has enough substance to back up its gleaming charm and is a very enjoyable period piece that wears its heart and intentions firmly on its well starched sleeve. Read full review
80
The TelegraphRobbie CollinApr 29, 2017
It’s the kind of handsome, rousing, rigorous entertainment you can’t help but play along with. Read full review
80
Time Out LondonTom HuddlestonApr 18, 2017
But while she's thoroughly committed to serving both the rom and the com (the film is genuinely sweet, and at times very funny) Scherfig somehow never falls into any of the obvious traps. Read full review
80
EmpireIan FreerApr 18, 2017
Anchored by a superb Gemma Arterton, Their Finest is a funny, winning, beautifully acted ode to working women and cinema. Read full review
80
The New York TimesManohla DargisApr 6, 2017
Their Finest is too understandably serious to be called a romp, yet it has a buoyancy that lifts you and, in Ms. McCrory, a woman who does, too. Read full review
80
Screen DailyAllan HunterSep 17, 2016
Director Lone Scherfig’s sentimental approach favours easy laughs and warm romance but the film starts to cut a little deeper in its closing stages. Read full review
80
VarietyAndrew BarkerSep 17, 2016
Their Finest is the sort of crowd-pleaser that knows the difference between satisfying its viewers and flattering them, all the while showcasing surprising performances from Gemma Arterton and Sam Claflin, and an entirely unsurprising one from Bill Nighy — a master scene-stealer pulling off yet another brazen heist. Read full review
78
Austin ChronicleMarjorie BaumgartenApr 12, 2017
Their Finest may ultimately be the best words to describe the amalgamated work of all participants in this film. Read full review
75
Movie NationRoger MooreApr 25, 2017
A lovely, nostalgic look not just at a war the Brits just can’t stop memorializing, but at the way movies were made way back when, with a little magic and a dollop of sentiment could carry a story for audiences starved for anything that offered them the possibility of a happy ending. Read full review
75
ReelViewsJames BerardinelliApr 20, 2017
Although the narrative for Their Finest occasionally rambles (too much time is spent buffing Ambrose’s backstory, which is only tangentially germane to the main tale), it is by-and-large a stirring drama that incorporates lighter moments with scenes of deeply felt tragedy. Read full review
75
San Francisco ChroniclePeter HartlaubApr 20, 2017
A charming and thoughtful movie, about people making a charming and thoughtful movie. Read full review
75
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Anne T. DonahueApr 13, 2017
Supporting turns by Bill Nighy, Rachael Stirling, Jack Lacy and Helen McCrory work to make Their Finest a testament to the familial nature that defined the film industry during the Second World War, as well as proof that it’s possible to breed joy in the midst of bleakness. Read full review
75
RogerEbert.comSusan WloszczynaApr 6, 2017
Nighy is never less than splendid. Read full review
70
The Hollywood ReporterDavid RooneySep 17, 2016
While the strong ensemble cast is Their Finest's most valuable asset, the movie also looks quite handsome on what appears to be a modest budget, and includes some delightful glimpses of how screen effects were achieved way back in those handcrafted days. Read full review
67
Christian Science MonitorPeter RainerApr 7, 2017
In its own coy way, the film celebrates “the slop” it pretends to deride. Read full review
67
The A.V. ClubJesse HassengerApr 4, 2017
But if Their Finest is a little stodgy and tasteful, it also possesses Scherfig’s trademark wistfulness. Read full review
63
Slant MagazineKenji FujishimaApr 2, 2017
Intimately focusing on its main character's personal triumphs, its refusing to fall into heavy-handed polemicism. Read full review
60
Village VoiceAbbey BenderApr 3, 2017
The combined charms of Britishness and nostalgia often prove a potent blend for American moviegoers, but Their Finest could have delivered something more. Read full review
50
The Film StageDaniel SchindelSep 17, 2016
The movie makes a game attempt to resonate as something stronger than a typical period romance, wringing its wartime setting for all the pathos it can manage. But even the horrors of the Blitz feel too gentle here. Read full review
50
IndieWireDavid EhrlichSep 17, 2016
The romantic scenes are cute, but they feel at odds with the drama. The laughs land like chuckles, the love registers as mere fondness, and the salient observation that countries recast themselves during wartime is reduced to a fleeting detail. Read full review
40
New Orleans Times-PicayuneMike ScottApr 20, 2017
The wholesomeness and embraceable spirit of Their Finest will likely strike a chord with the sort of moviegoer who is drawn to such a film. But that doesn't mean it's as good a film as it could have been. Read full review
40
The GuardianNigel M SmithSep 17, 2016
At its core, it’s really just a workplace love story that grows increasingly uninterested in its plucky heroine’s journey in favour of hitting familiar rom-com notes – and to give audiences another reason to love Bill Nighy. Read full review
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