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The Bookshop

Play trailer 2:14 Poster for The Bookshop PG Released Aug 24, 2018 1h 53m Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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57% Tomatometer 112 Reviews 51% Popcornmeter 500+ Ratings
Florence Green, a free-spirited widow, puts grief behind her and risks everything to open up a bookshop -- the first such shop in the sleepy seaside town of Hardborough, England. But this mini social revolution soon brings her fierce enemies: she invites the hostility of the town's less prosperous shopkeepers and also crosses Mrs. Gamart, Harborough's vengeful, embittered alpha female who is a wannabe doyenne of the local arts scene.

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The Bookshop

The Bookshop

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Critics Consensus

A rare adaptation that sticks too closely to its source material, The Bookshop's meticulously crafted world building gets lost in its meandering pace.

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Critics Reviews

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Nell Minow AWFJ.org Fitzgerald's book about the ruthlessness and resolve that can be glimpsed underneath apparent graciousness and courtesy is brought to the screen by Isabel Coixet with outstanding performances by Patricia Clarkson and Emily Mortimer. Sep 30, 2021 Full Review Andrea Gronvall Chicago Reader The ever-winsome Emily Mortimer glows as a struggling widow who opens a bookstore in her insular coastal town. Mar 4, 2020 Full Review Moira MacDonald Seattle Times The Bookshop is a gentle, quiet film in which not a whole lot happens... But it's beautifully evocative of the musty, inviting smell of a bookshop on a cool day, or of the nostalgic pleasure of old photographs Rated: 3.5/4 Sep 5, 2018 Full Review Diana Tuova Spotlight on Film A sentimentally foolish whimsy of a plot lost almost completely in confused pacing – a melodrama cooked out of nothing. Rated: 2/5 Aug 2, 2024 Full Review Jennifer Merin AWFJ.org Adapted from Penelope Fitzgerald's novel, Catalan director Isabel Coixet's The Bookshop is a rather bookish film - in a very good and comforting way. Sep 30, 2021 Full Review Betsy Bozdech AWFJ.org Like the town it's set in, The Bookshop is a small, intimately observed drama with an undercurrent of melancholy. Sep 30, 2021 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View All (117) audience reviews
Francine H After years as a visitor to Rotten Tomatoes I literally created an account to boost the surprising (to me) rating with my one tiny review! This is a charming film with a wonderful actress in a beautiful setting. Watching it was so evocative, it felt like I was reading one of those particularly English books with a nice cup of tea. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 08/31/24 Full Review Paul B Generally I love every Bill Nighy film however this is an exception. He looks very uncomfortable with some of the dialogue and distinctly unimpressed with his "romantic" link to Emily Mortimer, who's at least twenty years his junior. I managed to watch it to the end but it was hard going. Give this one a miss. Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars 06/19/24 Full Review ludo c An absolute disaster of a movie. Intrigued by movies about the book world I was interested in watching this but it's a poor "Chocolate" type wannabe but failing at every level. The direction, screenplay and editing are at the level of a poor student film without the excuse of being someone's first project. The pacing is off and progression of the story utterly slow where it does not need to be and jumping ahead where it should not. No tension and no emotion, except when it feels false. No supporting soundtrack when there should be one and laughable when there is one. The very talented actors look like they know they are in a bad movie, visibly uncomfortable and painful to watch. A waste. Rated 1 out of 5 stars 11/10/23 Full Review Renaldo D The narrative is slow and some performances are not interesting. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 10/08/23 Full Review Marit R 3,5 stars. I enjoyed it, but not as much as the Potato peel society film. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 08/21/23 Full Review Alex D Lovely intimate movie. Apparently, either you love it or hate it. Give it a try. Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 08/12/23 Full Review Read all reviews
The Bookshop

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Cast & Crew

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Movie Info

Synopsis Florence Green, a free-spirited widow, puts grief behind her and risks everything to open up a bookshop -- the first such shop in the sleepy seaside town of Hardborough, England. But this mini social revolution soon brings her fierce enemies: she invites the hostility of the town's less prosperous shopkeepers and also crosses Mrs. Gamart, Harborough's vengeful, embittered alpha female who is a wannabe doyenne of the local arts scene.
Director
Isabel Coixet
Producer
Jaume Banacolocha, Joan Bas, Adolfo Blanco, Chris Curling
Screenwriter
Isabel Coixet
Distributor
Greenwich Entertainment
Production Co
Zephyr Films, Samson Films, One Two Films
Rating
PG (Language|Brief Smoking|Some Thematic Elements)
Genre
Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Aug 24, 2018, Limited
Release Date (Streaming)
Jan 15, 2019
Box Office (Gross USA)
$1.5M
Runtime
1h 53m
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