I Capture the Castle
Samuel Goldwyn Films | Release Date: July 11, 2003 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
63
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 29 Critic Reviews
Positive:
18
Mixed:
9
Negative:
2
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
90
Dallas ObserverGregory Weinkauf
Funny, sad, moving and, above all, astute, making I Capture the Castle a fabulous film. Even the cars are tasty. Read full review
90
Los Angeles TimesKenneth Turan
It's a rich, emotional story, a wonderfully appealing film made with humor and intelligence, but there is also something almost magical about how it takes the stuff of innumerable previous films -- love, romance and adolescent coming of age -- and turns them into something that feels one of a kind. Read full review
88
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
We like these people, which is important, and we are amused by them, which is helpful, but most of all we envy them, because they negotiate their romantic perplexities with such dash and style. Read full review
88
Baltimore SunMichael Sragow
Screwball farce, romance, domestic tragicomedy and literary frolic rolled into one. Read full review
80
Washington PostStephen Hunter
The psychological darkness that underpins this film doesn't seem inappropriate to its wit and charm, but rather amplifies it, makes it more real. Read full review
80
L.A. WeeklyChuck Wilson
Wise and moving. Read full review
75
Christian Science MonitorDavid Sterritt
It's surprising no filmmaker has adapted Dodie Smith's novel before now, and pleasing that Mr. Fywell and company have done such a responsible job with it. It's one of the season's most captivating surprises. Read full review
75
San Francisco ChronicleCarla Meyer
A delightful coming-of-age movie that teeters on contrivance but never topples. Read full review
75
Boston GlobeWesley Morris
If there's true magic to be found in the proceedings, it's in Garai's dexterous performance. Read full review
75
PremierePeter Debruge
What isn't fair is the film's R rating, which makes this charming coming-of-age tale virtually inaccessible to the audience sure to cherish it most. Read full review
75
Chicago TribuneMichael Wilmington
Smith's story is a charmer: touching, funny, romantic, perceptive, absorbing and full of color and character. And the movie, which has been respectfully and affectionately handled by people who obviously love their source, captures most of those qualities. Read full review
70
VarietyAndy Klein
Fywell has transformed this autobiographical novel into a perceptive, wholly engaging drama, infusing the proceedings with a light tone that almost qualifies the film as a comedy, yet never loses sight of the unpredictability of human emotions. Read full review
70
The New York TimesDana Stevens
The evident affection that the filmmakers bear toward Smith's novel, and toward the odd, spirited people who inhabit it, gives the film a modest, hardworking appeal. Read full review
70
SalonStephanie Zacharek
May not be a very grand picture, but it's a gently satisfying one. And if it brings Smith's book just a few hundred more readers, it's admirably done its job. Read full review
67
Portland OregonianKim Morgan
There's something refreshingly and truly girlish about the picture's musings and epiphanies that makes its R rating baffling. Read full review
67
Austin ChronicleKimberley Jones
Falling in love with the wrong person makes for a far more toothsome melodrama, a fact this small, satisfying picture rightly recognizes. Read full review
63
Philadelphia InquirerCarrie Rickey
Sadly too often (and I'm unsure whether this is the result of voices that echo when bounced off stone walls or because the acting is all over the place), the characters create the impression that English is their second language. Read full review
63
New York Daily NewsJami Bernard
A Jane Austen-like tale of sense and sensibility, with some of the wit, but, alas, none of the linguistic legerdemain. Read full review
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