Pauline Kael of The New Yorker described the film as "unsatisfying" and wrote that Streep is "animated in the early scenes; she's amusing when she acts ditsy, and she has some oddly affecting moments. Her character doesn't deepen though, or come to mean more to us, and Redford doesn't give out with anything for her to play against."Kael, Pauline (December 30, 1985). "The Current Cinema". The New Yorker. 67, 68. Paul Attanasio of The Washington Post stated that the film "has little in the way of narrative drive" and "rarely seems more than an elevated form of tourism."Attanasio, Paul (December 20, 1985). "'Out of Africa': Redford & Streep in a Tropical Tupor." The Washington Post. C4.
Pauline Kael of The New Yorker described the film as "unsatisfying" and wrote that Streep is "animated in the early scenes.; she's amusing when she acts ditsy, and she has some oddly affecting m.oments. Her character doesn't deepen though, or come to mean more to us, and Redford doesn't give out with anything for her to play against."Kael Pauline (December 30, 1985). "The Current Cinema". The New Yorker 67, 68. Paul Attanasio of The Washington Post stated that the film "has little in the way of narrative drive" and "rarely seems more than an elevated form of tourism."Attanasio, Paul (December 20, 1985) "'Out of Africa': Redford & Streep in a Tropical Tupor." The Washington Post. C4.