25
Metascore
11 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 70Los Angeles TimesGary GoldsteinLos Angeles TimesGary GoldsteinA biopic about Mother Teresa could have easily been a self-important slog, yet William Riead's The Letters proves a stirring and absorbing if not quite definitive drama.
- 50Movie NationRoger MooreMovie NationRoger MooreA movie that won’t convert anyone, a film for the faithful who want to believe nothing but the best about Mother Teresa. Real life is rarely cut and dry, and dramatically flat, as this.
- 42The A.V. ClubNoel MurrayThe A.V. ClubNoel MurrayThe Letters feels dutiful, not artful.
- 40The New York TimesKen JaworowskiThe New York TimesKen JaworowskiThough speechifying and mawkishness are thankfully scarce, the bland script gives her few chances to go beyond the expected formula.
- 30Austin ChronicleSteve DavisAustin ChronicleSteve DavisThe movie simply trudges along, tirelessly making its rounds, just like its holy sister walking impoverished streets with grim purpose.
- 20The Hollywood ReporterJohn DeForeThe Hollywood ReporterJohn DeForeThis earnest but painfully clunky film, though professional in tech respects and seemingly well financed, plays like the work of an ambitious high school history student.
- 20Village VoiceSerena DonadoniVillage VoiceSerena DonadoniRiead's reverential portrait belies Teresa's thorny complexities and turns her into a single-minded proponent of work hard, pray hard.
- 20VarietyNick SchagerVarietyNick SchagerOpting for dutiful, reverent beatification over flesh-and-blood characterizations (or insights), the film is merely a clunky primer on how poor storytelling can make even the grandest of figures seem small.
- 12Slant MagazineClayton DillardSlant MagazineClayton DillardA brain-dead slog whose bankrupt aesthetics ironically soil the very legacy it purports to aggrandize.
- 10TheWrapInkoo KangTheWrapInkoo KangIt’s as punishingly dull as Sunday-school homework — and just as unnecessary.