Movies are, after all, about fakery; so is the story of Norville's rise and fall and redemption.
– Caryn James,
New York Times,
20 May 2003
fresh:
A minor work, but confirmation of the Coens' position among America's most ambitious, able and exciting film-makers.
– Geoff Andrew,
Time Out,
24 Jun 2006
rotten:
Nearly everything in the Coen brothers' latest and biggest film seems like a wizardly but artificial synthesis, leaving a hole in the middle where some emotion and humanity should be.
– Todd McCarthy,
Variety,
6 Nov 2007
rotten:
A jeering, dreamlike comedy with nothing much on its mind except how neat the Coen brothers are and how stupid or contemptible everybody else is, including everyone in the audience.
– Jonathan Rosenbaum,
Chicago Reader,
6 Nov 2007
rotten:
A visually arresting but emotionally uninvolving dark comedy.