 David Quantick in The Word commented that " musically , Seduction is awe @-@ inspiring in the way the Maels perfectly meld their current style – intense , repetitive beats and melodies ( there 's even a bit of squelching techno here ) and caustic , snappy lyrics – with the demands of an actual musical . " He called the album an " amazing record " , a " commissioned piece that not only does what it 's been asked to do , but transcends the brief and creates a genuinely exciting piece of music in its own right . " Andy Gill in The Independent gave The Seduction of Ingmar Bergman a maximum rating of five stars and included the record among his 20 albums of the year : " Sharply scripted , with that sly , knowing touch so typical of Sparks , it 's also scored with scrupulous intelligence , the arrangements drawing on a range of apt influences , from Kurt Weill to jazz , pop and rock , and the orchestrations ingeniously duplicitous , wistful and sinister , as the action dictates . It may well turn out to be the pinnacle of Sparks ' career , and certainly has an ambition well beyond the usual remit of popular culture . " 
