Nobody comes out firmly in favour. The reviews split evenly between mixed and negative, and the praise lands almost entirely in one place: the acting. Daniel Day-Lewis is singled out again and again for a naturalistic, charismatic performance, with Camilla Belle and Catherine Keener also admired, and several critics credit Rebecca Miller with complex, carefully drawn characters and some well-made individual scenes.
The complaints are just as consistent. Most critics find the symbolism clumsy and the storytelling precious, tipping from poignancy into melodrama; others add that it runs long, that its psychology is thin, and that the coda is weak. The spread is wide, from middling three-star notices to Eye for Film, which calls the film awful despite its good looks and its cast. One small quarrel over Keener: The Guardian finds her role underwritten, while Variety counts her among the film’s clear assets.