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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King Lear
Drama · TV Movie · 2018
An aging King invites disaster, when he abdicates to his corrupt, toadying daughters, and rejects his loving and honest one.
Movie details
King Lear
2018 Drama · TV Movie 1h 55m
Critical arithmetic
One number, for now.
Scores change. Arguments endure.
TMDB
6.0 / 10
Community rating
An aging King invites disaster, when he abdicates to his corrupt, toadying daughters, and rejects his loving and honest one.
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 King Lear?
For the defence
The Sentimental Softie
“You came to feel something, and you will.”
Read their case For the prosecution
The Adrenaline Seeker
“If it slows down, you check your phone.”
Read their objectionThe split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.
Where it lives
Watch in your region.
Cinema release signals and current streaming, rental, and purchase options for your region.
Streaming availability data supplied by JustWatch.
Names above the title
The people responsible.
Cast & crew
Directed by
Richard Eyre
Written by
Richard Eyre
Anthony Hopkins
Lear
Emma Thompson
Goneril
Emily Watson
Regan
Jim Broadbent
Earl of Gloucester
Florence Pugh
Cordelia
Jim Carter
Earl of Kent
Andrew Scott
Edgar
Court is in session
Put King Lear on trial.
Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.
The prosecution The Adrenaline Seeker
“The strings are showing.”
Every cue tells you exactly what to feel and when, leaving sentiment to do the work character should have done.