--- title: "I've Loved You So Long: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/film/ive-loved-you-so-long/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/film/ive-loved-you-so-long" critics_score: 74 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." --- # I've Loved You So Long (2008): what the critics said Critics' score 74 from 10 reviews: 7 positive, 2 mixed, 1 negative. Most critics like it, and nearly all of them like it for the same reason: Kristin Scott Thomas. Review after review names her performance first, praising its restraint, its quiet weight and the flashes of dry wit underneath. Philippe Claudel’s direction is credited with keeping the drama understated and credible, so the family tensions build without being forced, and most reviews find the result moving. The reservations are about the writing, not the acting. Slant finds the script didactic and the pacing uneven; The New Yorker thinks the film withholds too much about Juliette’s crime; Empire, otherwise warm, calls the final scene a wrong note. The spread is wide for a film this well liked. Only Paste comes out against it, arguing that the film piles on suffering without reaching any catharsis, though even that review admires Scott Thomas. ## The Hollywood Reporter — Maggie Lee Fi1m's normalised score 95/100 (inferred from the text). 18 February 2008. Festival review. Lee finds the film deeply moving and praises Philippe Claudel’s assured direction and carefully shaped storytelling. She singles out Kristin Scott Thomas’s performance as stupendous, with the supporting cast also strengthening the film. [Read the review](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/ive-loved-you-long-125309/) ## The AV Club — Scott Tobias Rating B+. 23 October 2008. The review finds the drama perceptive and restrained, with family bonds tested by guilt and mistrust. It especially praises the restraint that gives a late volcanic confrontation its power. [Read the review](https://www.avclub.com/ive-loved-you-so-long-1798205098) ## Empire — Phil de Semlyen Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 9 September 2008. The review praises the film as pitch-perfect overall, despite a discordant final scene. It singles out Kristin Scott Thomas’s performance for its vitality and warmth. [Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/ve-loved-long-review/) ## Time Out — Nina Caplan Rating 4/5. 23 September 2008. Caplan frames the film as a jailbreak story in an unconventional sense. The available description singles out Kristin Scott Thomas’s fluent French. [Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/ive-loved-you-so-long) ## Slant Magazine — Aaron Cutler Rating 3/4. 23 October 2008. Cutler finds the film worthwhile despite didactic writing and uneven pacing. He especially praises Kristen Scott Thomas’s deeply affecting performance. [Read the review](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/ive-loved-you-so-long/) ## The Guardian — Phelim O'Neill Fi1m's normalised score 75/100 (inferred from the text). 14 February 2009. The review is strongly positive about the film’s credible, understated drama. It especially praises Kristin Scott Thomas’s precise and restrained performance. [Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2009/feb/14/ive-loved-you-so-long-dvd-review) ## Variety — Derek Elley Fi1m's normalised score 75/100 (inferred from the text). 14 February 2008. Festival review. The critic finds the film engrossing and emotionally rewarding despite its understated events. He especially praises Kristin Scott Thomas’s lead performance for its quiet heft and flashes of mordant wit. [Read the review](https://variety.com/2008/film/awards/i-ve-loved-you-so-long-1200548024/) ## Screen Daily — Jonathan Romney Fi1m's normalised score 65/100 (inferred from the text). 15 February 2008. The page identifies this as a review, but its assessment is hidden behind a paywall. The accessible text does not reveal what the critic praises or criticizes. [Read the review](https://www.screendaily.com/ive-loved-you-so-long--il-ya-longtemps-que-je-taime-/4037346.article) ## The New Yorker — David Denby Fi1m's normalised score 65/100 (inferred from the text). 2 November 2008. Denby finds the film moving and perceptive, though he thinks its handling of Juliette’s crime feels unfairly withholding. He praises Kristin Scott Thomas’s fascinating performance and Claudel’s finely observed details of intimacy. [Read the review](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2008/11/10/dirty-secrets) ## Paste — Andy Beta Fi1m's normalised score 35/100 (inferred from the text). 24 October 2008. The critic finds the film ambitious but ultimately lacking in catharsis. They praise Kristin Scott Thomas’s haunted performance while faulting the film’s overloaded approach to suffering. [Read the review](https://www.pastemagazine.com/movies/philippe-claudel/ive-loved-you-so-long) --- © 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/ive-loved-you-so-long.md