Richard Corliss of "Time" wrote that "through Jackson's art" and Ronan's "magic" the "obscenity of child murder has been invested with immense gravity and grace" and "like the story of Susie's life after death, that's a miracle." Peter Travers of "Rolling Stone" felt that the film was "conveyed" in a "remarkable performance" by Ronan and described Tucci as being "magnificent as a man of uncontrollable impulses" to "help Jackson cut a path to a humanity that supersedes life and death." Travers praised Jackson for building "jolting suspense." Despite praising the film, however, Travers noted that while the book "never flinched," the film does, and while the "business is being transacted" by Jackson with a "Lord of the Rings fantasy" the film "attunes himself to a family tragedy."