55
Metascore
13 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- An intelligent, visually sumptuous drama that embraces the grandeur of the Australian literary classic upon which it's based.
- 80Village VoiceNick SchagerVillage VoiceNick SchagerNarrative unevenness notwithstanding, those hang-ups are given delicious life by a superb Rush, Davis, and Rampling (the latter often confined to a bed and encased in elderly makeup), who prove a regally dysfunctional trio par excellence.
- 60Time OutJoshua RothkopfTime OutJoshua RothkopfSchepisi is deft with the social-strata stuff, introducing a large Gosford Park–like ensemble to tease out the central trio's dysfunction. So it's a shame that both book and film tilt away from the tart-tongued exchanges, giving increasing weight to a buried trauma that feels a little soggy.
- 60New York Daily NewsJoe NeumaierNew York Daily NewsJoe NeumaierFred Schepisi's sly, stately comedy-drama that will please fans of BBC melodramas. But even on its own merits, its mild manner has sneaky stings.
- 60The New York TimesManohla DargisThe New York TimesManohla DargisWhether she's lying in bed, her gray hair spilling out around her head, or exalting in existence itself during one of several flashbacks, Elizabeth draws you in, which works for the story and simultaneously unbalances it.
- 50The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Liam LaceyThe Globe and Mail (Toronto)Liam LaceyFor all the talent involved, The Eye of the Storm is an incident-stuffed but lacklustre affair – a case of lots of sturm, but not enough drang – that reaches for a satiric sting and emotional depth it never achieves.
- 50Los Angeles TimesKenneth TuranLos Angeles TimesKenneth TuranThe Eye of the Storm is an ambitious stab at what might be called the Great Australian Film. The results are off-and-on impressive, but the project's ambitions turn out to be greater than its ability to achieve them.
- 50New York PostLou LumenickNew York PostLou LumenickGood acting and some very good scenes don't quite add up to a good film.
- 38Slant MagazineBill WeberSlant MagazineBill WeberThis adaptation of a prize-winning Australian novel is a stodgy slog save for some sporadic moments of blunt force supplied by Judy Davis and Charlotte Rampling.