It falls into the trappings of middlebrow literary adaptation by finding only sporadic means to convincingly adjudicate the trauma and anguish of its transitory epoch.
63
Slant MagazineClayton Dillard
Slant MagazineClayton Dillard
It falls into the trappings of middlebrow literary adaptation by finding only sporadic means to convincingly adjudicate the trauma and anguish of its transitory epoch.
60
Time Out LondonTrevor Johnston
Time Out LondonTrevor Johnston
Half of a Yellow Sun bravely takes on too broad a canvas with too narrow a budget, but it’s a relevant saga that’s worth telling.
60
Total Film
Total Film
Bandele’s keen handling of cast and domestic conflict makes for a nuanced historical epic, but he’s less sure on the big stuff.
Only a film as big as Africa could have done Adichie’s novel full justice; the treatment it gets here, equally honourable and hurried, reduces it to Nigerian soap with BAFTA-level acting.
40
EmpireDavid Hughes
EmpireDavid Hughes
Newcomers will be puzzled by the clumsy contextualisation and muddled motivation of characters who, robbed of their inner lives by a clunky script, are left floundering amid the melodrama and speak-the-plot dialogue.
40
CineVueBen Nicholson
CineVueBen Nicholson
An uneven blend of melodrama and the horrors of civil war, it should be anchored by strong leads but instead remains listless and adrift.