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Splendor in the Grass

Splendor in the Grass

Drama · Romance · 1961

A fragile Kansas girl's unrequited and forbidden love for a handsome young man from the town's most powerful family drives her to heartbreak and madness.

Movie details

Splendor in the Grass

“There is a miracle in being young... and a fear.”

1961 Drama · Romance 2h 4m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

7.5 / 10

Community rating

A fragile Kansas girl's unrequited and forbidden love for a handsome young man from the town's most powerful family drives her to heartbreak and madness.

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 Splendor in the Grass?

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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A pair of former high school sweethearts reunite after many years when they return to visit their small hometown.

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When Juli meets Bryce in the second grade, she knows it's true love. After spending six years trying to convince Bryce the same, she's ready to give up - until he starts to reconsider.

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Paul travels the world to capture the perfect photographic moment. Amid the colour and chaos of a crowded Filipino market, destiny intervenes when Paul’s first love, Anna appears in his lens. The travellers spend the day exploring the beauty of a 16th century town and whilst passions reignite, their principles on relationships, religion and morality clash. The night they spend together will change everything.

Five Feet Apart

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Two young New Yorkers begin to fall in love over the course of a single day, as a series of potentially life-altering meetings loom over their heads - hers concerning her family’s deportation to Jamaica, and his concerning an education at Dartmouth.

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Elia Kazan

Written by

William Inge

Natalie Wood

Natalie Wood

Wilma "Deanie" Loomis

Warren Beatty

Warren Beatty

Bud Stamper

Pat Hingle

Pat Hingle

Ace Stamper

Audrey Christie

Audrey Christie

Mrs. Loomis

Barbara Loden

Barbara Loden

Ginny Stamper

Zohra Lampert

Zohra Lampert

Angelina

Fred Stewart

Fred Stewart

Del Loomis

Court is in session

Put Splendor in the Grass on trial.

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

The defence The Prestige Tourist

“Sincerity is not manipulation.”

The film risks embarrassment to make emotion communal, and that openness is harder than fashionable detachment.

The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist

“The strings are showing.”

Every cue tells you exactly what to feel and when, leaving sentiment to do the work character should have done.