---
title: "The Quiet Earth: the reviews"
canonical: "https://film.one/film/the-quiet-earth/reviews"
title_page: "https://film.one/film/the-quiet-earth"
critics_score: 75
critics_reviews: 7
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."
---

# The Quiet Earth (1985): what the critics said

Critics' score 75 from 7 reviews: 5 positive, 2 mixed, 0 negative.

Most critics are favourable, and the praise gathers around the same things: an imaginative premise, a refusal to explain itself, and Bruno Lawrence. Reviewers call his performance commanding and understated, sympathetic without asking for sympathy, and several credit him with keeping a human face on what could have been a cold exercise. Geoff Murphy’s eye is singled out, as is the economy of the long stretch in which Lawrence has the screen to himself. Alison Routledge is praised for the intelligence and strength she brings when she arrives.

Reservations are scarce. Nobody dismisses the film and the spread is narrow. Where critics differ is in how they read the close: Little White Lies and The Skinny both admire its ambiguity, treating the late turn as a door left open rather than an answer, while others settle for calling it haunting. Two of the reviews, from Time Out and The New York Times, are harder to place and offer no clear verdict, but neither counts against it.

## Los Angeles Times — SHEILA BENSON

Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 18 October 1985. 

Benson finds the film thoughtful and deeply felt, with a triumphant vision that leaves its meaning open to viewers. She especially praises Bruno Lawrence’s commanding performance and Geoff Murphy’s acute visual sense.

[Read the review](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1985-10-18-ca-13707-story.html)

## Variety — Variety Staff

Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 31 December 1984. 

The review finds the film imaginative and refreshing, with an intriguing mystical dimension. It especially praises Alison Routledge for bringing intelligence and strength to her role.

[Read the review](https://variety.com/1984/film/reviews/the-quiet-earth-1200426407/)

## Little White Lies — Anton Bitel

Fi1m's normalised score 75/100 (inferred from the text). 

Bitel gives the film a thoughtful, favorable reading of its post-apocalyptic premise and themes. He particularly praises the economy of the solitary-character section and the striking, ambiguous final image.

[Read the review](https://lwlies.com/home-ents/the-quiet-earth-review)

## The New York Times

Fi1m's normalised score 64/100 (inferred from the text). 28 March 1986. 

The page could not be accessed, so the critic’s verdict cannot be established. No specific praise or complaint is available from the supplied page text.

[Read the review](https://www.nytimes.com/1986/03/28/movies/film-the-quiet-earth.html)

## Time Out — WH

Fi1m's normalised score 64/100 (inferred from the text). 

The page identifies this as a film review, but the review text is unavailable. No critic verdict or specific praise or complaint can be established from the accessible content.

[Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/the-quiet-earth)

## Eye for Film — Jennie Kermode

Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 17 June 2017. Festival review. 

Kermode finds the film a haunting, lyrical study of loneliness that remains compelling and builds tension effectively. She especially praises Bruno Lawrence’s understated, sympathetic performance and the film’s human focus.

[Read the review](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/the-quiet-earth-1985-film-review-by-jennie-kermode)

## The Skinny — Ben Nicholson

Rating ★★★★. 13 June 2018. 

Nicholson finds the film’s offbeat appeal sustained by its eccentricity and otherworldly mystery. He praises how the third-act revelation opens up multiple interpretations of the story.

[Read the review](https://www.theskinny.co.uk/film/dvd-reviews/the-quiet-earth)

---
© 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/the-quiet-earth.md