The
review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reported that 89% of critics have given the film a positive review based on 44 reviews, with an average rating of 7.2/10. The site's critics consensus reads: "
How I Killed My Father is a penetrating character study of father-son ties". On
Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 78 out of 100 based on 18 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".
Elvis Mitchell of
The New York Times said that "[the film is a] kind of murder mystery, but eventually the only victim is the audience's interest -- the picture is uncompromising and inauspicious". Lisa Schwarzbaum of
Entertainment Weekly commented that "[t]he script is a steady accretion of small stabs to the heart, propelling the gorgeous performances of Berling, Regnier, and especially the 76-year-old French cinema veteran Bouquet, whose every faint smile is killing".
Ty Burr of
The Boston Globe wrote "Hushed but scalpel-sharp drama, a [film] that'll probably send men in the audience home much quieter than they arrived". ==References==