Josh Ralske of AllMusic gave Cavedweller 3 stars out of 5, calling it "a potent, absorbing family drama that ends on a note of real emotional power.

"[2] Matthew Gilbert of The Boston Globe said, "[Kyra] Sedgwick is marvelous, and so are all three of the actresses who play her daughters, particularly Regan Arnold as Cissy.

"[3] Meanwhile, David Rooney of Variety said, "screenwriter Anne Meredith's adaptation too often skims the surface of the characters' struggles when it should dig deeper, sacrificing much of the novel's emotional resonance in the distillation, particularly where Cissy is concerned.

"[4] Robert Lloyd of Los Angeles Times praised cinematographer Xavier Perez Grobet's work.

He said, "[Grobet] seems to have thumbed through some American photography collections in preparation for this shoot -- I thought of William Eggleston and Stephen Shore -- and does marvelous things with light.