--- title: "On Chesil Beach: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/film/on-chesil-beach/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/film/on-chesil-beach" critics_score: 62 critics_reviews: 21 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." --- # On Chesil Beach (2018): what the critics said Critics' score 62 from 21 reviews: 9 positive, 10 mixed, 2 negative. The reviews lean towards qualified approval, with praise strongest for Saoirse Ronan and Billy Howle rather than the adaptation as a whole. Ronan draws repeated admiration for making Florence’s anxiety and reserve expressive, while the leads’ chemistry gives the awkward courtship tenderness. Several critics find the treatment of repression and failed communication painful and affecting. Even some less persuaded by the film value its attention to small gestures and revealing period details. Reservations cluster around the drawn-out central encounter, theatrical stiffness and a final stretch that several reviews find sentimental or contrived. The spread is wide: admirers describe a sensitive, heartbreaking drama, while others find it tedious or emotionally remote. Vulture offers the sharpest dissent, arguing that Florence’s aversion to intimacy becomes a tasteless mystery rather than an experience the film understands. The performances attract considerably more agreement than the storytelling. ## Variety — Owen Gleiberman Rating Critics Pick. 7 September 2017. Festival review. Gleiberman finds the adaptation lyrical, tender, and heartbreaking, praising its emotionally nuanced vision of love. He singles out Saoirse Ronan’s remarkable performance and the couple’s delicate, affecting chemistry. [Read the review](https://variety.com/2017/film/reviews/on-chesil-beach-review-saoirse-ronan-1202550919/) ## The Independent — Geoffrey Macnab Rating 4/5. 16 May 2018. Macnab finds the film a nuanced, painstakingly observed study of awkward young love and social expectations. He especially praises Saoirse Ronan’s portrayal of Florence and the filmmakers’ attention to revealing details. [Read the review](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/reviews/on-chesil-beach-review-saoirse-ronan-dominic-cooke-a8354331.html) ## The AV Club — Vikram Murthi Rating B. 15 May 2018. Murthi finds the adaptation effective overall, though its prolonged buildup and the central sexual encounter can feel overdrawn or unintentionally comic. He praises the leads’ nuanced performances and the screenplay’s ability to make small gestures carry emotional weight. [Read the review](https://www.avclub.com/intimacy-divides-a-young-couple-on-the-effective-ian-mc-1826044503) ## Los Angeles Times — Kenneth Turan Fi1m's normalised score 75/100 (inferred from the text). 17 May 2018. Turan finds the film heartbreaking and difficult to watch, but ultimately worth enduring. He especially praises Saoirse Ronan’s performance and the film’s immaculate writing, direction and acting. [Read the review](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-et-mn-on-chesil-beach-review-20180517-story.html) ## Slant Magazine — Chuck Bowen Rating 3/4. 15 May 2018. Bowen praises the film’s willingness to make repression and emotional intimacy compelling, while presenting the couple’s failed communication as tragic. He especially singles out Saoirse Ronan and Billy Howle’s rapport, which gives their characters’ insecurities and affection a moving force. [Read the review](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/on-chesil-beach/) ## The Hollywood Reporter — Deborah Young Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 8 September 2017. Festival review. The critic finds the drama delicate and emotionally affecting, though its final act veers into disappointing sentimentality. She particularly praises the performances of Saoirse Ronan and Billy Howle. [Read the review](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/chesil-beach-review-1036781/) ## Screen Daily — Wendy Ide Fi1m's normalised score 64/100 (inferred from the text). 8 September 2017. Festival review. The accessible page identifies this as Ide’s Toronto review, but the verdict is unavailable behind the paywall. The standfirst notes the leads and adaptation but offers no specific praise or complaint. [Read the review](https://www.screendaily.com/reviews/on-chesil-beach-toronto-review/5122156.article) ## The New York Times Fi1m's normalised score 64/100 (inferred from the text). 16 May 2018. The page could not be read, so its verdict and specific praise or criticism cannot be verified. The available text contains no review content. [Read the review](https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/16/movies/on-chesil-beach-review-ian-mcewan.html) ## Little White Lies — David Jenkins Rating 4/3/2. 18 May 2018. The review finds the adaptation a prestige slog, criticizing its drawn-out climax and abruptly sentimental ending. It praises the detailed production design in the film’s early scenes. [Read the review](https://lwlies.com/reviews/on-chesil-beach) ## Time Out — Phil de Semlyen Rating 3/5. 11 May 2018. The critic calls the adaptation half-successful, with repression and sexual anxiety at its heart. The review singles out the period’s social changes as part of the story’s emotional tension. [Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/on-chesil-beach) ## Total Film — Jamie Graham Rating 3/5. 14 May 2018. Graham calls it a decent adaptation that preserves the novella’s embarrassment and sadness, though its theatricality makes it feel cramped and artificial. He praises how the awkward wedding-night encounter captures the characters’ discomfort and gender dynamics. [Read the review](https://www.gamesradar.com/on-chesil-beach-review/) ## Empire — Liz Moody Fi1m's normalised score 45/100 (inferred from the text). 14 May 2018. The review finds the film beautifully made and acted but ultimately more cerebral than emotionally engaging. It praises Saoirse Ronan and Billy Howle’s expressive performances while faulting the stilted dialogue. [Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/chesil-beach-review/) ## The Guardian — Simran Hans Fi1m's normalised score 45/100 (inferred from the text). 19 May 2018. Hans finds the film pleasingly thorny about intimacy, sexual dysfunction and trauma, but ultimately frustrated by its conventional, sentimental ending. She praises the awkward tenderness of the courtship scenes and criticizes the third act’s fidelity to the novel’s coda. [Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2018/may/19/on-chesil-beach-film-review-saoirse-ronan-billy-howle-ian-mcewan) ## Evening Standard — Charlotte O'Sullivan Rating 2/5. 20 June 2018. The review criticizes the adaptation’s softened, contrived choices and Hollywood ending. It praises Saoirse Ronan’s moments and Billy Howle’s scenes with Anne-Marie Duff. [Read the review](https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/film/on-chesil-beach-review-the-honeymoons-over-a3842771.html) ## Vulture — Emily Yoshida Fi1m's normalised score 10/100 (inferred from the text). 18 May 2018. Yoshida finds the film flattened and emotionally patronizing, turning Florence’s aversion to intimacy into a tasteless mystery. She singles out the failed sex scene’s tactile, awkward close-ups as the exception that conveys Florence’s experience. [Read the review](https://www.vulture.com/2018/05/on-chesil-beach-review.html) ## Deadline — Pete Hammond Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 17 May 2018. Hammond finds the drama sensitive and heartbreaking, and says it is well worth seeing. He especially praises Saoirse Ronan and Billy Howle, singling out Howle’s performance as particularly impressive. [Read the review](https://deadline.com/2018/05/on-chesil-beach-review-saoirse-ronan-billy-howle-dominic-cooke-1202392385/) ## Den of Geek — Don Kaye Rating 3.5/5. 17 May 2018. Kaye finds the film largely compelling, though its final stretch is unsatisfying. He praises Saoirse Ronan’s performance and the film’s dignified handling of its turning point. [Read the review](https://www.denofgeek.com/books/on-chesil-beach-review-love-on-the-rocks/) ## The Wrap Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 16 May 2018. Festival review. The critic finds the film uneven but ultimately touching and bittersweet. Saoirse Ronan’s performance stands out, while the old-age makeup detracts from the ending. [Read the review](https://www.thewrap.com/on-chesil-beach-toronto-review/) ## The Playlist Fi1m's normalised score 64/100 (inferred from the text). 8 September 2017. Festival review. The page could not be accessed, so the critic’s verdict is unavailable. No specific praise or complaint can be verified. [Read the review](https://theplaylist.net/on-chesil-beach-saoirse-ronan-tiff-review-20170908/) ## /Film — Marshall Shaffer Rating 5 out of 10. 17 September 2017. Festival review. Shaffer finds the adaptation tedious and overexplained, though its final confrontation partially redeems it. He praises Saoirse Ronan’s forceful performance, especially in the climactic argument. [Read the review](https://www.slashfilm.com/553357/on-chesil-beach-review-dominic-cookes-adaptation-is-dead-on-arrival-tiff/) ## HeyUGuys — Linda Marric Fi1m's normalised score 50/100 (inferred from the text). Festival review. Marric finds the adaptation moving but ultimately too superficial to match the emotional force of the book. She particularly praises Saoirse Ronan’s performance and the chemistry between Ronan and Billy Howle. [Read the review](https://www.heyuguys.com/on-chesil-beach-review/) --- © 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/on-chesil-beach.md