Nick Schager of Variety stated that "While one would like to give the film the benefit of the doubt and say that the audio/video disconnect is another reflection of J’s internal divide, it mostly feels like a technical miscalculation".

[5] Schager stated that They "is far too airless and artificial to make much theatrical headway after its Cannes premiere"; he cited the "performances [that] are as wooden as the dialogue" and the director being "determined to attune her material to J’s stuck-in-the-middle unease" to the point that They "prevents any empathetic engagement with her protagonist’s dilemma.

"[4] Jordan Mintzer of The Hollywood Reporter praised "dream-like visual style" and "its treatment of a subject that has rarely been seen on screen", while he argued that the "naturalistic performances [...] are not always up to the par".

[3] In regards to the actors, he stated "soft-spoken and endearing Fehrenbacher brings some emotional depth to the proceedings" but "neither Coffineau or Hosseini comes across as very captivating performers".

[3] Nikki Baughan of Screen Daily stated that "They is a remarkable multi-layered debut which inspires further investigation" and that Fehrenbacher's performance was "achingly naturalistic" due to his real-life gender transitioning.