Once again, Dakota Fanning demonstrates that, even as a teenager, she already has the acting skills and range equal to -- if not better than -- her A-list contemporaries.
Comment
03/06/09
The Secret Life of Bees (2008)
58
%
Tomatometer
How does the Tomatometer work 
Reviews Counted:134
Fresh:78
Rotten:56
Average Rating:5.9/10
Consensus: The Secret Life of Bees has moments of charm, but is largely too maudlin and sticky-sweet.
Australian Theatrical Release:
Mar 5, 2009 Wide
US Box Office: $37,665,012
Synopsis: THE SECRET LIFE OF BEES, based on the New York Times best selling novel and set in South Carolina in 1964, is the moving tale of Lily Owens (Fanning) a 14 year-old girl who is haunted by the memory... [More]
Starring: Queen Latifah, Dakota Fanning, Jennifer Hudson, Alicia Keys
Director: Gina Prince-Bythewood
Reviews for The Secret Life of Bees
Top CriticGlossy yet ultimately shallow, this platitudinous, unconvincing drama makes The Colour Purple look like Mississippi Burning.
03/06/09
Top CriticOn most levels the film, which has a surprising number of unconvincing details, takes the sugary option; it shies away from the harsher realities whenever possible.
03/06/09
Top CriticA dense story about a little girl and the impact her mother's death has on her makes terrific cinema in this beautifully realised film
02/27/09
Top CriticThe film has a dream-like quality above its punchy emotional core
02/27/09
Top CriticCan I tell you a secret? This movie is *really* good. Grab Nana and go see it!
08/03/09
Bees is almost too sweet, but with enduring enough performances to make a solid movie.
07/06/09
(...) Hay un mérito atendible en la directora y es evitar caer en la sensiblería barata que el asunto arriesgaba.
05/04/09
The story is a gentle depiction of harsh times that works best as a coming-of-age parable, not so well as a historical drama.
03/06/09
Top CriticThe Secret Life of Bees features another buzz-worthy turn by Dakota Fanning.
01/28/09
The source material remains affecting and the cast work hard to add dimension to a lacklustre screenplay. But sadly, it adds up to less than the sum of its parts.
12/05/08
Top CriticThere’s a purity, clarity and honesty to this feminist heart-warmer’s melodramatic instincts that make it surprisingly moving and satisfying.
12/05/08
Fanning and Latifah form the proficient core of this reliable if humdrum American period drama.
12/05/08
Tragedies strike and life lessons are learnt, homespun wisdom is dispensed. It’s simplistic to the point of total idiocy.
12/05/08
Top CriticThis fairytale of the civil rights era is all honey and no sting.
12/05/08
Top CriticIt's generous-minded, and though it labours awkwardly to move you, that doesn't mean you won't be moved.
12/05/08
From the producer of X-Men… comes the dullest, gooiest chick-flick of the year.
12/05/08
It’ll be way too cloying for most – but the, ahem, bee’s knees for sugar fiends. Probably best enjoyed with a glass of Chardonnay and your cynicism on hold.
12/05/08
The whole thing is coated in a golden hue, as though the lens has been dunked in syrup. Males - or females with a horror of smug, sugary sentiment - should run a mile.
12/05/08
Idyllic tale despite the back story of racial tension and family abuse. Fanning holds her own in a great cast with Okonedo and Paul Bettany as an unbalanced father in fine form.
12/05/08
Latest News for The Secret Life of Bees
January 08, 2009:
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December 05, 2008:
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