While this cool, crisp thriller may not have the complexity and polish of Anthony Minghella’s film, it does have a lean, urgent economy of storytelling that makes for a watchable yarn.

[Hossein Amini's] polished storytelling carries this along, generally compensating for the mundane visuals and the actors' skilled but unmoored performances.

At a certain point, it's akin to reading a mediocre murder mystery. You finish it because you're too far in to quit, as opposed to actually caring how things wrap up.

Top to bottom, [The Two Faces of January] is an uncommon romantic thriller; a pretty picture cemented by actors on top of their game.