The defence The Sentimental Softie
“Sincerity is not manipulation.”
The film risks embarrassment to make emotion communal, and that openness is harder than fashionable detachment.
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Anna Karenina
Drama · Romance · 1948
In Imperial Russia, Anna, wife of the officer Karenin, goes to Moscow to visit her brother. On the way, she meets charming cavalry officer Vronsky, to whom she's immediately attracted— but in St. Petersburg’s high society, a relationship like this could destroy a woman’s reputation.
Movie details
Anna Karenina
“Vivien Leigh— in the most magnificent love story ever written!”
1948 Drama · Romance 2h 19m
Critical arithmetic
One number, for now.
Scores change. Arguments endure.
TMDB
6.0 / 10
Community rating
In Imperial Russia, Anna, wife of the officer Karenin, goes to Moscow to visit her brother. On the way, she meets charming cavalry officer Vronsky, to whom she's immediately attracted— but in St. Petersburg’s high society, a relationship like this could destroy a woman’s reputation.
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 Anna Karenina?
For the defence
The Sentimental Softie
“You came to feel something, and you will.”
Read their case For the prosecution
The Cool Ironist
“Feeling things is a little embarrassing.”
Read their objectionThe 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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The Sleeping Dictionary
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A privileged girl and a charismatic boy's instant desire sparks a love affair made only more reckless by parents trying to keep them apart.
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In Victorian England, the independent and headstrong Bathsheba Everdene attracts three very different suitors: Gabriel Oak, a hardworking young sheep farmer; Frank Troy, a handsome and reckless Sergeant; and William Boldwood, a prosperous and mature bachelor.
The Lucky One
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A Marine travels to Louisiana after serving three tours in Iraq and searches for the unknown woman he believes was his good luck charm during the war.
Forever First Love
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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.
The Great Gatsby
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An adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald's Long Island-set novel, where Midwesterner Nick Carraway is lured into the lavish world of his neighbor, Jay Gatsby. Soon enough, however, Carraway will see through the cracks of Gatsby's nouveau riche existence, where obsession, madness, and tragedy await.
The Choice
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Travis and Gabby first meet as neighbors in a small coastal town and wind up in a relationship that is tested by life's most defining events.
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Names above the title
The people responsible.
Cast & crew
Directed by
Julien Duvivier
Written by
Jean Anouilh · Julien Duvivier · Guy Morgan
Vivien Leigh
Anna Karenina
Ralph Richardson
Alexei Karenin
Kieron Moore
Count Vronsky
H
Hugh Dempster
Stefan Oblonsky
Mary Kerridge
Dolly Oblonsky
Marie Lohr
Princess Scherbatsky
F
Frank Tickle
Prince Scherbatsky
Court is in session
Put Anna Karenina on trial.
Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.
The prosecution The Cool Ironist
“The strings are showing.”
Every cue tells you exactly what to feel and when, leaving sentiment to do the work character should have done.