Resnais breaches multiple conventional boundaries- between ancient and modern, theater and film, and even life and death-and embraces digital postproduction to create a marvelously fluid cinematic space that extends his lifelong surrealist project.

What affects us most is Resnais's ingenious idea. And that affect is magnified by a surprise ending.

Resnais' occasional use of split-screen and other traditional special effects enhances the picture's various dualities, dreamy quality and decided staginess.

Resnais displays an immaculate instinct for when to use which actors, ... and [how to use sound] to elicit the emotions that on stage would emerge from variations in volume.