Synopsis
Set in a small English town in 1959, a woman decides, against polite but ruthless local opposition, to open a bookshop, a decision which becomes a political minefield.
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Cast
- Emily MortimerFlorence Green
- Bill NighyMr. Brundish
- Patricia ClarksonMrs. Violet Gamart
- Hunter TremayneMr. Keble
- Honor KneafseyChristine
- James LanceMilo North
- Frances BarberJessie
- Reg WilsonGeneral Gamart
- Michael FitzGeraldMr. Raven
- Nigel O'NeillMr. Deben
Recommendations
- 88
The Seattle Times
Those who love books, picturesque English villages and getting lost in actors’ faces should be very happy - 80
The Hollywood Reporter
Its subversive undercurrent, embodied in fine performances by Emily Mortimer and Bill Nighy, is what makes it really interesting. - 70
Village Voice
Though nearly nothing happens in this movie besides a woman opening a shop and beginning a standoffish friendship with a reclusive man, I still found myself drawn in, just as I was drawn to Iain’s discreet disaster of a baked Alaska (please check it out if you haven’t seen this TGBBS episode); sometimes the quiet is enticing. - 63
Movie Nation
Message and metaphor are all and The Bookshop, with its terrific cast and lovely setting, barely overcomes that burden. - 60
The Guardian
It is a strange, subdued, rather miserable film, interestingly perceptive on conformism and philistinism as a way of life, and on the disconcerting wiles the inhabitants use in order to thwart Florence’s entirely reasonable plans. - 50
Screen Daily
In theory there’s plenty here to engage: a critique of Little England philistinism, the arrival of provocative literature into a sleepy backwater that barely reads, the revolt of a courageous woman against the establishment. Yet none of that comes to life. - 50
Variety
This is a frustratingly patchy adaptation, in which some of Fitzgerald’s shrewdest observations on the savage politics and politesse of supposedly tranquil English village life get a little bit lost in the Europudding. A fine, sensitive leading turn from Emily Mortimer helps shore up these quiet, lightly dust-covered proceedings, but can’t quite put The Bookshop in the black. - 40
The Observer (UK)
For all the real-estate machinations and nefarious scheming, there are too many inert scenes that drain the energy from this already plodding story.
