59
Metascore
10 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 100Boston GlobeBoston GlobeThe filmmaking team of director James Ivory, screenwriter Ruth Prawer Jhabvala and producer Ismail Merchant, remained loyal to James, assembled a brilliant cast and created one of the best films of the year. [10 Aug 1984]
- 88Christian Science MonitorDavid SterrittChristian Science MonitorDavid SterrittTo say it right out, The Bostonians is the best movie I've seen all year.
- 80VarietyVarietyThis is a classy adaptation of a Henry James novel.
- 80The New York TimesJanet MaslinThe New York TimesJanet MaslinThe moral ambiguity of James's novel has been skillfully captured in the film, as has its remarkable modernity.
- 80Wall Street JournalJulie SalamonWall Street JournalJulie SalamonBy the end there isn't anyone to cheer for, except the makers of this thoughtful and absorbing piece of work. [02 Aug 1984]
- 75Chicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertChicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertIntelligent and subtle.
- 50TV Guide MagazineTV Guide MagazineElegant, stylish, and ultimately boring adaptation of the James novel.
- 50The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Jay ScottThe Globe and Mail (Toronto)Jay ScottThe Bostonians, from the novel by Henry James, is the story of their relationship, one of the strangest in literature. Unfortunately, that strangeness has survived the transfer to the screen less than intact, and satiric oddity has been replaced by romantic banality. Redgrave's performance - red-eyed, quivering, opalescent - is peerless, the one incontrovertible reason to see the film. [23 Nov 1984]
- 30TimeRichard SchickelTimeRichard SchickelRuth Prawer Jhabvala's screenplay is less a response to its source than a careful college outline of it.
- 20Chicago ReaderDave KehrChicago ReaderDave KehrYou get the plot, all right, but that's all you get - no body, no texture, no rhythm, no shading.