The film is loosely based on the 1809 novel Elective Affinities by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.
[1] Kirk Honeycutt of The Hollywood Reporter wrote: "Goethe seemingly was playing with notions of fate and free will but his work is generally considered enigmatic.
For his part, Schipper shows a couple's equilibrium getting upset by outside forces, but he never establishes any reason why this should be."
Honeycutt continued: "The four characters -- along with a brief, somewhat inexplicable appearance by Hanna's father and his absurd Russian girlfriend -- never really come alive.
The actors are all rather earnest and a score by American singer-songwriter Vic Chesnutt wears soulfulness on its sleeve.