The A.V. Club by Scott Tobias

Never to be confused for the rom-com starring Amy Adams - though that would be the mother of all video-store mix-ups - Leap Year lets actions speak louder than words, and the actions here are shockingly explicit.

Salon by Andrew O'Hehir

A gripping, mysterious use of no-budget cinema at its finest, and an intimate character study with surprising emotional power.

New York Post by V.A. Musetto

Don't get the wrong idea -- to Rowe's credit, this isn't just a movie about sex. It's a compassionate study of human loneliness. Whatever you do, don't confuse this with the Hollywood rom-com of the same name.

Slant Magazine by Ed Gonzalez

Leap Year is a story of survival, and its poised aesthetic is remarkably keyed to its main character's shell-like behavior.

Miami Herald by René Rodríguez

Nothing about Leap Year plays out exactly like you expect, and Rowe prefers to send you home with enigmatic questions instead of clear-cut answers. You may not fully understand Laura, but chances are you won't be able to forget her.

Boxoffice Magazine by Richard Mowe

A tough psychological drama, it may stretch some audience sensibilities.

Village Voice by Michael Atkinson

There are trifling signs of freshmanship, but also a steady observant eye, and in the end Leap Year bears heartbreaking witness to hopeless depression, isolation, and the failure of sex as few movies ever have.

Los Angeles Times by Kevin Thomas

Might be too much for some audiences, but it is a potent and surprising work.

The New York Times by Jeannette Catsoulis

Making sadomasochism appear less erotic than stamp collecting, Leap Year is a slow flare of emotional agony.

New York Daily News by Elizabeth Weitzman

A far cry from 2010's shallow rom-com of the same name, this Leap Year is a haunting portrait of loneliness in its starkest state.

Empire

Aussie migrant Rowe has an acute eye for the emotional badlands travelled by Lopez's struggling journo. A tough but humane and affecting watch.

Time Out by David Fear

For those who can't handle graphic scenes of golden showers and cigarettes ground into bare breasts, Leap Year will feel more like a blind leap into the void of art-house cinema du extreme, South of the Border division, than a portrait of urban ennui.

Empire by Philip Wilding

Aussie migrant Rowe has an acute eye for the emotional badlands travelled by Lopez's struggling journo. A tough but humane and affecting watch.