53
Metascore
22 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 80VarietyDerek ElleyVarietyDerek ElleyRather dark, decidedly English and exceedingly well played, Keeping Mum is a neatly crafted black comedy with more than a nod in tone toward the Ealing classic "The Ladykillers."
- 75New York PostV.A. MusettoNew York PostV.A. MusettoDame Maggie is simply delightful (has she ever been less than wonderful?).
- 75TV Guide MagazineMaitland McDonaghTV Guide MagazineMaitland McDonaghDirector and cowriter Niall Johnson's black comedy falters at the end, but until then it manages to wring gentle humor from murder most well bred.
- 75New York Daily NewsJack MathewsNew York Daily NewsJack MathewsA giddy black comedy about a homicidal housekeeper in rural England, is a hilarious reminder of that 1944 Frank Capra classic about two old maids whose cellar is cluttered with the bodies of would-be suitors.
- 75Seattle Post-IntelligencerWilliam ArnoldSeattle Post-IntelligencerWilliam ArnoldThe script (by Richard Russo) is solid, the performances are witty and fun, and the movie is a most agreeable way to spend an hour and a half.
- 70The New York TimesStephen HoldenThe New York TimesStephen HoldenIt’s refreshing to see Dame Maggie in a lighter mode than usual. The role of a genteel psychopath is a piece of lemon tea cake she consumes in one delicate bite.
- 67Entertainment WeeklyLisa SchwarzbaumEntertainment WeeklyLisa SchwarzbaumShe's no Mary Poppins: Maggie Smith is more like a cheery Angel of Death in the light black comedy Keeping Mum, one of those dutifully daft British diddles (complete with Rowan Atkinson as a vicar) that, except for the blunt sex talk, might have been constructed decades ago.
- 58The A.V. ClubNathan RabinThe A.V. ClubNathan RabinKeeping Mum never really gets going, and it inches to the finish line like a narcoleptic turtle.
- 40Village VoiceMichael AtkinsonVillage VoiceMichael AtkinsonObvious, simplistic, and never funny, Johnson's movie may be useful only as real estate porn--Cornwall and the Isle of Man never looked so super cute.
- 38Chicago TribuneMichael PhillipsChicago TribuneMichael PhillipsOnly the architecturally refined bone structure of Kristin Scott Thomas' face rescues Keeping Mum from full-on tedium.