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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Palindromes
Comedy · Drama · 2005
Aviva is thirteen, awkward and sensitive. Her mother Joyce is warm and loving, as is her father, Steve, a regular guy who does have a fierce temper from time to time. The film revolves around her family, friends and neighbors.
Movie details
Palindromes
2005 Comedy · Drama 1h 40m
Critical arithmetic
The consensus, allegedly.
Scores change. Arguments endure.
IMDb
6.7 / 10
13.2K votes
Rotten Tomatoes
43 %
Tomatometer
Metacritic
53 / 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.
Aviva is thirteen, awkward and sensitive. Her mother Joyce is warm and loving, as is her father, Steve, a regular guy who does have a fierce temper from time to time. The film revolves around her family, friends and neighbors.
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 Palindromes?
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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Landline
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Juniper
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Where it lives
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Names above the title
The people responsible.
Cast & crew
Directed by
Todd Solondz
Written by
Todd Solondz
Ellen Barkin
Joyce Victor
Stephen Adly Guirgis
Joe / Earl / Bob
Sharon Wilkins
'Mama Sunshine' Aviva
Richard Masur
Steve Victor
E
Emani Sledge
'Dawn' Aviva
Jennifer Jason Leigh
'Mark' Aviva
John Gemberling
Second Judah
Court is in session
Put Palindromes 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.