The Kindness of Strangers - Movie Reviews (2024)

The glum, disparate stories never gel into a satisfying whole. Scherfig is entitled to a misfire when she's a filmmaker of skill and sensitivity; I'm looking forward to what she does next.

Full Review | Oct 14, 2021

This isn't my favorite Lone Scherfig drama (that remains An Education), but she still knows how to draw out nuanced performances.

Full Review | Oct 14, 2021

Audiences who like neat, tidy narratives might not like this film but its big-hearted sympathy for people on the margins of society and hope-filled belief in the power of kindness will win others over...

Full Review | Oct 14, 2021

The Kindness of Strangers isn't an easy to watch film with a neat and tidy plot that you can easily forget. Instead, the implausible aspects of the story call for contemplation about the need for kindness in our lives.

Full Review | Oct 14, 2021

Zoe Kazan gives a luminous performance in a story about the transformative impact of kindness and forgiveness

Full Review | Oct 14, 2021

With its poignant story, The Kindness of Strangers serves as a strong argument for the importance of really seeing those around us and opening our hearts to them.

Full Review | Oct 14, 2021

These characters stumble through their personal tragedies towards each other, and the resulting interactions are healing to both those onscreen, and those watching the film.

Full Review | Oct 14, 2021

[I]t gets mired down in so many interwoven plot lines and a frankly depressing tone that switches to hopeful on a dime.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/10 | Feb 1, 2021

Thankfully there is Bill Nighy playing Bill Nighy. [Full review in Spanish]

Full Review | Original Score: 2.5/5 | Jul 15, 2020

The biggest problem is the jumbled and hackneyed screenplay that has little regard for viewers' intelligence ... It's just not a very good movie, and you won't feel much sympathy for the characters who make very bad decisions.

Full Review | Jul 15, 2020

As the cinematic equivalent of a self-help seminar, this heavy-handed ensemble drama of redemption and rebirth is hopelessly melodramatic.

Full Review | Apr 3, 2020

The best thing about The Kindness of Strangers is that it is very much a product of our current situation when it comes to the chaotic state of the world we live in. Sometimes we get the downer movies we deserve.

Full Review | Feb 21, 2020

Lives interconnect in slow-paced drama with brief violence.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/5 | Feb 20, 2020

A syrupy brew thick with twee and an abundance of cringe-inducing moments pulling at heartstrings.

Full Review | Original Score: 1.5/4 | Feb 14, 2020

The movie functions like one of those star-studded Garry Marshall ensemble movies but made terribly sad until the last few minutes, when a tacked-on happy ending arrives in time for the credits.

Full Review | Feb 14, 2020

"The Kindness of Strangers" is a mixed bag, though it's led by a wonderful performance by Zoe Kazan. In the end, she does manage to drag this film across the finish line.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/4 | Feb 13, 2020

The cast is stellar-Stella!-but everyone checks out long before it's all over.

Full Review | Dec 12, 2019

The inevitable indifference with which this Christmas turkey will be received should be a blessing to everyone involved.

Full Review | Dec 10, 2019

Lone Scherfig's everything-is-connected ensemble film never comes together.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/5 | Dec 9, 2019

[D]ear lord, I've been searching high and low for something nice to say about this mess, and I have come up nearly empty.

Full Review | Original Score: 1/4 | Dec 3, 2019