69
Metascore
30 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 91ColliderIsabella SoaresColliderIsabella SoaresThe film has the power to bring its audience to tears because the story is powerful, and the thoughtful creative decisions do justice to it.
- 80Total FilmJames MottramTotal FilmJames MottramWith a quality cast (which also includes Lena Olin as Winton’s wife and Jonathan Pryce as his friend), this is a finely crafted film that unfolds with great care, building towards a cathartic climax.
- 80The TelegraphRobbie CollinThe TelegraphRobbie CollinIn a pivotal scene, the younger Nicholas explains to his colleagues that he has faith in ordinary people because, well, an ordinary person is all that he is. One Life’s wholehearted embrace of that sentiment is the root of its limitations – and its potency too.
- 75IndieWireSophie Monks KaufmanIndieWireSophie Monks KaufmanThe undeniably moving nature of Winton and his associates’ deeds swell the narrative with rich emotional currents, however the film’s bid for consistent quality is kneecapped by a ridiculously on-the-nose script.
- 70VarietyAlissa SimonVarietyAlissa SimonAlthough the film as a whole struggles to match the poignancy of its finale . . . it nevertheless serves as an urgent reminder of the importance of individual action at a time when the world refugee crisis is at a scale not seen since the Second World War.
- 63New York PostJohnny OleksinskiNew York PostJohnny OleksinskiWhen a movie wades into the vast pool of World War II and Holocaust titles, the viewer expects a splash. One Life is, at best, a spritz. It delivers a lot of what we’ve already seen before, but on a less-than-cinematic scale. Yet spending some time with Hopkins and exploring a speck of light in one of the world’s darkest chapters is just satisfying enough.
- 60The GuardianBenjamin LeeThe GuardianBenjamin LeeIt’s in the scenes from the late 80s, which slowly start to take centre stage, that the film finds more original footing, exploring with nuance the realities of living with the weight of doing so much yet thinking of it as so little.
- 60Screen DailyNikki BaughanScreen DailyNikki BaughanThis is an undeniably moving story, and Winson — who died in 2015 aged 106 — a man worth honouring, but One Life comes across as an orchestrated tearjerker.
- 60The Hollywood ReporterLeslie FelperinThe Hollywood ReporterLeslie FelperinIn some ways, it’s one of Hopkins’ best performances from the last few years, beautifully underplayed, eschewing mannerisms or silly accents. It’s just a shame the film itself, directed by James Hawes, with a script by Lucinda Coxon and Nick Drake, is a bit worthy and diagrammatic.
- 58The PlaylistGregory EllwoodThe PlaylistGregory EllwoodFor the most part, One Life is chronicling very familiar WW II territory. It’s not difficult to prompt genuine tension from these horrific events, but Hawes’ depiction of them is simply too conservative.