--- title: "The Rapture: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/film/the-rapture/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/film/the-rapture" critics_score: 68 critics_reviews: 9 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 Rapture (1991): what the critics said Critics' score 68 from 9 reviews: 5 positive, 3 mixed, 1 negative. Most critics come down in favour of The Rapture, and nearly every review, whatever its final verdict, praises Mimi Rogers. Her performance as a bored telephone operator drawn into a fundamentalist movement is called brave, fearless and commanding by supporters and sceptics alike. Michael Tolkin, in his debut as writer-director, is credited with taking faith and divine judgement seriously without endorsing them, and the word that recurs is audacious. Variety also singles out Bojan Bazelli’s cinematography. The reservations cluster on tone and on the ending. Several critics find the shifts in mood uneven, and more than one describes the film as caught between the profound and the pretentious, with the final stretch dividing opinion sharply: what one review calls chilling, another calls ridiculous. The spread is wide, from a full-marks review at Slant to Time Out, the lone outright dismissal, which finds the whole thing risible. The consensus is admiring but wary. ## Slant Magazine — Keith Uhlich Rating 4/4. 9 November 2004. Uhlich finds the film profound and quietly rapturous, praising its treatment of Sharon’s free will amid religious and patriarchal forces. He singles out Mimi Rogers’s brave, spectacular performance and the calm, chilling delivery of the final line. [Read the review](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/the-rapture/) ## Los Angeles Times — Kenneth Turan Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 4 October 1991. Turan finds the film compelling, audacious, and thoughtful in its probing of faith and the afterlife. He particularly praises Mimi Rogers’s fearless performance and Michael Tolkin’s dispassionate handling of challenging theological ideas. [Read the review](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-10-04-ca-3450-story.html) ## The AV Club — Scott Tobias Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 15 November 2004. Tobias praises the film as an audacious, thought-provoking work that takes religious faith and divine judgment seriously without embracing them. He singles out its defiant conclusion for its provocative challenge to the idea of God's justice. [Read the review](https://www.avclub.com/the-rapture-1798200150) ## Empire — Kim Newman Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 1 January 2000. Newman finds the film’s unsettling intensity ultimately effective, though its mood shifts may not work for everyone. He particularly praises the central performance and the atmosphere of dread and wonder. [Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/rapture-review/) ## The New York Times Fi1m's normalised score 64/100 (inferred from the text). 30 September 1991. The page is inaccessible, so the critic’s verdict cannot be established. No specific praise or complaint can be verified from the available text. [Read the review](https://www.nytimes.com/1991/09/30/movies/review-film-festival-religion-taken-to-the-breaking-point.html) ## Radio Times — Robert Sellers Rating 3/5. Sellers describes the film as ambitious, challenging and intelligent, despite some imperfections. He especially praises Mimi Rogers’s bravura performance as a bored telephone operator drawn into a fundamentalist religious movement. [Read the review](https://www.radiotimes.com/movie-guide/b-nzei60/the-rapture/) ## Variety — Variety Staff Fi1m's normalised score 50/100 (inferred from the text). 1 January 1991. Variety finds the film an unexpectedly serious exploration that struggles between profundity and pretentiousness, while still marking a distinctive debut for Michael Tolkin. It praises Mimi Rogers’s commanding, soul-baring performance and Bojan Bazelli’s luminous cinematography. [Read the review](https://variety.com/1990/film/reviews/the-rapture-1200428683/) ## Time Out — BC Fi1m's normalised score 30/100 (inferred from the text). The critic finds the film unfortunately loony and ultimately risible. Its final stretch is singled out for becoming cherishably ridiculous. [Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/the-rapture) ## Paste — Tim Porter Fi1m's normalised score 75/100 (inferred from the text). 31 January 2005. Porter finds the film audacious and potentially devastating, though its ideas and drama can become muddled and manipulative. He especially praises Mimi Rogers’s performance and the film’s openness to interpretation. [Read the review](https://www.pastemagazine.com/movies/the-rapture-dvd) --- © 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-rapture.md