The site's critics consensus reads: "How I Killed My Father is a penetrating character study of father-son ties".

[3] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 78 out of 100 based on 18 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".

[4] 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".

[5] 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".

[6] 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".