Despite an elegantly rendered interpretation of the dilemma of these aging men, Venus proves to be unnecessarily light fare...

A master class in acting from the great Peter O'Toole is the calling card of this poised and involving comedy-drama.

A starring vehicle for an aging star who receives deafening awards buzz not so much for the performance than, it seems, for simply being alive.

It's a pleasure to have Peter O'Toole's company here - likely for the last time in a role of such magnitude & majesty, bangs still swept back in boyish wisps and his sky-blue eyes vibrant and hungry. A loving, lyrical, eloquent sonnet to elderly sunsets.

Worth seeing for O'Toole's incorrigible twilight jesting

While age may have devoured O'Toole's youth, it has been utterly unable to touch his blistering talent, or his eyes which still sparkle with rakish light.

The only thing that resonated with me was O'Toole, who is at his playful best playing a role made to order for him of the boozer rascal who could charm a snake.

Zinger lines, wonderful performances and a profound emotional authenticity distinguish a film about the relationship between an old actor and a young woman.

Superb acting on life's journey; not for kids.

Una comedia dramática agridulce donde brilla con luz propia el formidable Peter O'Toole, en un papel que tiene mucho de sí mismo.

There is consequently an authenticity to the movie that's intensified by O'Toole's expectedly masterful performance...

What makes Venus unforgettable is not the fine direction and script, or Vanessa Redgrave's startling cameo as Maurice's suffering ex-wife, or Whittaker's award-worthy debut; it's that the viewer can't draw a line between O'Toole's career and Maurice's.

...neither a romance nor a comedy but an engaging slice of life, a charming treat that reminds us how fragile life is.

He quotes Shakespeare; she quotes Kylie Minogue.The plot takes an awkward turn about two-thirds of the way through, but up until then, Kureishi's screenplay offers an intriguing contrast of styles.

O'Toole's performance is full of wit and vigor and, even at Maurice's weakest, there is a sense of a man who lived life fully and partook of every pleasure available.

Not winning the Oscar takes nothing away from Peter O'Toole's unforgettable performance as Maurice, a gifted, once devastatingly handsome man who, as the doleful lyrics of a recent Morrissey song state, falls in love even as he lies on his deathbed.

Vênus se salva do fracasso graças ao veterano Peter O'Toole, que oferece uma performance digna do homem responsável por encarnar figuras inesquecíveis como T.E. Lawrence, o Rei Henry II e mesmo o absurdo Eli Cross.

Venus isn't just a small-scale character study, but a thing of beauty to be treasured -- just like its star.