The reviews lean positive but not strongly, and the split is wide. Most critics agree that the film is a faithful, serious piece of work and that Paul Scofield is its chief reason to watch: his judge is named as the standout even by the critics who dislike the film around him. Winona Ryder draws praise from more than one quarter, and Daniel Day-Lewis, Joan Allen and the cinematography are singled out by those who rate it highest.
Where the critics part is over what the move from stage to screen has cost. Even the warmest notice, from Empire, concedes that opening the play out loses some of its claustrophobia. Variety goes further, finding the adaptation stirring in places but unconvincing at its climax, and the Los Angeles Times finds it too frantic and schematic to involve, reserving its approval for the quieter scenes with Scofield. The spread runs from near-rave to outright dismissal, with little settled in the middle.