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An Unfinished Life

An Unfinished Life

Drama · 2005

Stoic and heartbroken, Einar Gilkyson quietly lives in the rugged Wyoming ranchlands alongside his only trusted friend, Mitch Bradley. One day, the woman he blames for the death of his only son arrives at his door broke, desperate, and with a granddaughter he's never known. But even as buried anger and accusations resurface, the way is opened for unexpected connection, adventure, and forgiveness.

Movie details

An Unfinished Life

“Every secret takes on a life of its own.”

2005 Drama 1h 48m

Critical arithmetic

The consensus, allegedly.

IMDb

7.0 / 10

35.3K votes

Rotten Tomatoes

53 %

Tomatometer

Metacritic

49 / 100

Metascore

TMDB

6.8 / 10

Community rating

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

Stoic and heartbroken, Einar Gilkyson quietly lives in the rugged Wyoming ranchlands alongside his only trusted friend, Mitch Bradley. One day, the woman he blames for the death of his only son arrives at his door broke, desperate, and with a granddaughter he's never known. But even as buried anger and accusations resurface, the way is opened for unexpected connection, adventure, and forgiveness.

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 An Unfinished Life?

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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On a weekend backpacking trip in the Catskills, 17-year-old Sam contends with the competing egos of her father and his oldest friend.

The Judge

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A successful lawyer returns to his hometown for his mother's funeral only to discover that his estranged father, the town's judge, is suspected of murder.

Dad

Dad

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A busy executive learns during a meeting that his mother may be dying and rushes home to her side. He ends up being his father's caretaker and becomes closer to him than ever before. Estranged from his own son, the executive comes to realize what has been missing in his own life.

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Western · 1955

An ex-convict drifter and his flawed young partner are made sheriff and deputy of a Western town.

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Rancho Notorious

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A man in search of revenge infiltrates a ranch, hidden in an inhospitable region, where its owner, Altar Keane, gives shelter to outlaws fleeing from the law in exchange for a price.

Where it lives

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Lasse Hallström

Written by

Mark Spragg · Virginia Korus Spragg

Robert Redford

Robert Redford

Einar Gilkyson

Jennifer Lopez

Jennifer Lopez

Jean Gilkyson

Morgan Freeman

Morgan Freeman

Mitch Bradley

Becca Gardner

Becca Gardner

Griff Gilkyson

Josh Lucas

Josh Lucas

Crane Curtis

Damian Lewis

Damian Lewis

Gary Winston

Camryn Manheim

Camryn Manheim

Nina

Court is in session

Put An Unfinished Life on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Prestige Tourist

“Ambition earns the room.”

The film reaches for consequence and scale, accepting the risk of seriousness instead of shrinking from it.

The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist

“Importance has entered the chat.”

The production keeps announcing its significance, as though awards-season posture were proof of insight.