--- title: "Chocolat: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/film/chocolat/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/film/chocolat" critics_score: 61 critics_reviews: 10 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." --- # Chocolat (2000): what the critics said Critics' score 61 from 10 reviews: 5 positive, 2 mixed, 3 negative. Most critics find Chocolat an agreeable fable, and half of them like it a good deal more than that. The praise clusters on the cast. Juliette Binoche is named in most reviews as the film’s calm centre, Alfred Molina’s mayor is repeatedly singled out, and Judi Dench’s landlady draws notice too. Lasse Hallström’s direction is described as light and assured, and the warmer reviews credit him with making something more substantial than the sugary premise suggests. The spread is wide. The reservations all point the same way: it is too soft, too sweet and too eager to please, with little real conflict and a feel-good ending that some find patronising. The Guardian is the harshest, arguing that not even Binoche can save it, and the Evening Standard says the film blunts the sharper edges of the novel. Time Out adds that the period setting seals the story off from any present-day bite. ## Los Angeles Times — Kevin Thomas Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 15 December 2000. The critic hails it as a delectable yet spiritually nourishing humanist fable with wide appeal. Hallström's subtle direction and the cast's glowing performances, especially Binoche and Molina, are singled out for praise. [Read the review](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2000-dec-15-ca-179-story.html) ## Variety — Lael Loewenstein Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 7 December 2000. The review describes it as a richly textured comic fable blending Old World wisdom with timely commentary on moral superiority. It praises Hallström's observations on the human spirit and the exquisite production values. [Read the review](https://variety.com/2000/film/reviews/chocolat-2-1200465964/) ## Empire — Kim Newman Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 1 January 2000. Lasse Hallström brings a delicate touch to this blend of comedy, soap, romance and magic that feels like a souffle but turns out more substantial. It is a treat and a rare showcase for Binoche, though with the minor cavil of players speaking English with slight French accents. [Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/chocolat-review/) ## RogerEbert.com — Roger Ebert Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 22 December 2000. The critic sees the film as a charming fable pitting pagan sensuality against rigid Christianity, with chocolate as the winning force. Binoche is singled out as a serene, wise presence who embodies the story's life-affirming spirit. [Read the review](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/chocolat-2000) ## The New York Times — Elvis Mitchell Fi1m's normalised score 60/100 (inferred from the text). 15 December 2000. The review calls it a crowd-pleasing but manipulative confection, an art-house film for those who dislike art-house films. It praises the assured direction and strong ensemble performances, especially Molina and Depp. [Read the review](https://www.nytimes.com/2000/12/15/movies/film-review-candy-power-comes-to-town.html) ## Time Out — WH Fi1m's normalised score 55/100 (inferred from the text). 10 September 2012. Hallström's soft adaptation constructs a feminist parable about courage, support and pleasure in personal transformation, with excellent performances. However, their relevance is diminished by the historical bubble in which they are situated, with the period cinematography preserving the whole in aspic. [Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/chocolat-1) ## The AV Club — Scott Tobias Fi1m's normalised score 40/100 (inferred from the text). 15 December 2000. The critic finds Lasse Hallström's fable-like story of a chocolate shop disrupting a conservative French village overly sweet and lacking depth or conflict. While acknowledging the charm of its cast and progressive themes, the review criticizes its heavy-handed magic realism and emotional generosity as making the film insubstantial. [Read the review](https://www.avclub.com/chocolat-1798192563) ## Evening Standard Fi1m's normalised score 30/100 (inferred from the text). 10 April 2012. Some audiences will like this soft-centred, simplistic pseudo-French fable better than the critic did; it is a predigested exercise in genteel nostalgia that neuters the source novel's sharper edges and reduces food to mere bon-bons rather than a transfigured sacrament. [Read the review](https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/film/spoonful-of-sugar-for-chocoholics-7433753.html) ## The Guardian — Peter Bradshaw Fi1m's normalised score 25/100 (inferred from the text). 2 March 2001. The critic calls the film a gooey, sickly-sweet confection that even Juliette Binoche cannot redeem, comparing it unfavourably to a Thornton's factory and criticising its patronising feelgood ethos and Depp's performance. Binoche's grace and beauty are singled out for praise amid the complaints about the film's ickiness and smugness. [Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2001/mar/02/1) ## Eye for Film — Angus Wolfe Murray Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 9 March 2001. The critic describes it as a fairy story about a woman who provides a breath of fresh air to a small French town. Praises supporting performances like Alfred Molina as the mayor and Judi Dench as a grouchy landlady who learns to let go, while noting Juliette Binoche's character is more sentimental than exacting. [Read the review](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/reviews.php?film_id=2680) --- © 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/chocolat.md