The Children Act

"No one gives better pensive gaze here than Thompson; the drama lies in the fallibility of even the most competent and well-intentioned among us."

"... "The Children Act" is that rarest of things: an adult drama, written and interpreted with a sensitivity to mature human concerns..."

"A beautifully internalised performance from Ms. Thompson and the various efforts to highlight the cinematic potential in Fiona's anguish... can't override the tidy ironies of Mr. McEwan's design."

"Emma Thompson's performance, so elegant and vulnerable, carries the picture."

"This is a riposte for anyone who thinks that all the great contemporary British drama can only be found on television."

"The Children Act is a cerebral piece, for sure, and a disturbing one by the end, but Thompson's performance brings life to the complex moral questions it attempts to examine."

"This film adaptation never reaches the intimate heights of Ian McEwan's novel, but Emma Thompson's portrait of a family court judge who lets the world in at the cost of losing her own judgment is acting of the highest order."

"It's always rewarding to watch Thompson bring her lucid wit and deep emotional reserves to bear on a meaty role."

"The two central performances could hardly be better. Thompson works here with remarkable subtlety."

"Another reminder, if one were needed, of the subtlety and skill of Emma Thompson's stratospheric talent."