Metacritic reviews

A remarkably full-bodied and frank character study that illuminates the old saw about the political being personal in a genuinely unusual way.

It’s a big movie, but in an emotional, not a historical, sense. Oftentimes it has the hushness of a chamber drama even when the world is its stage.

Measured and beautifully modulated, the 82-year-old director has the kind of sureness and fluidity that is easy to underestimate. But it's difficult not to be impressed by the results.

Though ambitiously busy, the film is also self-sabotaging and stagnant, showcasing its main character's struggles without interpreting them into a cohesive thesis.

This is a handsome movie, rich in period detail, but the stately pace slows to a crawl in the second half.

Troell’s portrait, driven by a desire to excavate the truth, is a refreshing respite from artificial biopics.

I can't recommend it without reservation, but it's a must-see for those who have followed Mr. Troell's career, and a should-see for those who can look past its oddities to its cumulative power.

This attention to the personal crises of Segerstedt comes at the expense of a broader and more elusive subject, namely, the war. We know what Segerstedt did, and Troell tries to ask why. What he ignores are the implications.

Although its black-and-white visuals catch the eye, The Last Sentence soon loosens its hold on your attention by flooding the story with mind-numbing, uninteresting details while real history slips through the cracks.

This biographical drama, shot in crisp black-and-white, offers a potentially intriguing study in high-minded political/moral obstinacy, but feels too claustrophobic — and, finally, tediously like a one-man window on great events — to fully come to dramatic life.