The Child in Time
  • Network: PBS
  • Series Premiere Date: Apr 1, 2018
Metascore
83

Universal acclaim - based on 6 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 6 out of 6
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 6
  3. Negative: 0 out of 6
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Critic Reviews

  1. San Francisco Chronicle
    Reviewed by: David Wiegand
    Mar 26, 2018
    100
    McEwan’s theme, exquisitely celebrated in the adaptation by Stephen Butchard, the direction by Julian Farino and enviable performances by Cumberbatch, Macdonald and Moore, especially, is about the nature of childhood itself, about how it becomes subsumed in the quotidian routines of adulthood.
  2. IndieWire
    Reviewed by: Hanh Nguyen
    Apr 2, 2018
    91
    The viewer must go along with Stephen on this strange and intimate journey because only by enduring the torture and confusion can the catharsis occur. There is hope, there is another side for those left behind, and for The Child in Time it is hard won, but builds to this conclusion deliberately and beautifully.
  3. Wall Street Journal
    Reviewed by: John Anderson
    Mar 29, 2018
    90
    The actors are convincing, honest and heartbreaking. It’s the hardest kind of thing to do. They do it splendidly. Director Julian Farino, known mostly for his work on television, can handle actors, it seems, but he’s also an exemplar of economic visual storytelling.
  5. Collider
    Reviewed by: Allison Keene
    Mar 29, 2018
    80
    The Child in Time’s attention to the specific grief of one couple facing a void of the unknown makes it a truly devastating watch that leaves a lasting impact.
  6. CNN
    Reviewed by: Brian Lowry
    Apr 1, 2018
    75
    Offer(s) Cumberbatch completists a performance that conjures a different sort of quiet magic.
  7. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
    Reviewed by: Rob Owen
    Mar 29, 2018
    68
    The Child in Time takes some bizarre turns that draw it away from the grief/guilt cycle endemic to the film’s premise. There’s Stephen’s publisher friend (Stephen Campbell Moore) who has a Benjamin Button-style awakening that plays into the theme of childhood. And the film also offers an ending of hope, a welcome if somewhat unbelievable salve on the almost unbearable pain of the program’s earliest moments.

User Reviews

All reviews »
User Score
6.7

Generally favorable reviews- based on 15 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 9 out of 15
  2. Mixed: 4 out of 15
  3. Negative: 2 out of 15
  1. rajeevfromca
    Apr 8, 2018
    5
    I usually love Masterpiece productions and Benedict Cumberbatch has a lot of star power now. But this show was eventually disappointing as itI usually love Masterpiece productions and Benedict Cumberbatch has a lot of star power now. But this show was eventually disappointing as it did not amount to much. The main thread of how parents deal with the loss of a child was done well enough, but without any novelty or fresh insights. Only the good performances from Cumberbatch and Macdonald kept things going. However, the big letdown was the secondary thread of the publisher regressing into childhood -- it wasn't fleshed out enough and felt like a distraction, annoyingly so. When the show ended, I was left wondering what to make of these 90-minutes. PBS usually makes good shows, but this one seems more a vanity project embellished by star power. I suggest staying from it.… Full Review »
  2. promised_mahdi
    Apr 20, 2019
    8
    this isn't about a lost child or a relationship between her parents actually i think its about being a child for example happy like a childthis isn't about a lost child or a relationship between her parents actually i think its about being a child for example happy like a child good like a child hopeful like a child
    you can find this concept also in the little prince written by Antoine de Saint Exupéry
    there is a connection between love and spirit of childhood which you can save that even you aren't a child anymore with love
    think about love more    … Full Review »
  3. MrsDrStrange
    Aug 11, 2018
    10
    This is is really a sad film, poor baby :( But Benedict ia an amazing actor. That pain, that happiness.. All seems really really true.
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