Zoë Rose Bryant’s review published on Letterboxd:
i love how much time we spend just watching bella explore and experience lisbon - and the ship only a few scenes later - because i feel like films are rarely given that special space to breathe and merely exist these days. a lesser movie (and one with more studio interference) would’ve cut those scenes out because they “don’t explicitly move the plot forward” to give it a “tighter edit” and “faster pacing.” but when you leave scenes like these on the cutting room floor, what you lose is those little moments where your characters start to really come alive - the moments where actors are able to simply inhabit their roles without any other responsibilities, and they’re subsequently also able to imbue them with even more realism and resonance as a result.
and while emma stone’s performance is a powerhouse from the first frame to the last, these adventurous asides allow her to showcase the subtitles of her talents that are often overlooked, as we see bella oscillate between curiosity, confusion, comfort, and more all in the span of only a few minutes, and with none of the spectacle that usually accompanies bella’s escapades. for a brief moment, we’re offered the opportunity to live alongside her without any other noise or interference, and what a gift it is to see the world through her eyes. in a way, we always do - but never as clearly as we can here.
