The Lesson: reviews

What the critics say average 6.5 from 35 outlets

• 9.0 New York TimesJeannette Catsoulis Unfolding with a tonic intelligence and a slow accretion of menace, Alex MacKeith’s screenplay is smoothly in sync with the specific skills of each performer. Grant is magnificent as a cruel, past-his-prime genius burdened by terrible guilt over an earlier family tragedy, and Delpy — well, can any actor express so much with a single, withering look? Read
• 9.0 The Hollywood ReporterCaryn James Alice Troughton’s first feature is a jewel, an exquisitely made chamber piece (...) With a clever script that keeps us off guard, the setting of a gracious country estate whose sumptuous visuals mask a dark undercurrent, and a score that entices us into an increasingly unsettling world, The Lesson is a small delight. Read
• 8.8 The Mercury NewsRandy Myers Written with strategic cerebral glee by Alex MacKeith, “The Lesson” is one for the adults in the crowd. It’s beautifully acted — Grant is one of our greatest living actors and McCormack is one of our most exciting new ones — and photographed, with major props due to cinematographer Anna Patarkina. Read
• 8.3 Original-CinLiz Braun This taut domestic thriller from director Alice Troughton concerns family secrets and notions of art and authorship, all of it constructed on a framework of class distinction and noblesse oblige. (...) It’s a clever bit of noir that keeps a viewer slightly off-balance at all times as the tension builds. Read
• 8.0 The Arizona RepublicBill Goodykoontz “The Lesson” is a quiet little film with surprisingly sharp teeth. And director Alice Troughton, in her feature debut, has just the right touch, straddling the line between introspective art-house fare and a satisfying mystery — not so much a whodunit as a who wrote it. Read
• 8.0 Screen RantMae Abdulbaki The Lesson is gripping and compelling, enhanced by its cast and score. It knows precisely what kind of movie it is and, though at times predictable, has much to say and a sophisticated, unpretentious style to go along with it. Read
• 8.0 The TimesKevin Maher There’s a moment late into the second half of this literary thriller where Richard E Grant delivers the most exemplary and unexpected piece of screen acting. Read
• 8.0 Los Angeles Times en EspañolSergio Burstein Troughton rises to the challenge, filming without fuss but with a great sense of space (...) Grant has to play a man who is both self-centred and fascinating, and he doesn't strike a single false note, not even when everything spins out of control. (...) And most importantly, through all of this, the whole thing is tremendously entertaining.
• 7.5 FilmInkCain Noble-Davies (...) takes its sweet time to get to the really juicy content, but it’s so very entertaining once it kicks in that the restlessness of the build-up is worth it. Read
• 7.5 The PlaylistJason Bailey None of us were privy to the casting process for Alice Troughton’s “The Lesson,” but I sincerely hope, with my entire heart, that they opened a bottle of champagne after locking in Richard E. Grant. (...) Nevertheless, until then, “The Lesson” plays and gives one of our most entertaining actors an especially meaty role to devour. Read
• 7.0 DeadlineDamon Wise And although the hero of the piece is ostensibly Sommers, played with subtle shades of Tom Ripley by Good Luck to You Leo Grande’s McCormack, the standout, inevitably, is Grant, who’s on fire here as the domineering patriarch (...) Read
• 7.0 The SpectatorDeborah Ross The Lesson is a literary thriller that is occasionally heavy-handed but also menacingly entertaining, plus you get Richard E. Grant in his full pomp. Read
• 7.0 RTÉAudrey Donohue The title of The Lesson reveals little about its plot and likewise, this film noir maintains its mystery throughout, maintaining ambiguity right to the very end on who exactly is schooling who. Read
• 7.0 VarietyGuy Lodge Who is writing what, and to what extent it matters, are the questions that keep director Alice Troughton and screenwriter Alex MacKeith’s mutual debut feature interesting, even as it slides into occasional, overheated cliché. (...) When the film’s own words don’t quite pass muster, however, a tight, tony ensemble of actors gives them some polish and punch. Read
• 6.7 ColliderChase Hutchinson That it holds together is a testament to the cast who it feels like are battling against clumsy escalations that go bigger and louder when the quieter moments carry with them a far more tactful deployment of emotion. Read
• 6.3 Slant MagazineChris Barsanti It’s a testament to the skills of the cast and filmmakers that The Lesson’s mysteries, while easy to foretell, are worth unraveling. Read
• 6.3 The Washington PostMichael O'Sullivan Echoing Liam’s review of Sinclair’s work in progress, I’d call the first two acts of the film cleverly constructed, fresh and fascinating, yet marred by a climax and conclusion that are unworthy of what came before. Read
• 6.3 Associated PressLindsey Bahr But “The Lesson” is worth a watch as a tightly crafted film made by and for adults unafraid of some rhododendron metaphors and casual Tchaikovsky talk. Read
• 6.3 New Orleans Times-PicayuneMike Scott Still, between the work of its expert cast and Troughton’s well-played surprises, there’s enough there to make it a sturdy-enough, diverting enough bit of blockbuster-season counterprogramming. Read
• 6.0 Los Angeles TimesMichael Rechtshaffen But in the thoroughly capable hands of Grant, Delpy and McCormack, whose interplay has been playfully choreographed to the 1-2-3 tempo of a waltz-infused score by composer Isobel Waller-Bridge (Phoebe’s sister), the film proves as pleasingly undemanding as a typical summer read: neither a legit page-turner, nor easy to put down. Read
• 6.0 EmpireLillian Crawford McCormack, Grant and Delpy waltz with flair in this stylish if unoriginal slow-burn thriller. Best consumed with a large glass of red wine and one’s tongue in one’s cheek. Read
• 6.0 Time OutDan Jolin As such, despite its thorough classiness and pristine presentation, it is not a film you can really warm to – much like its characters. Read
• 6.0 The TelegraphTim Robey As a scratchy string quartet for the four actors, it continues to work surprisingly well – you might hand it back with a B+ in that department. But as a storytelling assignment, it droops little by little into the C zone. Read
• 6.0 The ObserverWendy Ide The feature debut from accomplished TV director Alice Troughton is a neatly atmospheric piece, with the alienating affluence of the Sinclair house emphasising Liam’s powerlessness, and a brusquely formal piano waltz on the score that grows wilder and more dangerous as the film progresses. Unfortunately, it all rather stumbles with an overwrought final act that disintegrates under scrutiny (...) Read
• 6.0 The GuardianPeter Bradshaw Here is a brittle and contrived but rather elegant Brit thriller about literary paranoia from debut feature screenwriter Alex MacKeith and director Alice Troughton, herself a cinema first-timer having had much acclaim working on TV. (...) An amusing essay in conceit and revenge. Read
• 6.0 Financial TimesDanny Leigh It’s an unfortunate irony, given that the story hinges on unkind remarks about other people’s writing, but the snag is the script. Read
• 6.0 Loud and Clear ReviewsConnor Lightbody The Lesson is a diverting, fun thriller that leans too lightly on the campy schlock needed to elevate it. Read
• 6.0 Screen DailyFionnuala Halligan A thriller-ish drama about two writers – master and servant, literally – with a troubled teenage son thrown into the mix views like airport fiction come to life. With Richard E. Grant as the best-selling author and Daryl McCormack as his biggest fan, this is a slickly-packaged and appealing primetime TV-friendly drama (...) Read
• 6.0 Daily ExpressAndy Lea “Great writers steal” is the catchphrase of Richard E Grant’s pompous novelist in this slow-burning thriller. (...) There are some witty lines but the plot doesn’t veer far from its well-trodden path. Read
• 5.0 The Austin ChronicleRichard Whittaker Maybe some grasp of the dynamics of the modern publishing industry would have added some grit, making it more than it is: a formulaic and forgettable pulpy beach read. Read
• 5.0 The Wall Street JournalKyle Smith To the extent this literary feud evolves into a thriller, it’s not an especially thrilling one. Read
• 4.0 Evening StandardEllen E. Jones Like many an Oxford undergrad, this film isn’t as enchantingly clever as it thinks it is, and while The Lesson does have indisputably good taste in both actors and influences — some Alfred Hitchcock here, some Patricia Highsmith there — the pastiche of a rarified, literary world never fully convinces. Read
• 4.0 Daily MailBrian Viner Alice Troughton’s film is an overheated, overly theatrical melodrama (...) But (and I do know not everyone agrees) Grant is such a thumping ham that, perhaps aptly for a story about plagiarism, I didn’t believe a word of it. Read
• 3.8 Roger EbertGlenn Kenny “The Lesson,” directed by Alice Troughton from a script by Alex MacKeith, aspires to be high-toned but only gets to the peak of a cliché slag heap. Read
• 3.8 Movie NationRoger Moore And then the final 15 minutes kind of undo all that effort in the most contrived ways imaginable. But it makes a grand showcase for the snobby, aloof villainy of Richard E. Grant, who devours his best role in decades like a starving man who breaks his fast with caviar and canapes. Read