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90The film's authority rests first and finally on the two actors in the leading roles. They are utterly reassuring. [4 August 1997, p. 26]
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88A love story about two strong-willed people who find exhilaration in testing each other. It is not about sexual love, or even romantic love, really, but about that kind of love based on challenge and fascination.
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88Mrs. Brown will delight and touch any viewer who seeks it out.
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80Before you know it, you're caught up in a difficult but touching friendship, and enjoying a history lesson more than you ever thought possible.
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80Their personality types match up splendidly with the characters they play as well as each other, and Mrs. Brown's greatest pleasure is seeing and hearing them spar. Even with the gloves on, this is a battle well worth observing.
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80Queen Victoria is played with splendid regal grace by Judi Dench.
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80This true story, deftly embellished by writer Jeremy Brock and directed at a bracing English trot by John Madden, is a splendid showcase for its three superb leads. [28 July, 1997, p. 69]
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80Though there are a number of outdoor scenes and production values are handsome, ultimately it's the narrow focus and chamber nature of the material that lends the movie its resonance and emotional power.
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80Classy fare, with posh settings, gorgeous scenery and lots and lots of polishing from director John Madden ("Ethan Frome") and writer Jeremy Brock.
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80Director John Madden calmly dissects the emotions of a woman whose personal life is effectively nonexistent.
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75Poignant, witty, historically illuminating.
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75A first-rate historical drama.
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75Beguiling Victoriana. [18 July 1997, p.4D]
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75Mrs. Brown will not overturn Queen Victoria's prim reputation, but it reminds us that there was more to the woman than that famous plump cameo that has become the symbol of a more modest era.
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70This British film has the regal, clubby aura of Masterpiece Theatre. [21 July 1997, p. 70]
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67Assuming that rich human insight, great production values, and topnotch acting still count for something, Mrs. Brown should have no trouble finding an appreciative audience.
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63If the movie crumbles under its own stiffness at times, at least it has the two old pros' good performances to cheer us along the way.
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60Scottish comedian Billy Connolly shows ample ability in the role, but he can't locate much charm in the character.
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58Elegant yet surprisingly remote royal-court drama.
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50An intelligent story for the kilts-and-corsets crowd.
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50Despite its Scottish scenery and period frocks, Madden's film proves a pallid creature indeed compared to the hanky-panky leaking out of Buckingham Palace of late.
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There's really no bad performance by the great English actress Judi Dench, but this romanticized Victorian historical drama treads close.