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Atlantic City

Atlantic City

Crime · Drama · Romance · 1980

In a corrupt city, a small-time gangster and the estranged wife of a pot dealer find themselves thrown together in an escapade of love, money, drugs and danger.

Movie details

Atlantic City

“Where dreamers can be winners.”

1980 Crime · Drama · Romance 1h 44m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

6.8 / 10

Community rating

In a corrupt city, a small-time gangster and the estranged wife of a pot dealer find themselves thrown together in an escapade of love, money, drugs and danger.

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 Atlantic City?

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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I Walk Alone

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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.

Winged Creatures

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Crime · 2009

A psychotic man opens fire in a diner, murdering numerous people before killing himself. The survivors struggle in different ways following this horrendous event: a doctor doubts his own instincts and elects to use an experimental medical procedure on his wife, while a gambler believes he's on a lucky streak. A waitress begins engaging in promiscuous sex, and a young girl whose father is among the dead gains unexpected fame.

Cry of the City

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Crime · 1948

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21

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Mickey One

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Where it lives

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Louis Malle

Written by

John Guare

Burt Lancaster

Burt Lancaster

Lou

Susan Sarandon

Susan Sarandon

Sally

Kate Reid

Kate Reid

Grace

Michel Piccoli

Michel Piccoli

Joseph

Hollis McLaren

Hollis McLaren

Chrissy

Robert Joy

Robert Joy

Dave

Al Waxman

Al Waxman

Alfie

Court is in session

Put Atlantic City on trial.

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

The defence The Prestige Tourist

“Sincerity is not manipulation.”

The film risks embarrassment to make emotion communal, and that openness is harder than fashionable detachment.

The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist

“The strings are showing.”

Every cue tells you exactly what to feel and when, leaving sentiment to do the work character should have done.