In his review in "The New York Times", Vincent Canby wrote "It is full of glittery costumes and spectacular props. It is performed by talented, sophisticated people who adopt the faux-naif gestures of an earlier show-biz tradition, and though it is expensive, it sounds peculiarly tacky...the film has the air of an operetta from which the music has been removed. It's even acted that way...Because "A Matter of Time" has moments of real visual beauty, and because what the characters say to each other is mostly dumb, it may be a film to attend while wearing your earplugs."