David Ansen

“The sickly, Bible-quoting Mrs. Soffel (Diane Keaton) scandalized proper Pennsylvanians in 1901….

“…. As an objet d'art, [the movie] is pretty impressive. As a love story, however, it is not everything one wants it to be.

“But how close Diane Keaton brings it to true passion. Outside her husband's pious home, a wild flush enters her skin and her eyes gleams as she revels in her illicit adventure. Mel Gibson gets to show more range than he ever has . . . . Armstrong's unusual film is too studied for its own good, but at its best much too good to be ignored.”

David Ansen
Newsweek, January 14, 1985