The Bookshop | 2018 | PG | – 3.3.1

Why is “The Bookshop” rated PG? The MPAA rating has been assigned for “some thematic elements, language, and brief smoking.” The Kids-In-Mind.com evaluation includes some mild nudity, a death, many arguments and a few insults. Read our parents’ review below for details on sexual content, violence & strong language.

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In 1959 a war widow (Emily Mortimer) settles in a small English town with the dream of opening a bookshop. She unexpectedly faces stiff opposition from the townspeople and struggles to find support from anyone who can help. Also with Bill Nighy, Patricia Clarkson, Hunter Tremayne, Honor Kneafsey, James Lance, Frances Barber, Reg Wilson, Michael Fitzgerald, Nigel O’Neill and Jorge Suquet. Directed by Isabel Coixet. [Running Time: 1:53]

The Bookshop SEX/NUDITY 3

 – A book cover shows drawings of a seemingly nude man and woman (we see her bare back to the waist with her arm covering her breasts and the man is shown shirtless with his bare shoulders, chest and abdomen visible). We see greeting cards with drawings of scantily clad women in outfits that reveal deep cleavage and bare legs to the thighs as a man leers at them (a woman describes them as corrupters). A man looks at a book of physical exercise with interest and we see drawings of women wearing high-waisted shorts and bra tops, revealing abdomens and legs to the upper thighs. A woman at a dress fitting is shown wearing a dress that reveals her upper chest, cleavage and part of her slip. Women at a dinner party wear evening gowns that reveal upper backs and cleavage.
► A woman grasps a man’s hand and he kisses it, she moves close to him and they stand for a few moments before he leaves.
► A woman remembers her husband when they would sit together and read (he has since died). A woman watches as a man walks past her window and he turns and acknowledges her. A man watches with great affection as a woman pours tea.
► A man asks a woman, “Have you never thought of marrying again?” A woman describes her love for her husband as being instant. A man says that a woman has left him for another man. A man compliments a woman’s ankles. A widow display has a sign that reads, “The Novel That Is Shocking The World” next to copies of “Lolita.” A young girl talks about her older sister having only time for a boy and makes a reference to them hiding their bikes under piles of leaves.

The Bookshop VIOLENCE/GORE 3

 - Flames flicker above rooftops in a town and we understand that a structure is on fire.
► A man leaves a house angrily and walks quickly along a road; he stops to catch his breath and leans on a wall briefly and we later see him collapsed and motionless on the ground (he has died). A man enters a classroom and a woman escorts a young girl out of the room after she has been identified as someone who works in a shop after class. A man tears off dust jackets and book covers and burns them. A woman throws a dog sculpture and we hear it shatter off-screen.
► A woman yells at a man and tells him to leave her shop which he does. A man confronts a woman about her treatment of another woman and he raises his voice. A man and a woman argue. A man says that someone will take a woman to court and she will not be able to keep her shop. A woman has several awkward social encounters where people make insulting remarks to her and about her bookshop. A man says, "Books leave me exhausted." Several people complain of not liking books or reading. A man complains about poetry. A man asks a woman if she has gotten the right advice about opening a bookshop, insinuating that it will not succeed. A man tells a woman wearing a red dress, "Red only looks good on house maids on their day off." It is described that a man knocked out one of his clients using a desk blotter. A young girl tells a woman, "You're too nice." A man describes that he and his wife have a "friendly separation." A man says that a powerful woman in the village won't stop until she gets rid of another woman. There are several strongly worded letters between a woman and her solicitor regarding her bookshop and rumors of a scandal. A few people say, "We all die." A man says of a woman, "I could just put a bullet through her." We hear a voiceover describing a woman mourning the death of her husband. We hear that a woman died on her honeymoon and that she drown (we later hear that that is not true and the woman is still living). A place is described as having stunk of rats.
► A woman and a young girl dust each other with feather dusters until the woman surrenders. We hear church bells tolling and it is implied that a man's funeral is taking place. A woman cries over a book and grieves for a friend who died.
► A young girl is frustrated when people just look in a bookshop and don't buy anything. A man sticks out his tongue at a young girl and she reciprocates. A butcher carries a side of meat over his shoulder and into his shop. A woman pours fish bones onto a letter she has received from her solicitor and throws it away.

The Bookshop LANGUAGE 1

 - 5 mild obscenities, name-calling (patronizing, Mr. Potato Head, ferret, nasty piece of work, angry, impatient, offensive, repulsive, corrupters, people of your sort, little shrimp, loathsome, forsaken corner of the world), exclamations (shut-up, of for goodness sake), religious exclamations (a man tells his wife that there's no harm in praying). | profanity glossary |

The Bookshop SUBSTANCE USE

 - People drink champagne at a dinner party, and a man drinks a glass of sherry. A woman smokes a cigarette at a dinner party, and a woman smokes in her home.

The Bookshop DISCUSSION TOPICS

 - Reading, stories, emotions, bookshop trade, rumors, wealth, wealth means power, loneliness, disappointments, close-mindedness, having children, being childless, Vladimir Nabokov's novel "Lolita," competition, controlling people, snobbery, greed, privacy, jealousy, the Brontë sisters, virtues, courage, laws, philanthropy, success, eviction.

The Bookshop MESSAGE

 - No one ever feels alone in a bookshop.