Most critics land in the middle on Sommersby, warm about the romance and unconvinced by the rest. The praise clusters on Jodie Foster, whose sensitive, thoughtful performance is singled out by nearly every review, and the Los Angeles Times also credits her chemistry with Richard Gere. Variety is the one clearly positive notice, finding the film a successful, morally intricate romance and a strong American reworking of its source.
The reservations are about softness. Radio Times finds the remake weaker than the original, if still engrossing, and Empire argues that Hollywood smoothing leaves identity and betrayal insufficiently tested. The Los Angeles Times is the lowest, judging it an uneven romance that comes close to the genre’s satisfactions without delivering them. Gere divides opinion more than Foster; Radio Times finds him and Bill Pullman less impressive. The spread is narrow, and three reviews are only partly readable, so the picture is thinner than seven notices suggest.