Viceroy's House
IFC Films | Release Date: September 1, 2017 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
53
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 16 Critic Reviews
Positive:
5
Mixed:
9
Negative:
2
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
80
Screen DailyWendy IdeJun 13, 2017
One of the main strengths of Chadha’s approach is the way she weaves the historical detail into the richly textured story with such a light touch. Read full review
70
Los Angeles TimesGary GoldsteinAug 31, 2017
This elegant, lushly mounted film, which involves classism, communal fighting, political machinations, and religious and cultural discord, still proves timely given such world events as the Syrian refugee crisis, the Brexit controversy and Pakistan’s ongoing anti-terror campaign. Read full review
70
The New York TimesBen KenigsbergAug 31, 2017
The film carries a trace of the sweep of a great screen epic along with the straightforward, explanatory qualities of mass-audience TV, and is never less than absorbing. Read full review
63
Washington PostStephanie MerrySep 7, 2017
In the end, Viceroy’s House works, but mainly as a historical refresher on the 70th anniversary of Indian independence. As drama, it’s a reminder that truth is sometimes more affecting than fiction. Read full review
63
RogerEbert.comSusan WloszczynaSep 1, 2017
Ultimately, Viceroy’s House might be worth a visit just for certain tasty details, such as how Lady Edwina and her adult daughter greedily scarf down the chicken meant for the family dog without shame after having their palates dulled by wartime rationing. Read full review
60
Village VoiceSerena DonadoniAug 31, 2017
Using the trappings of old-fashioned romanticism, Chadha envisions the cataclysmic upheaval of millions in the traumatic lives of a few. Read full review
60
The TelegraphTim RobeyJun 13, 2017
There’s only so much in this desperately involved historical saga that Chadha and her screenwriters are able to grapple with. Read full review
60
The GuardianPeter BradshawJun 13, 2017
Viceroy’s House is no very profound work, but it is a nimble and watchable period drama. Read full review
60
Total FilmJames MottramMar 6, 2017
Fascinating story, flawed telling. Read full review
50
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Kate TaylorAug 31, 2017
The formula is a bit too neat and the dialogue is often painfully expository, but there are some fine performances – especially from Gillian Anderson as the earnest Lady Mountbatten – and plenty of compelling drama. Read full review
50
VarietyGuy LodgeJun 13, 2017
Such a sprawling, two-pronged saga may well have been better served in television miniseries format. Read full review
50
The Hollywood ReporterStephen DaltonJun 13, 2017
Chadha has distilled a fascinating and epic true story into a starchy, stuffy, sanitized period piece that never fully engages on an emotional or educational level. Read full review
42
IndieWireBen CrollJun 13, 2017
This material could make for a powerful work, but Viceroy’s House is certainly not it. Read full review
40
Time Out LondonDave CalhounFeb 27, 2017
At the human level, this is shallow, and Chadha clumsily fuses political drama with romantic melodrama. Read full review
38
Slant MagazineJake ColeAug 29, 2017
The only thing that offsets the film's self-negating revisionism are the scenes involving Gillian Anderson vicereine. Read full review
20
TheWrapInkoo KangAug 30, 2017
Director Gurinder Chadha (“It’s a Wonderful Afterlife,” “Bend It Like Beckham”) attempts to explore the cataclysmic human costs of the Partition without humanizing any of the Indian characters. And so we’re offered, on the 70th anniversary of the Partition (give or take a couple of weeks), another film about how brown suffering makes nice white people sad. Read full review
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