The Sense of an Ending

"The generally reliable presence of Brit stalwarts Jim Broadbent and Charlotte Rampling can only do so much heavy lifting to prevent this underwhelming adaptation of Julian Barnes’ novel from sinking into middlebrow mediocrity. It’s a clear example of a work that probably exists more convincingly in literary form; whatever emotional punch its source appears to have hasn’t survived the jump between mediums."

"You only spoon-feed an audience that way when you don't trust them - or don't trust your ability to connect with them on a deeper level. In this case, it's probably both."

"Its most receptive audiences will almost certainly be older, with enough life experience to recognize the mix of curiosity and regret that ensnares us like so many wild brambles each time we hazard a stroll down Memory Lane."

"This is a mature film that asks us to bring a lot of ourselves to it."

"The film totters into a redemptive sentimentality that wouldn't even play if it were made to seem more earned."

"This is involving storytelling, but ultimately the film is undermined by its own tasteful restraint."

"If you go in to The Sense of an Ending hoping to – err – make sense of the ending, then good luck."

"The movie is ultimately Broadbent's showcase, and he shoulders the dramatic burden with sly, curmudgeonly expertise."

"Julian Barnes' short, penetrating novel about how we self-protectively edit our memories receives an intelligent, low-key, necessarily diluted big-screen treatment in The Sense of an Ending."