--- title: "Amélie: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/film/amelie/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/film/amelie" critics_score: 72 critics_reviews: 7 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." --- # Amélie (2001): what the critics said Critics' score 72 from 7 reviews: 4 positive, 2 mixed, 1 negative. Most critics respond warmly to Amélie’s optimism, visual invention and eccentric humour, though enthusiasm depends on how much sweetness they can bear. Praise centres on Jeunet’s densely imagined Paris, his attention to small pleasures and Audrey Tautou’s lead performance, which gives the elaborate fantasy a welcome human presence. The favourable reviews find longing beneath the cheerful coincidences and admire the affection shown towards lonely people and their peculiar habits. The spread of opinion is wide, with the same busy style producing delight in some reviews and fatigue in others. Even sympathetic critics find the film overlong or sugary at times, while others question whether its cleverness allows enough space for feeling. The AV Club finds the elaborate construction wearisome and emotionally detached. Slant Magazine is similarly hostile in its assessment of the contrived whimsy, treating the visual flourishes as an obstacle to emotion rather than a source of pleasure. ## Radio Times — David Parkinson Rating 5/5. The film enchants with nostalgic optimism, glorious visuals and ceaseless invention after Jeunet's earlier nightmarish fantasies. Tautou's Amélie is iconic in her selfless joie de vivre, though the rose-tinted Paris vision has some conservative undertones. [Read the review](https://www.radiotimes.com/movie-guide/b-g0d2yo/amlie/) ## Time Out — David Jenkins Rating 4/5. 11 October 2011. The review calls it the quintessential subtitled film for those who dislike them and an eccentric one-of-a-kind work reflecting Jeunet's unique sensibility. It praises the cheeky jokes and oddball observations but notes it feels overlong and saccharine at times. [Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/amelie) ## Slant Magazine — Ed Gonzalez Rating 3/4. 3 October 2001. Amélie is a self-indulgent, smug fairy tale whose aggressive style and contrived whimsy make it unbearable art-house eye candy. Jeunet's flashy techniques and cutesy coincidences overwhelm any genuine feeling, resulting in something to chew on with a barf bag handy. [Read the review](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/amelie/) ## The Guardian — Peter Bradshaw Fi1m's normalised score 65/100 (inferred from the text). 5 October 2001. The critic finds the film overly sweet and whimsical, likening it to being forced to eat an entire dessert trolley while being serenaded, though it has charm in its fantasy elements and lead performance. [Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2001/oct/05/1) ## The New Yorker — Anthony Lane Fi1m's normalised score 60/100 (inferred from the text). 29 October 2001. The film is described as a small, dippy, consoling pick-me-up with trick shots and visual busyness reminiscent of Chagall or Dufy, but the critic notes it fidgets and fusses too much, risking frittering away its joy despite contributing to gaiety. [Read the review](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2001/11/05/in-the-shadows) ## The AV Club — Keith Phipps Fi1m's normalised score 40/100 (inferred from the text). 16 November 2001. The film is a visually striking but ultimately wearisome contraption centered on a whimsical heroine who meddles in others' lives. Jeunet's style prioritizes clever ideas over emotional engagement, leaving the whimsy feeling stretched and detached. [Read the review](https://www.avclub.com/amelie-1798192819) ## Empire — Alan Morrison 5 October 2001. The critic calls it one of the most joyous films of recent years and the dictionary definition of feel-good, with a golden heart and irresistible charms that brighten lonely characters through Amélie's positive force. They single out its magic realism filtered through the heroine's imagination and the affectionately drawn eccentrics. [Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/amelie-review/) ## The New York Times — Elvis Mitchell Rating Critic's Pick. 2 November 2001. The critic finds the film a sugar-rush of meticulous visual clutter and hypnotic romance, praising its fable-like quality filled with longing and a heroine who flirts with failure. Jeunet's affection for the medium shines through in the funny curlicues around the action. [Read the review](https://www.nytimes.com/2001/11/02/movies/film-review-little-miss-sunshine-as-urban-sprite.html) ## Total Film 5 October 2001. The review praises it as Jeunet's best and most accessible picture, a schmaltz-free feelgooder that reminds viewers true love and beauty exist in mundane places. It highlights the quirky supports, Tautou's elfin lead performance, and the contemporary Parisian fantasy setting free of tokenism or agenda. [Read the review](https://www.gamesradar.com/amelie-review/) ## Variety — Lisa Nesselson 24 April 2001. Festival review. Jeunet's fresh, funny, exquisitely bittersweet tour de force is ambitious yet intimate, defiantly personal yet gleefully universal, with every frame an instant lesson in design and charm that leaves viewers feeling they have borrowed an artist's eyes. [Read the review](https://variety.com/2001/film/awards/amelie-2-1200467697/) ## Eye for Film — Angus Wolfe Murray Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 7 August 2001. The critic finds the film delightful and quirky, with Amélie discovering secrets in little things amid an atmosphere of magic created by Jeunet's imaginative approach. Eccentricity is celebrated as a quality needing protection, with love remaining elusive and Tautou perfectly cast in the lead. [Read the review](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/amelie-film-review-by-angus-wolfe-murray) --- © 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/amelie.md