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Little Lili
Metascore
59 out of 100

Mixed or average reviews - based on 15 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 6 out of 15
  2. Mixed: 7 out of 15
  3. Negative: 2 out of 15
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  1. Chicago Tribune
    Reviewed by: Michael Wilmington
    88
    Miller's quiet artistry is at its peak, and though "Lili" is not as subtle, profound or moving a work as Chekhov's play, it's an intelligent, first-rate piece of cinema.
  2. L.A. Weekly
    Reviewed by: Scott Foundas
    80
    It's the third feature Miller has shot using lightweight digital video cameras, and the result is a special lightness in the work itself -- the glowing images ease into one another like leaves turning in a summer breeze, while the performances are similarly effortless.
  3. Chicago Sun-Times
    Reviewed by: Roger Ebert
    75
    The third act departs from Chekhov and is original with Miller; it not only makes a nicely ironic point, but, because he takes his time with it, allows for a meditation on the distance between art and life.
  4. Christian Science Monitor
    Reviewed by: David Sterritt
    75
    Splendidly acted and directed.
  5. Miami Herald
    Reviewed by: Marta Barber
    75
    There's something to be said about an old story given a new ending -- and making it work.
  6. Variety
    Reviewed by: Derek Elley
    70
    Works as both an adaptation and a movie in its own right
  7. TV Guide
    Reviewed by: Ken Fox
    60
    The film is, in fact, an adaptation of Anton Chekov's "The Seagull." This provenance also explains why there's something slightly old-fashioned about the whole business.
  8. The A.V. Club
    Reviewed by: Noel Murray
    60
    La Petite Lili isn't conventional or crowd-pleasing enough to appeal to audiences who like their foreign films safely sentimental, but it's also not daring enough for those who expect art to hurt a little.
  9. Los Angeles Times
    Reviewed by: Kevin Thomas
    60
    La Petite Lili itself is pretty good, but it is also assured to the point of glibness.
  10. The New York Times
    Reviewed by: Stephen Holden
    60
    For all its spikiness, there are hurdles that La Petite Lili cannot overcome. Abridged and abbreviated, Chekhov's leisurely philosophic reflections evoke a musty aroma of pressed flowers in a scrapbook that is out of tune with the times.
  11. New York Daily News
    Reviewed by: Jack Mathews
    50
    Miller takes Chekhov's themes and checks them off, but he never gets under his egocentric characters' thin skins.
  12. Chicago Reader
    Reviewed by: Richard M. Porton
    50
    Miller and coscreenwriter Julien Boivent have a gift for aphoristic, if glib, dialogue, and Nicole Garcia and Ludivine Sagnier do their best to flesh out hopelessly one-dimensional characters.
  13. Entertainment Weekly
    Reviewed by: Lisa Schwarzbaum
    42
    Because the talk never gets beyond statement making, and because the characters emit none of Chekhov's radiantly lived-in soulfulness, there's plenty of time to appreciate the sun-kissed landscape.
  14. New York Post
    Reviewed by: V.A. Musetto
    38
    Viewers are left wondering just why they should care about them and the rest of the film's one-dimensional characters.
  15. Village Voice
    Reviewed by: Melissa Anderson
    30
    True to Chekhov's dictum, a gun does fire near the end -- by which point eye-rolling audience members may be up in arms too.
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