I Capture the Castle: Critic Reviews

Smith's book is a charmer, but the keys to this Castle have been misplaced.

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.

Feels like a respectable BBC television drama rather than a movie.

The psychological darkness that underpins this film doesn't seem inappropriate to its wit and charm.

A clear-headed, straightforward version of Dodie Smith's 1948 novel.

Sweet and sleepy, I Capture the Castle might feel most comfortable in a Sunday-afternoon slot on the BBC: The humor is gentle and broad, the camerawork awkward, the landscape pastoral.

A sweet, lovely, if perhaps overlong movie.

With eloquent dialogue but scant smoldering passions, the mushy machinations nicely nudge director Tim Fywell's gentle little film.

A refreshingly mature look at first love and life's often-rough transitions.

Never shies from indulging us and our desire for a gentle and generous world that doesn't slip into easy answers.

It would be fun to be a member of the Mortmain family -- maybe the younger brother, who shows every sign of growing up to be Harry Potter.

A classy English film that lovingly re-creates a teenage girl's coming of age in the 1930s.

It's a pleasantly quirky love story with a wry sense of humor and standout performances from the youngish cast.

Overly mannered and schmaltzy.

It has just enough charm to be watchable.

A compelling and emotionally rich coming-of-age drama.

Beautifully filmed silliness, and fetchingly acted tweeness.

A quiet, charming picture (if not a dazzling one) that's true in spirit to its source material.

A classy adaptation of the much-loved Dodie Smith classic.

Neither conventionally told nor resolved, and able to make the most eccentric situations believable, I Capture the Castle is both an ordinary story and a special one -- and that, finally, is the secret of its success.