Film "Forty Shades of Blue" menerima kritik yang positif dari para kritikus film. Penelope Cruz dipuji karena aktingnya yang sangat baik, sementara Frank Whaley juga mendapatkan pujian untuk perannya. Film ini juga dianggap sebagai salah satu film yang sangat autentik dalam menggambarkan kehidupan masyarakat kelas pekerja di Amerika.
While highly praised by festivals, the film's "slow burn" pacing has received mixed reactions. Reviewers at Reverse Shot note that while it may be "understated to a fault," it captures a lingering sadness that stays with you long after the final frame . Forty Shades of Blue - Reviews - Reverse Shot
The brilliance of Dina Korzun’s performance lies in her passivity. For much of the film, Laura is an observer in her own life. She moves through the house like a ghost, her posture perfect, her face a mask of polite indifference. She speaks in a soft, heavily accented whisper, rarely asserting her own desires because she has been conditioned to believe she has none. She is isolated not only by Alan’s controlling nature but by language and culture, drifting in a sea of Southern hospitality that feels alien to her.
She had forty of her own.