[3] Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave it three stars out of four, saying "What makes the movie special is the way both lead actors find the right quiet notes for their performances.

Leonard Klady of Variety wrote "A vivid, embracing tale of life on the edge, Broken Vessels is an assured first feature with potent commercial appeal.

Focused on a pair of paramedics behind the wheel of an ambulance, the film skillfully careens through the incidental and dark humor of their lives and plows forward into the bleak personal terrain that comes with the job.

Despite the outward flashiness of Jimmy, Field does nothing to pump up his role; it's wonderfully nuanced work in which the most modest changes in shading wind up resonating as his dance on the edge of sanity and the law becomes complex and precarious.

"[5]Kevin Thomas of the Los Angeles Times wrote "Movies don't get much more corrosive or gripping than Scott Ziehl's high-energy first feature, Broken Vessels.