50
Metascore
13 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 70The Hollywood ReporterLeslie FelperinThe Hollywood ReporterLeslie FelperinIt’s hard to dislike this pleasant, earnest work.
- 70Screen DailyAllan HunterScreen DailyAllan HunterTell It To The Bees can seem a little too respectable for its own good but there are moments of pain and heartbreak that rise to the surface, especially in a tense climax that puts the fates of several characters in the balance.
- 67The A.V. ClubRoxana HadadiThe A.V. ClubRoxana HadadiWhat Tell It To The Bees accomplishes for queer romance it abandons with an ending that is committed to unnecessary melancholy.
- 63Movie NationRoger MooreMovie NationRoger MooreBut the handsomely-mounted period production has its rewards and the finale manages a nice messiness that undoes some of what’s trite and far-fetched that’s come before it.
- 60Los Angeles TimesGeoff BerkshireLos Angeles TimesGeoff BerkshirePaquin, in one of her strongest performances since The Piano, and especially Grainger (best known for a substantial résumé of British television) shoulder the film’s dramatic burdens with grace and ease. They’re a pleasure to watch. But the unassumingly square and overly familiar film simply isn’t the buzzworthy vehicle their work deserves.
- 50RogerEbert.comMonica CastilloRogerEbert.comMonica CastilloThen there’s a third act that’s so wildly out of left field, it shifts the tone completely. It’s an almost comical departure, but it’s certainly a disappointing one.
- 50ReelViewsJames BerardinelliReelViewsJames BerardinelliUnfortunately, while director AJ Jankel (Super Mario Bros – yes, she’s the one responsible for that) captures aspects of the hostility toward lesbian relationships in that earlier era, she does it without nuance. Her framing of characters is black-and-white and the far-too-pat ending offers an unearned resolution.
- 42The PlaylistChristopher SchobertThe PlaylistChristopher SchobertIt falls flat. There are a variety of reasons — one-note characters, an overly-familiar story arc, a laughable sequence of bee heroism (!). (Alternate title idea: “Secrets and Hives.”) Still, there is the work of Grainger and Paquin.... They make Tell It to the Bees watchable, and are worthy of high praise.
- 40VarietyDennis HarveyVarietyDennis HarveyWithin the film’s modest scale, the period trappings feel apt, and its aesthetic packaging is attractive enough. But particularly for a movie largely about repression, “Bees” is so full of forced emotions that it teeters on the brink of cliche-riddled camp.
- 40The GuardianPeter BradshawThe GuardianPeter BradshawDespite the hefty talent involved, there’s a preposterous pass-agg tweeness to this film.