74
Metascore
25 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 100Los Angeles TimesCarlos AguilarLos Angeles TimesCarlos AguilarSweeping and flawlessly produced, Ashe’s epic works as an inherently refreshing entry in the canon of a genre designed to make us sigh with knowing elation or tear up in misery thinking about our own bygone rendezvous.
- 90The New York TimesManohla DargisThe New York TimesManohla DargisAshe is using a familiar, long-derided film genre both affectionately and critically to explore the gleaming surfaces of life as well as the anguish that lies beneath.
- 88Chicago Sun-TimesRichard RoeperChicago Sun-TimesRichard RoeperLike the great Douglas Sirk melodramas of that time period, Sylvie’s Love is unabashedly sentimental and just gorgeous to behold — but the difference here is the terrific ensemble cast is primarily Black and Latinx.
- 80The GuardianBenjamin LeeThe GuardianBenjamin LeeIt’s a film that both looks and feels the part, a handsomely made love story that’s easy to fall in love with.
- 80TheWrapAlonso DuraldeTheWrapAlonso DuraldeBetween the scorching chemistry of leads Tessa Thompson and Nnamdi Asomugha and the glorious mid-century outfits, hair, décor and cars on display, Sylvie’s Love is a delectable valentine.
- 75The A.V. ClubVikram MurthiThe A.V. ClubVikram MurthiSylvie’s Love lacks the ineffable spark that keeps it from fully transcending its period dress-up. There’s a pervasive self-consciousness on display that veers from delightful to forced depending on the goals of each scene. Sometimes the cast and the production design embrace the artifice strongly enough to make it look and sound organic. Other times, it just appears… artificial.
- 70The Hollywood ReporterLeslie FelperinThe Hollywood ReporterLeslie FelperinIt's a film awash in scrupulously researched vintage production design, costumes and above all music, all rendered in a Technicolor palette that will send grandparents and fans of Golden Age cinema swooning with nostalgia.
- 60VarietyJessica KiangVarietyJessica KiangMore even than Declan Quinn’s sumptuously old-school cinematography and the throwback styling and stock footage exteriors that deliberately mimic the Technicolor romances of old, it’s the fresh-faced naiveté of the storytelling that feels so anachronistic.
- 50Slant MagazinePat BrownSlant MagazinePat BrownThe film never finds the spark that would imbue the love affair at its center with a sense of passion or urgency.