James Wolcott

“As natural and forthright an actress as Diane Keaton is, she does have movie star cheekbones. And those cheekbones, glossy and full, get in the way of The Little Drummer Girl… Keaton stars as Charlie, a callow but spirited actress…. Although Keaton is on sharp lookout in this movie--there's no Annie Hall daydreaminess, no flirty, birdy tilts of the head--she isn't convincing in tights as Saint Joan or in a black T-shirt as a guerilla trainee. The shine of her cheekbones clashes with the grit of her olive-green fatigues. Charlie needs to be younger and more blankly smooth, more susceptible to praise, coaxing, pressure. Diane Keaton just has too much been-around savvy to play this radical-chic innocent….

James Wolcott
Texas Monthly, December 1984