41
Metascore
17 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 80The Hollywood ReporterThe Hollywood ReporterA stirring romantic drama centering on the last royal heir to the native line of traditional monarchs.
- 60MovielineMichelle OrangeMovielineMichelle OrangeDesigned to be both essential history lesson and costume weeper, Princess Kaiulani comes up short on both fronts: Deadly earnest intentions and lack of dramatic gumption ensure that the story of Hawaii’s favored daughter remains under-told.
- 50L.A. WeeklyL.A. WeeklyAnd this may be the only film in history to have someone learn about egalitarianism at a British boarding school (!). Hawaii's dismal onscreen track record continues; bring back James Michener.
- The film is too reverently drawn and self-consciously played to muster any real momentum.
- 50San Francisco ChronicleSan Francisco ChronicleAs Kaiulani's story, it falls flat, having collapsed under the weight of the genre's mushier conventions. There are too many swooping violins, too many trite generalizations, too few moments that throw a light on history and turn it into art.
- Over all, though, Princess Kaiulani plays like an old-fashioned, stiff but plushly upholstered costume drama, swaddled in gauzy cinematography and swelling strings.
- 42The A.V. ClubTasha RobinsonThe A.V. ClubTasha RobinsonWhile Princess Kaiulani makes do with what story it has, the film feels stretched and straining, full of sleepy scenes and pregnant pauses.
- 40New York Daily NewsJoe NeumaierNew York Daily NewsJoe NeumaierThis somber but unexceptional drama is luxurious to look at but never gripping.
- 40Time OutKeith UhlichTime OutKeith UhlichKilcher makes the slog worthwhile--her face gleams with possibility, even in the character’s darkest moments--though one prays she escapes the typecasting trap ASAP.
- 25New York PostV.A. MusettoNew York PostV.A. MusettoThe landscapes are exotic and Kilcher is erotic, but the film plays like a generic made-for-TV biopic.