The Bookshop

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2:14

The Bookshop

PG

2018

1h 53m

Drama

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

56%

Tomatometer

108 Reviews

52%

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, Hardborough's vengeful, embittered alpha female who is a wannabe doyenne of the local arts scene.

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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Andrea Gronvall

Chicago Reader

Mar 4, 2020

The ever-winsome Emily Mortimer glows as a struggling widow who opens a bookstore in her insular coastal town.

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Moira MacDonald

Seattle Times

Sep 5, 2018

3.5/4

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

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Scott Marks

San Diego Reader

Aug 31, 2018

1/5

Hang a CLOSED sign in the window: it's another film with a strong female character that's cushioned in the safety and comfort of the recent past.

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Marya E. Gates

Cool People Have Feelings, Too. (Substack)

Apr 11, 2025

A film for book lovers that also both scratches that itch to chuck it all and move to the middle of nowhere, while also showing the seams of that fantasy.

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Diana Tuova

Spotlight on Film

Aug 2, 2024

2/5

A sentimentally foolish whimsy of a plot lost almost completely in confused pacing – a melodrama cooked out of nothing.

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Betsy Bozdech

AWFJ.org

Sep 30, 2021

Like the town it's set in, The Bookshop is a small, intimately observed drama with an undercurrent of melancholy.

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Joan H

@Moxie123 Aug 22, 2026

Very mediocre, but the scenery is fabulous. First off, this story is totally ridiculous as in unbelievable. There were no customers in the shop, no cash register, and yet, the main character orders 250 copies of Lolita. Then the villagers crowd around the front window in an outrage. Yet, the villagers have NEVER gone into the book shop and have no idea what Lolita is about in the first place, since they do not read. I am being generous with the 3 stars here.

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Frans B

@FransB Jun 5, 2025

Great movie. So tidy, well mannered and gentle. Brilliant cast all shines in character. Very slow and quiet pace, as a bookshop should be hey? Great cinematography and very good directing and writing. Superb and very nostalgic.

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Branko O

@RT76104797 Apr 18, 2025

A wonderfully crafted film with a humane, sensory touch and presence. Impeccable acting from the lead actress throughout, who stood apart from the rest of the cast that was solid all the same. A refreshing film made the good old way. If you’re not in the mood and it’s raining outside - it’s perfect.

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Ken C

@Coolrunning2009 Jan 1, 2025

The film stars Emily Mortimer, Patricia Clarkson and Bill Nighy. This is a British nostalgia movie circa 1960s where Bill Nighy does a stellar performance and Emily Mortimer is just so British sweet. The movie stick closely to the book and is wonderfully crafted. Does tend to meander but is worth the journey

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Francine H

@FrancineH Aug 31, 2024

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.

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Paul B

@RT59122977 Jun 19, 2024

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.

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Isabel Coixet

Director

Emily Mortimer

Florence Green

Bill Nighy

Edmund Brundish

Patricia Clarkson

Violet Gamart

Hunter Tremayne

Mr. Keble

Honor Kneafsey

Christine

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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, Hardborough'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: Samson Films, One Two Films, Zephyr 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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