Metacritic reviews

Altogether remarkable, a near-masterpiece.

Yet precisely because this is by Roman Polanski, it's irresistible to read his sorrowful and seemingly classical take, from a filmmaker known as much for the schisms in his personal history as for the lurches in his work, as something much more personal and poignant.

With tact and enthusiasm, Mr. Polanski grabs hold of a great book and rediscovers its true and enduring vitality.

A respectable literary adaptation but lacks dramatic urgency and intriguing undercurrents.

Accomplished if lacking in urgency, this Oliver Twist (scripted by Ronald Harwood, who also wrote "The Pianist") showcases Polanski's proven gift for Dickensian caricature.

Polanski's version, though handsomely realized, is a fairly conventional rendering of the novel that probably won't be counted among his best films.

The biggest surprise in Roman Polanski's Oliver Twist is that there are no surprises.

It's unlikely audiences will be echoing a starving Oliver's most famous line: "Please, sir, I want some more."

Handsomely produced but emotionally inert offering.

Lacking energy and pace and enslaved by a ghastly score, this tepid movie left me longing alternately for David Lean's thrillingly grim 1948 masterpiece, and Carol Reed's chipper 1968 sing-along, with pretty tunes by Lionel Bart.