Back to trending
The Pumpkin Eater

The Pumpkin Eater

Drama · 1964

Jo, the mother of seven children, divorces her second husband in order to marry Jake, a successful but promiscuous screenwriter. Though they are physically and emotionally compatible, they are slowly torn apart.

Movie details

The Pumpkin Eater

“A Much Married Woman Who Drifts From Husband to Husband!”

1964 Drama 1h 50m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

6.6 / 10

Community rating

Jo, the mother of seven children, divorces her second husband in order to marry Jake, a successful but promiscuous screenwriter. Though they are physically and emotionally compatible, they are slowly torn apart.

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 Pumpkin Eater?

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.

Journeyman

Journeyman

Drama · 2018

A boxer suffers a serious head injury during a fight, and must deal with the consequences.

Daddy Longlegs

Daddy Longlegs

Drama · 2010

After months of living a solitary existence, Lenny, 34, picks up his kids from school. Every year he spends a couple of weeks with his sons Sage, 9, and Frey, 7. Lenny hosts his kids within a midtown studio apartment in New York. During these two weeks, he must figure out if he wants to act as their father or be their friend. Ultimately, their trip upstate results in complete lawlessness taking over their lives.

Home

Home

Drama · 2021

An ex-felon returns home from prison and must confront the demons of his past.

Normal

Normal

Drama · 2003

A Midwestern husband and father announces his plan to have a sex change operation.

The Return

The Return

Drama · 2003

A former alcoholic returns home after ten years in prison for the murder of her husband. As her recollection of the murder returns, things take a different turn.

Eleanor the Great

Eleanor the Great

Drama · 2025

94-year-old Eleanor Morgenstein tries to rebuild her life after the death of her best friend. As a result, she moves back to New York City after living in Florida for decades.

The River

The River

Drama · 1984

Tom and Mae Garvey are a Tennessee farming couple battling violent floods to save their land. In addition to natural disasters, the Garveys fight to stop a selfish land developer and a local corporation from foreclosing on their farm. While Mae stays at home to care for their children and tend to the crops, Tom finds work as a scab at a steel mill to preserve his family's property.

Resurrecting the Champ

Resurrecting the Champ

Drama · 2007

Up-and-coming sports reporter rescues a homeless man ("Champ") only to discover that he is, in fact, a boxing legend believed to have passed away. What begins as an opportunity to resurrect Champ's story and escape the shadow of his father's success becomes a personal journey as the ambitious reporter reexamines his own life and his relationship with his family.

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.

Faces

Faces

Drama · 1968

Middle-aged suburban husband Richard abruptly tells his wife, Maria, that he wants a divorce. As Richard takes up with a younger woman, Maria enjoys a night on the town with her friends and meets a younger man. As the couple and those around them confront a seemingly futile search for what they've lost -- love, excitement, passion -- this classic American independent film explores themes of aging and alienation.

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

Jack Clayton

Written by

Harold Pinter

Anne Bancroft

Anne Bancroft

Jo Armitage

Peter Finch

Peter Finch

Jake Armitage

James Mason

James Mason

Bob Conway

Janine Gray

Janine Gray

Beth Conway

Cedric Hardwicke

Cedric Hardwicke

Mr. James - Jo's father

Rosalind Atkinson

Rosalind Atkinson

Mrs. James - Jo's mother

Alan Webb

Alan Webb

Mr. Armitage - Jake's father

Court is in session

Put The Pumpkin Eater 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.