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.
Back to trending 
Circle of Friends
Drama · Romance · 1995
Three girlhood friends now at college share first loves, first kisses and first betrayals. At the center of it all is the best-looking boy on campus. Can a self-conscious dreamer hook the biggest fish in the pond?
Movie details
Circle of Friends
“For everyone who ever thought the person they loved was out of their reach”
1995 Drama · Romance 1h 43m
Critical arithmetic
One number, for now.
Scores change. Arguments endure.
TMDB
6.3 / 10
Community rating
Three girlhood friends now at college share first loves, first kisses and first betrayals. At the center of it all is the best-looking boy on campus. Can a self-conscious dreamer hook the biggest fish in the pond?
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 Circle of Friends?
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.
Lady Chatterley's Lover
Romance · 2015
An early-20th-century tale of love across class boundaries which tells the legendary and romantic story of Lady Chatterley’s affair with her gamekeeper. Jed Mercurio’s adaptation of DH Lawrence’s classic.
All of You
Romance · 2025
Laura and Simon have been best friends since college. Over the years, they've realized their bond is more than platonic. Can they—and should they—risk everything to explore a love that has existed all along?
Fire with Fire
Drama · 1986
A tough, street-smart kid serving a sentence in a state youth reformatory meets a beautiful, innocent girl studying at a nearby convent. When forbidden love blossoms between them, they must fight the prison authorities, their parents and the law.
Blind
Drama · 2017
A novelist is blinded in a car crash that killed his wife and several years later rediscovers his passion for life and writing when he embarks on an affair with the neglected wife of an indicted businessman.
Time Is Up
Romance · 2021
Vivien, an accomplished student with a passion for physics, and Roy, a troubled young man, are involved in an accident that forces them to reclaim their lives one minute at the time.
Newness
Romance · 2017
In contemporary Los Angeles, two millennials navigating a social media–driven hookup culture begin a relationship that pushes both emotional and physical boundaries.
Love Me Love Me
Romance · 2026
After her brother's death, June moves to Milan for a fresh start, finding comfort in Will, the perfect honor student at her new international school. But when his troubled best friend James—hiding a dangerous life in clandestine MMA fights—sparks a rivalry that quickly turns into irresistible attraction, June must choose between safety and a love that upends everything she thought she wanted.
The Mother
Drama · 2003
A grandmother has a passionate affair with a man half her age, who is also sleeping with her daughter.
Maria's Lovers
Drama · 1984
A World War II prisoner returns home to his childhood sweetheart. However, back home, he discovers that he has to compete to win her love.
Crazy/Beautiful
Drama · 2001
At Pacific Palisades High, a poor Latino falls hard for a troubled girl from the affluent neighborhood.
Where it lives
Watch in your region.
Cinema release signals and current streaming, rental, and purchase options for your region.
Streaming availability data supplied by JustWatch.
Names above the title
The people responsible.
Cast & crew
Directed by
Pat O'Connor
Written by
Andrew Davies
Chris O'Donnell
Jack Foley
Minnie Driver
Bernadette 'Benny' Hogan
Geraldine O'Rawe
Eve Malone
Saffron Burrows
Nan Mahon
Alan Cumming
Sean Walsh
Colin Firth
Simon Westward
Aidan Gillen
Aidan Lynch
Court is in session
Put Circle of Friends 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.