 Critical reception to The Man from London was generally positive , though less adamant than that of the director 's previous two works ; while reviewers spoke in glowing terms of the formidable cinematography and meticulous composition , they felt the film lacked compelling characters . Variety reviewer Derek Elley commented that the film was unlikely to reconcile the division between viewers of Tarr 's films who find the director to be " either a visionary genius or a crashing bore " . 
