Back to trending
That Cold Day in the Park

That Cold Day in the Park

Drama · 1969

Frances Austen, a young, wealthy spinster, invites a mute teenager into her apartment after finding him freezing in the park next to where she lives. Despite her best efforts, their lack of communication only increases her sense of loneliness, as her possessiveness spirals into frightening new realms.

Movie details

That Cold Day in the Park

“How far will a woman go? How far will a 32 year-old spinster go to possess a strange, 19 year-old boy?”

1969 Drama 1h 47m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

6.6 / 10

Community rating

Frances Austen, a young, wealthy spinster, invites a mute teenager into her apartment after finding him freezing in the park next to where she lives. Despite her best efforts, their lack of communication only increases her sense of loneliness, as her possessiveness spirals into frightening new realms.

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 That Cold Day in the Park?

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.

Adopt a Highway

Adopt a Highway

Drama · 2019

Russ Millings has just been released from prison after serving 21 years for a 3rd strike conviction for possessing an ounce of marijuana. As he tries to adapt to a world he doesn’t recognize – including trying to learn how to use the internet – he finds an abandoned baby in a dumpster behind the fast food restaurant where he works as a dishwasher. Unsure of what to do, and caught between impulses of kindness and panic, Russ soon realizes this could be his chance at redemption.

Matt and Mara

Matt and Mara

Drama · 2024

Mara is a young creative writing professor struggling with problems in her marriage to an experimental musician. One day, she runs into Matt, a charismatic, free-spirited author from her past, when he wanders onto her university campus. Bonded by their shared interests, the two gradually become closer. When Mara’s husband unexpectedly cancels plans to drive her to an out-of-town conference, Matt accompanies Mara on the trip instead. Along the way, the tension surrounding their undefined relationship slowly grows.

Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close

Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close

Drama · 2011

A year after his father's death, Oskar, a troubled young boy, discovers a mysterious key he believes was left for him by his father and embarks on a scavenger hunt to find the matching lock.

Ice Castles

Ice Castles

Drama · 2010

Young, beautiful, talented Alexis Winston comes from nowhere to become a figure skating superstar. But her rise to stardom isn’t easy. She has to push herself, reinvent herself, and most painfully of all, leave her hometown boyfriend behind. When a tragic fall leaves her blind, she needs someone to believe in her, to love her; someone to convince her she has the strength to skate and dream again.

Speak

Speak

Drama · 2004

Freshman high-school student Melinda has refused to speak ever since she called the cops on a popular summer party. With her old friends snubbing her for being a rat, and her parents too busy to notice her troubles, she folds into herself, trying to hide her secret: that star senior Andy raped her at the party. But Melinda does manage to find solace in her art class headed by Mr. Freeman.

What Maisie Knew

What Maisie Knew

Drama · 2013

In New York City, a young girl is caught in the middle of her parents' bitter custody battle.

The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds

The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds

Drama · 1972

Middle-aged widow Beatrice Hunsdorfer and her daughters Ruth and Matilda are struggling to survive in a society they barely understand. Beatrice dreams of opening an elegant tea room but does not have the wherewithal to achieve her lofty goal. Epileptic Ruth is a rebellious adolescent, while shy but highly intelligent and idealistic Matilda seeks solace in her pets and school projects, including one designed to show how small amounts of radium affect marigolds.

Gigi & Nate

Gigi & Nate

Drama · 2022

A young man with a bright future suffers a near-fatal accident and recreates his new life with the help of an unlikely animal friend.

The Sound of Silence

The Sound of Silence

Drama · 2019

A successful "house tuner" in New York City, who calibrates the sound in people's homes in order to adjust their moods, meets a client with a problem he can't solve.

A Street Cat Named Bob

A Street Cat Named Bob

Family · 2016

James Bowen, a homeless busker and recovering drug addict, has his life transformed when he meets a stray ginger cat.

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.

Directed by

Robert Altman

Written by

Gillian Freeman

Sandy Dennis

Sandy Dennis

Frances Austen

Michael Burns

Michael Burns

The Boy

Susanne Benton

Susanne Benton

Nina

David Garfield

David Garfield

Nick

Luana Anders

Luana Anders

Sylvia

E

Edward Greenhalgh

Dr. Stevenson

D

Doris Buckinham

Mrs. Ebury

Court is in session

Put That Cold Day in the Park 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.