Smile Review: 7 Ups & 3 Downs

2. The Pacing Could Be Better

Smile surprisingly clocks in at a beefy 115 minutes, and while this expanded runtime often works in the film's favour in allowing character beats to breathe, it does also result in some blatantly over-indulgent moments where the pacing egregiously sags.

Though the movie is focused quite tightly on Rose and her journey, there's certainly some fat that could've been trimmed, with the third act in particular arguably over-extending itself somewhat.

The central scenario is investing enough that the near-two hours aren't a drag for the most part, but shaving 10-15 minutes off this thing would make it feel so much more taut.

When considering a repeat viewing, it's easy to imagine some balking at that slightly overlong runtime given the modest-scale story the film is covering.