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Towelhead

Towelhead

Drama · 2008

A young Arab-American girl struggles with her sexual obsession, a bigoted Army reservist, and her strict father during the Gulf War.

Movie details

Towelhead

“How can you find yourself if no one can see you?”

2008 Drama 1h 51m

Critical arithmetic

The consensus, allegedly.

IMDb

6.9 / 10

12.2K votes

Rotten Tomatoes

49 %

Tomatometer

Metacritic

57 / 100

Metascore

TMDB

6.2 / 10

Community rating

External scores via OMDb · CC BY-NC 4.0. Values normalized for display; availability varies by title.

A young Arab-American girl struggles with her sexual obsession, a bigoted Army reservist, and her strict father during the Gulf War.

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 Towelhead?

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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The rough-hewn boss of a lumber crew courts trouble when he steps in to protect the youngest member of his team from an abusive father.

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Gimme Shelter

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Grandview, U.S.A.

Grandview, U.S.A.

Drama · 1984

Life in the small town of Grandview, Illinois is one that is just like any other city or town. Tim Pearson, soon to be graduating high school wants to go to Florida to study oceanography. He meets Michelle "Mike" Cody and is attracted to her. She runs the local Demolition Derby place. Ernie "Slam" Webster is one of the drivers in the derby whose wife is cheating on him and wants to later on be with Mike. Tim falls for Mike and a big love triangle is about to happen.

Fish Tank

Fish Tank

Drama · 2009

Fifteen-year-old Mia is in a constant state of war with her family and the world around her. When she meets her party-girl mother’s charming new boyfriend Connor, she is amazed to find he returns her attention, and believes he might help her start to make sense of her life.

Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk

Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk

Drama · 2016

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The Yellow Birds

The Yellow Birds

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Two young soldiers, Bartle and Murph, navigate the terrors of the Iraq war under the command of the older, troubled Sergeant Sterling. All the while, Bartle is tortured by a promise he made to Murph's mother before their deployment.

Crash

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Jarhead

Jarhead

Drama · 2005

Jarhead is a film about a US Marine Anthony Swofford’s experience in the Gulf War. After putting up with an arduous boot camp, Swofford and his unit are sent to the Persian Gulf where they are eager to fight, but are forced to stay back from the action. Swofford struggles with the possibility of his girlfriend cheating on him, and as his mental state deteriorates, his desire to kill increases.

Where it lives

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Alan Ball

Written by

Alan Ball

Summer Bishil

Summer Bishil

Jasira Maroun

Aaron Eckhart

Aaron Eckhart

Mr. Vuoso

Toni Collette

Toni Collette

Melina Hines

Maria Bello

Maria Bello

Gail Monahan

Peter Macdissi

Peter Macdissi

Rifat Maroun

E

Eugene Jones III

Thomas Bradley

Lynn Collins

Lynn Collins

Thena Panos

Court is in session

Put Towelhead 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 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.