The film received mixed reviews and sports a 44% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes from 90 reviews. However, Roger Ebert gave the film three-and-a-half out of four stars, saying, "...there is a tangible pleasure in following enigmatic characters through the shadows of their lives; deprived for a time of plot, given characters who are not clearly labeled and assigned moral categories, we're allowed to make judgments based on their manner and speech." In the "New York Observer", Andrew Sarris wrote, "Does the film work? All I know is that it stays in my mind for its ambitiously autumnal essence, but it may not be everyone's cup of tea." According to Owen Gleiberman, "Hodges...still knows how to unspool a mystery with a hypnotic pace of sadistic intrigue." Slant Magazine's Nick Schager awarded the film a full four stars.