the handsomely crafted Italian-language Netflix feature, a sentimental yet satisfying labor of love; It's a lovely performance, full of pathos, from an esteemed actress whose wealth of experience illuminates this touching human drama
the film, modest and often maudlin on its own storytelling terms, runs on a current of beyond-the-screen devotion that makes it compelling; "The Life Ahead" balances crowdpleasing feelgood energy against weepy inevitability
a simple, yet heartbreaking drama that will likely leave you in a puddle of tears, "The Life Ahead" captures the burgeoning connection between an odd couple of lost souls who find each other at just the right time
"The Life Ahead" is compelling enough to make the by-the-numbers narrative worth telling, if only because with such fine-tuned performances at its center, it deserves to be told