"Most everything about “Britt-Marie Was Here” seems familiar — a woman trapped in a boring marriage carves out a new life after her husband cheats on her — but this Swedish import compensates for that with charm and a solid central performance.
"Britt-Marie is 63, but she hasn’t slowed a bit when it comes to cooking and cleaning the home, where she keeps a to-do list and a box of baking soda handy for all occasions. Britt-Marie’s droll voice-over about her devotion to housekeeping is amusingly delusional.
"Those delusions, though, abruptly end when she finds out that her unappreciative husband, Kent, is fascinated not only with soccer, but also with infidelities. The first thing on Britt-Marie’s new to-do list is to get a highly improbable job as a youth soccer coach in a remote Swedish burg called Borg.
"Everyone in town, naturally, is full of quirks, and the kids on the soccer team are all adorably scrappy. Britt-Marie miraculously fits in fairly quickly, even though she knows nothing about soccer or the world around her.
"Fortunately, “Britt-Marie” doesn’t pretend to be anything other than a feel-good film with a simple message: It’s never too late to chase your dreams.
"The most refreshing thing about the movie is having a more mature woman at the center of the action, and August knows not to overreach here. She is dryly funny, but also subtly affecting, and it’s a pleasure to watch her heart and mind slowly but surely open up to life’s possibilities." - SF Chronicle