- 10
...one of his [Feeney's] finest and deepest, a twin peak to his 1971 masterpiece, Two Lane Blacktop.
—F. X. Feeney Variety
- 8
...a slippery near-masterwork that turns his realist sensibilities in on themselves to depict fractured, imagined realities, a film within a film and a nightmare inside a conjured dream...
—Chris Cabin filmcritic.com
- 8
...uses the hallmarks of neo-noir the same way The Shooting used cowboys and Two-Lane Blacktop used cars: as familiar guideposts steering viewers toward unfamiliar destinations.
—Keith Phipps Onion AV Club
- 6
...a visually sturdy (with its many slow pans and static shots) film-within-a-film that throws winks and nudges at the illusory nature of both art and reality as it shrouds them in mystery. Hellman and long-time collaborator writer Steven Gaydos don't really catch the noir drift, nor do they take on narrative deconstruction with the intensity of David Lynch, and their underlying thesis on the malleability of art and truth only scratches the surface of the concept.
—Natasha Senjanovic Hollywood Reporter
- 5
The script is busy and unconvincing, and much of the acting is lousy, but there are haunting touches.
—Chuck Bowen Slant Magazine
- 5
The screenplay is by Variety editor Steven Gaydos, and it combines a working knowledge of on-set dynamics with corny cinephile in-joking, frequently elevated by the fresh evidence of Hellmanâ??s craft in the tranquil, largely nocturnal atmosphere, until the closing-credits song ruins everything.
—Nick Pinkerton Village Voice
- 5
—Stephen Holden New York Times
- 5
...has a great setup but not much in the way of a payoff.
—Lou Lumenick New York Post