70
Metascore
11 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 90Village VoiceAbby GarnettVillage VoiceAbby GarnettArchambault is fluent in small, self-contained moments. Even as their guardians are forced into difficult conversations, Gabrielle and Martin's private exchanges ring true.
- Gabrielle borders on the manipulative, but Archambault’s refusal to shy away from the tougher questions the narrative raises keeps it from being swallowed by its own sentimentality.
- 80The New York TimesStephen HoldenThe New York TimesStephen HoldenIf the title role of Gabrielle weren’t so fully embodied by its star, Gabrielle Marion-Rivard, this French Canadian movie about love among the disabled would fall on the condescendingly mushy side of the line between heartwarming and saccharine.
- 75The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Liam LaceyThe Globe and Mail (Toronto)Liam LaceyInstead of a message movie, Gabrielle is a romance and an unusual kind of musical that seamlessly integrates special needs actors with the other cast members.
- 70The Hollywood ReporterBoyd van HoeijThe Hollywood ReporterBoyd van HoeijDespite a slightly grating tendency to resist any kind of subtlety, the honest and convincingly played central romance does finally linger.
- 70VarietyJay WeissbergVarietyJay WeissbergArchambault’s handling of Gabrielle and Martin’s sexuality is one of the pic’s strong suits, presenting their desire with a refreshing, straightforward honesty.
- 70Los Angeles TimesBetsy SharkeyLos Angeles TimesBetsy SharkeyThough the movie wears its agenda on its sleeve, the music and the cast, many of them members of the real Les Muses, as Marion-Rivard was for a time, are simply so charming that it makes Gabrielle hard to resist.
- 63McClatchy-Tribune News ServiceRoger MooreMcClatchy-Tribune News ServiceRoger MooreThe singing is nice, the peripheral characters interesting. But a love that others don’t approve of, that may get in the way of a big concert debut? That makes Gabrielle a bit too Lifetime Original Movie for its own good.
- 63New York PostFarran Smith NehmeNew York PostFarran Smith NehmeIts sentiment is appealing, though, and its sincerity doesn’t cloy.
- 50Slant MagazineCarson LundSlant MagazineCarson LundWriter-director Louise Archambault's neatly affirmative denouement is at odds with the more uncertain reality occurring at the edges of the film's drama.