--- title: "The Remains of the Day: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/film/the-remains-of-the-day/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/film/the-remains-of-the-day" critics_score: 80 critics_reviews: 12 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 Remains of the Day (1993): what the critics said Critics' score 80 from 12 reviews: 11 positive, 0 mixed, 1 negative. Most critics rate the film highly, and the praise gathers around Anthony Hopkins, whose butler Stevens is singled out in nearly every review as controlled, thoughtful and the reason the film works. Emma Thompson’s housekeeper is close behind. Beyond the leads, the reviews credit James Ivory’s direction, Ruth Prawer Jhabvala’s script and the period staging, and most read the film as two things at once: an upstairs-downstairs drama with a political edge, and a quiet tragedy of feeling left unspoken. The reservations are about feeling. Variety finds it absorbing but short of the emotional force that would make it fully satisfying, The New Yorker calls the adaptation clunky, and Time Out thinks it only comes alive in the scenes of polite sparring between the leads. The one outright dissent comes from The Independent, which finds the pacing too deliberate and the music intrusive, spelling out what the characters cannot say. The spread is otherwise narrow. ## Radio Times — Adrian Turner Rating 5/5. This impeccable adaptation of Kazuo Ishiguro's novel stars Anthony Hopkins as the emotionally repressed butler and Emma Thompson as the housekeeper he possibly loves. It is as much a study in power and politics as it is Hopkins's blinkered view of the world, with immaculately staged 1930s and 40s settings and direction alive to every nuance. [Read the review](https://www.radiotimes.com/movie-guide/b-53w4lr/the-remains-of-the-day/) ## Empire — Angie Errigo Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 13 March 2007. The film is another perfectly crafted Merchant-Ivory production that excels as both an upstairs-downstairs drama with political undertones and a quiet tragedy of repressed emotion. Hopkins gives a remarkable, wonder-evoking performance as the dutiful butler. [Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/remains-day-review/) ## Los Angeles Times — Kenneth Turan Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 5 November 1993. The film is a moving, carefully modulated picture that overcomes stodginess with miraculous acting from Hopkins and Thompson. It presents a melancholy romance between characters bound by professional codes, making the tandem performances the highlight. [Read the review](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1993-11-05-ca-53328-story.html) ## RogerEbert.com — Roger Ebert Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 5 November 1993. The critic praises the subtle, thoughtful adaptation that explores a butler's repressed emotions and blindness to political realities in pre-WWII Britain, highlighting the performances and the theme of duty over personal happiness. [Read the review](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-remains-of-the-day-1993) ## The Hollywood Reporter — David Hunter Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 5 November 1993. The critic praises the film as bound for box-office glory and Oscar honors, highlighting Anthony Hopkins' colossal performance as the duty-bound butler Stevens. The uniformly excellent cast and James Ivory's direction of the technical team are singled out for praise. [Read the review](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general-news/remains-day-review-movie-1993-1249155/) ## The New York Times — Vincent Canby Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 5 November 1993. The critic praises the film as a spellbinding tragi-comedy with psychological and political scope, an exquisite work that stands out among Merchant-Ivory productions. The adaptation captures the novel's metaphoric depth through the butler's story of honor and duty. [Read the review](https://www.nytimes.com/1993/11/05/movies/review-film-remains-of-the-day-blind-dignity-a-butler-s-story.html) ## The Guardian Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 17 September 2021. The critic praises James Ivory’s 1993 adaptation as a masterful reworking that captures heartbreaking personal stories against historical backdrops. They highlight the performances of Anthony Hopkins and Emma Thompson as the repressed butler and housekeeper whose thwarted relationship drives the tragicomic tale of duty and unlived possibilities. [Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2021/sep/17/the-remains-of-the-day-revisit-anthony-hopkins-and-emma-thompsons-classic-tale-of-longing) ## The New Yorker — Anthony Lane Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 8 November 1993. The film is a parable of excess control and professional pride taken to extremes, with the movie doing the novel proud in its clunky way. Hopkins delivers a performance full of thought and afterthought that never bores. [Read the review](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1993/11/15/in-which-they-serve) ## Time Out — DW Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 10 September 2012. The film succeeds thanks to Anthony Hopkins's astonishing performance as the devoted butler, but it is Emma Thompson's character the viewer feels for most. The scenes of polite repartee between them finally bring the film to life. [Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/the-remains-of-the-day) ## Variety Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 24 September 1993. The meticulousness, intelligence, taste and superior acting expected from Merchant Ivory are present, making the film continuously absorbing. It lacks the emotional resonance that would make it completely satisfying, though top performances ensure it is a class entry. [Read the review](https://variety.com/1993/film/reviews/the-remains-of-the-day-1200433199/) ## The Independent — Adam Mars-Jones Fi1m's normalised score 40/100 (inferred from the text). 12 November 1993. The critic finds the film overly deliberate and undermined by intrusive music that telegraphs emotions the restrained characters cannot express. Hopkins delivers a meticulously controlled performance as the butler whose devotion to duty masks profound personal loss. [Read the review](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/film-beyond-the-call-of-duty-adam-marsjones-on-anthony-hopkins-and-emma-thompson-in-merchant-ivory-s-adaptation-of-kazuo-ishiguro-s-the-remains-of-the-day-1503756.html) ## Eye for Film — James Benefield Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 14 January 2010. The critic calls the film Merchant Ivory's finest hour and praises its crisp, unfussy direction by James Ivory, intelligent script by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala, and impeccable central performances by Anthony Hopkins and Emma Thompson, especially a devastatingly sad confrontation scene. [Read the review](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/the-remains-of-the-day-film-review-by-james-benefield) --- © 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-remains-of-the-day.md