Iversen wrote that Vinterberg has "shaped his film as fierce social realism almost totally exposed for the glimpses of humour that make a miserable life easier to bear in leading social realists like Ken Loach and Mike Leigh.
Iversen skrev att Vinterberg har "format sin film som benhård socialrelism nästan totalt blottad för de glimtar av humor, som gör ett uselt liv lättare att utstå hos ledande socialrealister som Ken Loach och Mike Leigh.