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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Levity
Crime · Drama · 2003
Manuel Jordan is a man who is free after serving 23 years for killing a teenager during an attempted robbery. After nearly two decades of staring at his victim's face on a newspaper clipping in his cell, the newly paroled man seeks redemption. Instead, redemption—in the form of a mysterious minister and two needy women— finds him.
Movie details
Levity
“How you gonna make it right?”
2003 Crime · Drama 1h 40m
Critical arithmetic
One number, for now.
Scores change. Arguments endure.
TMDB
6.1 / 10
Community rating
Manuel Jordan is a man who is free after serving 23 years for killing a teenager during an attempted robbery. After nearly two decades of staring at his victim's face on a newspaper clipping in his cell, the newly paroled man seeks redemption. Instead, redemption—in the form of a mysterious minister and two needy women— finds him.
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 Levity?
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.
I Walk Alone
Drama · 1947
Bootleggers on the lam Frankie and Noll split up to evade capture by the police. Frankie is caught and jailed, but Noll manages to escape and open a posh New York City nightclub. 14 years later, Frankie is released from the clink and visits Noll with the intention of collecting his half of the nightclub's profits. But Noll, who has no intention of being so equitable, uses his ex-girlfriend Kay to divert Frankie from his intended goal.
Cry of the City
Crime · 1948
Petty crook and cop-killer Martin Rome, in bad shape from wounds in the hospital prison ward, still refuses to help slimy lawyer Niles clear his client by confessing to another crime. Police Lt. Candella must check Niles' allegation; a friend of the Rome family, he walks a tightrope between sentiment and cynicism. When Martin fears Candella will implicate his girlfriend Teena, he'll do anything to protect her. How many others will he drag down to disaster with him?
The Outsiders
Crime · 1983
In 1960s Tulsa, class divisions ignite a violent rivalry between the working-class Greasers and the privileged Socs. When a deadly encounter forces two Greasers, Ponyboy and Johnny, to flee, their struggle for survival and redemption exposes the fragile innocence and enduring bonds of youth on the wrong side of town.
The Wrong Man
Crime · 1956
In 1953, an innocent man named Christopher Emmanuel "Manny" Balestrero is arrested after being mistaken for an armed robber.
Riot in Cell Block 11
Crime · 1954
A prisoner leads his counterparts in a protest for better living conditions which turns violent and ugly.
The Asphalt Jungle
Crime · 1950
Recently paroled from prison, legendary burglar "Doc" Riedenschneider, with funding from Alonzo Emmerich, a crooked lawyer, gathers a small group of veteran criminals together in the Midwest for a big jewel heist.
King Creole
Drama · 1958
Delinquent Danny Fisher flunks out of high school, quits his job as a nightclub busboy, and one night gets the chance to perform. Success is imminent and local crime boss Maxie Fields wants to hire him to perform at The Blue Shade. Danny declines, but Fields won't take no for an answer.
Dancer in the Dark
Drama · 2000
Selma, a Czech immigrant on the verge of blindness, struggles to make ends meet for herself and her son, who has inherited the same genetic disorder and will suffer the same fate without an expensive operation. When life gets too difficult, Selma learns to cope through her love of musicals, dreaming up little numbers to the rhythmic beats of her surroundings.
I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang
Drama · 1932
A World War I veteran’s dreams of becoming a master architect evaporate in the cold light of economic realities. Things get even worse when he’s falsely convicted of a crime and sent to work on a chain gang.
Dog Pound
Drama · 2010
Three juvenile delinquents arrive at a correctional center and are put under the care of an experienced guard.
Where it lives
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Names above the title
The people responsible.
Cast & crew
Directed by
Ed Solomon
Written by
Ed Solomon
Billy Bob Thornton
Manuel Jordan
Morgan Freeman
Miles Evans
Holly Hunter
Adele Easley
Kirsten Dunst
Sofia Mellinger
Manuel Aranguiz
Senor Aguilar
Geoffrey Wigdor
Abner Easley
Luke Robertson
Young Abner Easley
Court is in session
Put Levity 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.