Most critics like it, and the praise clusters almost entirely on the two leads. Jessica Tandy’s tightfisted, suspicious widow and Morgan Freeman’s patient chauffeur are named in nearly every review as the reason the film works, with several calling them among the best performances of either career. Bruce Beresford’s direction earns steady approval for opening up the stage play just enough to feel natural without losing its two-character shape, and the screenplay and period detail are noted warmly.
The reservations are about what the film says rather than how it is acted. Three of the nine reviews find it too cosy, musty or schematic to work as commentary on Southern race relations across its twenty-five years; Time Out and Collider in particular think it well made but thin on the subject it appears to be about. The Los Angeles Times shares the complaint yet still recommends it for Freeman. The spread is narrow: nobody dislikes it, and even the doubters concede the performances.