 The film was well reviewed, but met with criticism for depicting Africans as servants to colonial Englishmen.In a positive review of the film, Janet Maslin of "The New York Times" wrote that "Mr. Beresford's film acknowledges the boundless optimism of its leading character even as it watches him paint himself into a corner" and that Johnson "is at his most purely touching in such joyous moments, loyally celebrating English principles even as they bring about his downfall.