On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a 96% approval rating based on 139 reviews and an average rating of 8.35/10. The site's critical consensus reads "Featuring gut-wrenching performances from Anamaria Marinca and Laura Vasiliu, "4 Months" is a gripping portrayal of life in Communist Romania". The film also holds a 97% rating on Metacritic based on 37 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim"; while numerous critics placed it in their top 10 films of 2007 or 2008. Roger Ebert awarded it four stars, commenting on the stupidity of the character Găbița and contrasting her to the title character of that year's "Juno", but hailing the film as "a powerful film and a stark visual accomplishment". "Time" magazine's Richard and Mary Corliss described it as a "gripping, satisfying film" and particularly noted the use of minimalism and "formal rigor" as defining aesthetic characteristics. Jay Weissberg from "Variety" magazine said that the film was "pitch perfect and brilliantly acted... a stunning achievement". He added that the film shares a number of characteristics with other productions of the New Romanian Cinema, namely: "long takes, controlled camera and an astonishing ear for natural dialogue". For "The New York Times", Manohla Dargis championed the direction, cinematography and lengthy takes.