San Francisco Chronicle by Mick LaSalle

A brilliant piece of construction, and talking too much about its specifics would only spoil the overall experience.

ReelViews by James Berardinelli

Like nearly any thriller, no matter how intelligently and tightly plotted, it is possible to poke holes in its fabric. But, as it's unspooling in the theater, it makes for a wonderful movie house experience. Here's a sleeper worth a few extra miles' travel to see.

Entertainment Weekly by Lisa Schwarzbaum

A sly catalog of deceits and a gentle commentary on slippery creativity and desire.

Baltimore Sun by Michael Sragow

By far the most purely entertaining of all his films to reach these shores, Roman de Gare is the rare trick film in which all the tricks reveal something amusing, involving or poignant about its characters.

The Hollywood Reporter by Richard James Havis

The result is infectiously enjoyable.

Chicago Reader by Andrea Gronvall

Slyly exploiting audience expectations and prejudices, Lelouch calls into question our very ways of seeing, even as he and his longtime writing partner, Pierre Uytterhoeven, craft an elegant meditation on loss and rebirth.

Salon by Andrew O'Hehir

A glossy, enjoyable thriller that isn't quite as tricky or Hitchcockian as it wants to be, Roman de Gare gets by on high style and nice central performances by rubber-faced Dominique Pinon.

Los Angeles Times by Kevin Thomas

The freshness and originality that flow through Roman de Gare now burst into full flower, revealing the director's depth and perception.

New York Post by V.A. Musetto

Roman de Gare translates as "station novel," a book you might pick up to read on a train journey and then discard when you arrive at your destination. Lelouch's film is the cinematic equivalent, enjoyable fluff that your mind will discard after the closing credits - but worth seeing nevertheless.

Christian Science Monitor by Peter Rainer

Lelouch means to transcend the genre. He doesn't really move much beyond his usual glib panache here, but the plot is intriguing and so are the actors.

Village Voice

This goofy tale of self-emancipation, a love story made by a mature man wise to the possibilities of the improbable, is also a thriller with an unexpectedly dark edge.

Variety

Picture gets an undeniable boost from the ace performance of the short, beady-eyed Pinon.

The New York Times by A.O. Scott

A thriller, a murder mystery and a somewhat self-conscious literary puzzle. All of that is entertaining enough, if a bit preposterous and overdone, but the twists and convolutions of the film’s beginning and end enable a middle that is dizzying domestic comedy.

The New Yorker by Anthony Lane

The air of mystery here is appealing, because the secrets behind it seem to matter both a great deal and not at all--rather like love, which has been Lelouch’s subject ever since he made "A Man and a Woman."

The A.V. Club

Roman De Gare's neatest trick is Pinon's performance, which draws out a hitherto unseen leading-man allure.

New York Daily News by Joe Neumaier

The story's Hitchcockian plot loses steam quickly, though Pinon's salty presence keeps things from getting totally bloodless.