On the decidedly negative side are three passages in which realism is virtually abandoned for theatrical effect.

Denied the chance of being honest about its subject, it soon degenerates into euphemistic soap opera, with vague gestures towards bohemianism and lukewarm titillation.

[A] wildly romantic, vividly imagined color film.

[The screenplay] has adhered most faithfully to the original story, but fails to reproduce the charm and tenderness that made Mason's book such endearing reading.