 Todd McCarthy of "Variety" called it a "powerful moral drama" that addresses too many complexes issues for one film.While commenting on how it presaged the O. J. Simpson murder trial, Caryn James of "The New York Times" called it smart and compelling.Peter Ranier of the "Los Angeles Times" wrote, "It's a rigorous, angry piece of work, but it misses out on the psychological depths that have made Burnett's previous films among the glories of recent American independent moviemaking."