The Lunchbox
Sony Pictures Classics | Release Date: February 28, 2014 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
76
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 28 Critic Reviews
Positive:
26
Mixed:
2
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
Tampa Bay TimesSteve PersallApr 1, 2014
Kaur and Khan, who was robbed of a IIFA nod, scarcely share a frame of The Lunchbox, yet the emotional connection of their characters is palpable. Read full review
90
Los Angeles TimesKenneth TuranFeb 27, 2014
One thing that makes Lunchbox so strong is that a touch of melancholy hangs over its sweetness. Finally this is a film about the wheel of life, about what helps us cope with its turns and find our way in its unforgiving labyrinth. Read full review
88
Boston GlobeTy BurrMar 20, 2014
The Lunchbox isn’t an example of bravura moviemaking or cutting-edge style but simply a tale told with intelligence, restraint, and respect. Read full review
88
Chicago Sun-TimesMary HoulihanMar 7, 2014
The Lunchbox,” Indian director Ritesh Batra’s debut, is a witty and perceptive film that reveals the hopes, sorrows and regrets of ordinary people. Read full review
88
McClatchy-Tribune News ServiceRoger MooreFeb 24, 2014
It’s an intimate, quiet and slow-paced romance, a simple, richly rewarding movie in the classic style of India’s greatest filmmaker, the late Satyajit Ray. Read full review
83
Portland OregonianMarc MohanMar 27, 2014
A crowd-pleasing import that would leave only the most steadfast curmudgeon unmoved. Read full review
83
Christian Science MonitorPeter RainerFeb 28, 2014
The Lunchbox, the debut feature from Indian director Ritesh Batra, has such a sweet premise that I sincerely hope it doesn’t get remade with Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan. Read full review
80
New Orleans Times-PicayuneMike ScottApr 18, 2014
Khan in particularly is wonderful in Batra's film, which takes the time to indulge in quiet moments that Khan expertly fills with his expressive face and sense ease in front of a camera. Read full review
80
The GuardianXan BrooksApr 16, 2014
The Lunchbox is perfectly handled and beautifully acted; a quiet storm of banked emotions. Read full review
80
NPRBob MondelloFeb 28, 2014
The Lunchbox is a first feature for director Ritesh Batra, but it nicely captures the almost overwhelming crush and noise of contemporary India, and it plays cleverly and delicately with the tension of whether its two correspondents might eventually meet. Theirs is one "virtual" romance that has nothing to do with social media. Read full review
80
Wall Street JournalJoe MorgensternFeb 27, 2014
Wonderfully fresh and affecting fable from India. Read full review
80
The DissolveNoel MurrayFeb 25, 2014
Going strictly by plot description, Ritesh Batra’s The Lunchbox sounds a little like an Indian knock-off of a Nicholas Sparks movie, but it plays out more like Brief Encounter. Read full review
80
VarietyJay WeissbergJan 20, 2014
Batra adeptly plays on the tension of will they or won’t they meet, making good decisions based on character and situation rather than the need to uplift an audience. Read full review
78
Austin ChronicleMarjorie BaumgartenMar 26, 2014
The Lunchbox offers us a naturalistic glimpse of middle-class life in modern Mumbai. Read full review
75
St. Louis Post-DispatchJoe WilliamsApr 3, 2014
The debut creation of director Ritesh Batra, it’s a lovely little film from a place where the little things linger. Read full review
75
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Adam NaymanMar 20, 2014
If co-writer and director Ritesh Batra occasionally takes his sweet time getting from point A to point B, it’s equally true that he gives the audience a nice, comfortable ride. Read full review
75
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalleMar 6, 2014
The Lunchbox is better as an experience than as a memory. When you're watching it, you can still believe it might actually be heading somewhere. Read full review
75
Entertainment WeeklyOwen GleibermanFeb 27, 2014
It’s neorealist corn, but it gets to you. Read full review
75
Slant MagazineNick McCarthyFeb 26, 2014
The patience in mercurially presenting the characters' backstories and desires is matched by the film's genuine curiosity about the healing power of sharing stories. Read full review
75
The PlaylistKevin JagernauthJan 20, 2014
Batra's film is ultimately less about love than about the vulnerability relationships place us in emotionally, and courage required to move past pain, and experience life again after we've been hurt. Read full review
70
The New York TimesA.O. ScottFeb 27, 2014
The comedy is more wry than uproarious, the melodrama gently poignant rather than operatic, and the sentimentality just sweet enough to be satisfying rather than bothersome. Read full review
70
Village VoiceJon FroschFeb 25, 2014
Batra isn't ambitious with the visuals, but he creates an effective, unfussy sense of urban space, both indoor (cramped apartments, crowded buses) and outdoor (even leafy residential streets seem to be swarming with playing children). Read full review
70
The Hollywood ReporterDeborah YoungJan 20, 2014
What is most endearing is the delicacy with which writer-director Ritesh Batra reveals the hopes, sorrows, regrets and fears of everyday people without any sign of condescension or narrative trickery. Read full review
68
Film.comWilliam GossJan 20, 2014
This long-distance love story is comfort food in any language, perfectly agreeable and unlikely to surprise. Read full review
67
The A.V. ClubBen KenigsbergFeb 26, 2014
The Lunchbox ultimately registers as a too-hesitant portrayal of hesitancy, and its pleasures are largely incidental. Read full review
63
New York PostKyle SmithFeb 26, 2014
A clever setup that harkens back to “You’ve Got Mail” and “The Shop Around the Corner” doesn’t quite pay off in India’s warm-hearted comedy-drama The Lunchbox. Read full review
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