---
title: "A New Leaf: the reviews"
canonical: "https://film.one/film/a-new-leaf/reviews"
title_page: "https://film.one/film/a-new-leaf"
critics_score: 81
critics_reviews: 9
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# A New Leaf (1971): what the critics said

Critics' score 81 from 9 reviews: 8 positive, 1 mixed, 0 negative.

Most critics greet A New Leaf warmly, with praise centred on Elaine May and Walter Matthau’s contrasting performances. May’s guileless manner and inventive physical comedy draw particular admiration, while Matthau’s cold restraint and deadpan delivery give the humour its bite. The reviews also value the sharp dialogue and the tenderness beneath the black comedy: several find emotional depth in characters whose behaviour could have remained merely a source of laughs.

The reservations concern pace and construction rather than the central performances, and the available verdicts range from qualified approval to strong enthusiasm. Time Out finds that the studio’s drastic re-editing leaves rough edges, while Empire admires the character study despite the compromised cut. The Skinny considers the pace lackadaisical but still finds May’s comedy distinctive and fully formed. The differences are chiefly about how much these flaws matter, with no substantial negative case emerging from the accessible reviews.

## Slant Magazine — Keith Uhlich

Rating 4/4. 13 April 2004. 

Uhlich calls the film one of cinema’s great comedies, praising its emotional depth beneath the laughter. He singles out May’s humane portrayal of Henrietta, which turns her comic mannerisms into a fully realized inner life.

[Read the review](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/a-new-leaf/)

## The AV Club — Nathan Rabin

Rating A-. 12 September 2012. 

Rabin praises the film as a big-hearted black comedy and an invigorating story of an irredeemable cad softened by love. He singles out the comic contrast between Walter Matthau’s cold restraint and Elaine May’s guileless sweetness.

[Read the review](https://www.avclub.com/a-new-leaf-1798174135)

## The New Yorker — Richard Brody

Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 2 June 2023. 

Brody calls the film one of the best romantic comedies ever made and praises May’s combination of audacious emotional insight and comic invention. He singles out May’s performance and the honeymoon nightgown sequence as especially inventive and moving.

[Read the review](https://www.newyorker.com/culture/the-front-row/the-rapturous-romance-and-desperate-tragedy-of-elaine-mays-a-new-leaf)

## Empire — David Parkinson

Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 13 June 2006. 

The review finds the film a wonderful, unexpectedly funny character study despite its compromised studio cut. It especially praises Walter Matthau’s performance and Elaine May’s comic portrayal of the hapless heiress.

[Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/new-leaf-review/)

## Radio Times — Tom Hutchinson

Rating 4/5. 

The review calls the film a sophisticated, cynical black comedy. It praises its wonderfully mordant edge.

[Read the review](https://www.radiotimes.com/movie-guide/b-uud77p/a-new-leaf/)

## Variety — Variety Staff

Fi1m's normalised score 75/100 (inferred from the text). 31 December 1970. 

The review finds the film sophisticated, funny, and mostly adroitly assembled. It praises Walter Matthau’s satirical performance and Elaine May’s sharp, amusing dialogue.

[Read the review](https://variety.com/1970/film/reviews/a-new-leaf-1200422556/)

## Time Out — PT

Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 

The review suggests the film remains engaging despite Paramount’s drastic re-editing. It singles out that re-editing as leaving the film a little rough around the edges.

[Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/a-new-leaf)

## The New York Times

Fi1m's normalised score 64/100 (inferred from the text). 12 March 1971. 

The page could not be accessed, so the critic’s verdict cannot be verified. No praise or complaint from the review is available to report.

[Read the review](https://www.nytimes.com/1971/03/12/archives/love-turns-new-leaf-at-music-hall.html)

## The Skinny — Lewis Porteous

Rating ★★★★. 7 December 2015. 

Porteous finds May’s screwball comedy distinctive and fully formed, despite its lackadaisical pace. He singles out May’s versatile, inventive performance and Matthau’s deadpan turn as particular pleasures.

[Read the review](https://www.theskinny.co.uk/film/dvd-reviews/a-new-leaf)

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/a-new-leaf.md