[10] Michael Phillips of the Chicago Tribune says that "Nearing's chosen way of telling a story is poetic, elliptical and sometimes unhelpfully indirect, but if he chooses, this Canadian-born, Chicago-based filmmaker could very well become a significant and lasting talent.

"[11] Ben Kenigsberg of The New York Times says Nearing "is not the most accessible filmmaker, but with his new feature and his previous one, he has carved out an original and boldly unfashionable niche.

After several attempts at a faithful adaptation of Sherwood Anderson's Winesburg, Ohio, with collaborator Rudy Thauberger, the script and its production finally clicked when Nearing decided to set the rural period piece in a contemporary city.

Nearing's Sister Carrie, a free-form adaptation of Theodore Dreiser's novel of the same name, premiered with a live orchestral score at Chicago's Gene Siskel Film Center in December 2022.

[14] Michael Phillips of The Chicago Tribune described it as "a cinematic riff that goes its own way in search of everything Carrie wanted: truth, beauty, love and its own way of telling a story.

"[15] Juan-Carlos Ampie of The Indie refers to Sister Carrie as "the kind of unapologetically challenging film that contemporary Art House cinemas have abandoned in favor of more commercial works.