The defence The Auteur Devotee
“Form is the argument.”
Every composed frame and deliberate cut is evidence that control can be thrilling in its own right.
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Less Than Zero
Drama · Crime · 1987
A college freshman returns to Los Angeles for Christmas at his ex-girlfriend's request, but discovers that his former best friend has an out-of-control drug habit.
Movie details
Less Than Zero
“It only looks like the good life.”
1987 Drama · Crime 1h 38m
Critical arithmetic
The consensus, allegedly.
Scores change. Arguments endure.
IMDb
6.4 / 10
22.7K votes
Rotten Tomatoes
50 %
Tomatometer
Metacritic
48 / 100
Metascore
TMDB
6.4 / 10
Community rating
External scores via OMDb · CC BY-NC 4.0. Values normalized for display; availability varies by title.
A college freshman returns to Los Angeles for Christmas at his ex-girlfriend's request, but discovers that his former best friend has an out-of-control drug habit.
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 Less Than Zero?
For the defence
The Auteur Devotee
“You watch the director, not the movie.”
Read their case For the prosecution
The Popcorn Loyalist
“Big screen, big feelings, no apologies.”
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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John LeTour is a recovering drug user who suffers insomnia and still deals to a high-end New York clientele, even though he’s trying to move on from the business. John’s professional midlife crisis becomes something more acute — and dangerous — when he re-encounters an old flame while a string of seemingly drug-related murders rocks the city.
Blow
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The Basketball Diaries
Drama · 1995
A high school basketball player’s life turns upside down after free-falling into the harrowing world of drug addiction.
American Gangster
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Trainspotting
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Heroin addict Mark Renton stumbles through bad ideas and sobriety attempts with his unreliable friends --Sick Boy, Begbie, Spud and Tommy. He also has an underage girlfriend, Diane, along for the ride. After cleaning up and moving from Edinburgh to London, Mark finds he can't escape the life he left behind as Begbie and Sick Boy come knocking.
Requiem for a Dream
Crime · 2000
The drug-induced utopias of four Coney Island residents are shattered when their addictions run deep.
Beautiful Boy
Drama · 2018
After he and his first wife separate, journalist David Sheff struggles to help their teenage son, who goes from experimenting with drugs to becoming devastatingly addicted to methamphetamine.
Hillbilly Elegy
Drama · 2020
An urgent phone call pulls a Yale Law student back to his Ohio hometown, where he reflects on three generations of family history and his own future.
Urchin
Drama · 2025
Mike, a rough sleeper in London, is trapped in a cycle of self-destruction as he attempts to turn his life around. Along the way, he encounters unexpected chances for a fresh start.
Where it lives
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Names above the title
The people responsible.
Cast & crew
Directed by
Marek Kanievska
Written by
Harley Peyton
Andrew McCarthy
Clay
Jami Gertz
Blair
Robert Downey Jr.
Julian
James Spader
Rip
Tony Bill
Bradford Easton
Nicholas Pryor
Benjamin Wells
Donna Mitchell
Elaine Easton
Court is in session
Put Less Than Zero on trial.
Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.
The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist
“Technique in search of a pulse.”
Immaculate construction is still construction. The film may be too busy proving its craft to feel alive.