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The Man Who Laughs

The Man Who Laughs

Drama · 2012

During a winter storm, Ursus offers shelter to two orphans, Gwynplaine and Déa; some years later, they are still living together. Gwynplaine has become a famous star, but his success threatens his relationships with Déa and Ursus.

Movie details

The Man Who Laughs

2012 Drama 1h 33m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

6.1 / 10

Community rating

During a winter storm, Ursus offers shelter to two orphans, Gwynplaine and Déa; some years later, they are still living together. Gwynplaine has become a famous star, but his success threatens his relationships with Déa and Ursus.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over The Man Who Laughs?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Jean-Pierre Améris

Written by

Guillaume Laurant

Gérard Depardieu

Gérard Depardieu

Ursus

Marc-André Grondin

Marc-André Grondin

Gwynplaine

Emmanuelle Seigner

Emmanuelle Seigner

Josiane

Christa Théret

Christa Théret

Déa

Arben Bajraktaraj

Arben Bajraktaraj

Hardquanone

Serge Merlin

Serge Merlin

Barkilphedro

Christèle Tual

Christèle Tual

Clémence

Court is in session

Put The Man Who Laughs on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Prestige Tourist

“Ambition earns the room.”

The film reaches for consequence and scale, accepting the risk of seriousness instead of shrinking from it.

The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist

“Importance has entered the chat.”

The production keeps announcing its significance, as though awards-season posture were proof of insight.