Back to trending
The Blackout

The Blackout

Drama · Mystery · 1997

A debauched Hollywood movie actor tries to piece together one wild night in Miami years earlier which remains a drug-induced blur, and soon finds out that some questions about his past are best left unanswered.

Movie details

The Blackout

“The darkest secrets are the ones we hide from ourselves”

1997 Drama · Mystery 1h 38m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

5.8 / 10

Community rating

A debauched Hollywood movie actor tries to piece together one wild night in Miami years earlier which remains a drug-induced blur, and soon finds out that some questions about his past are best left unanswered.

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 The Blackout?

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.

Puncture

Puncture

Drama · 2011

Based on a true story. Mike Weiss (Chris Evans) is a brilliant but self-destructive Houston attorney whose drug addiction threatens to destroy his career. When he and his law partner Paul Danziger (Mark Kassen) take on a case involving a nurse injured by a contaminated needle, they uncover a $130 billion medical supply monopoly that has been blocking a life-saving safety

The Tale

The Tale

Drama · 2018

An investigation into one woman’s memory as she‘s forced to re-examine her first sexual relationship and the stories we tell ourselves in order to survive.

Triage

Triage

Drama · 2009

The wife of a photojournalist sets out to discover why he came home from a recent assignment without his colleague.

Black Butterfly

Black Butterfly

Thriller · 2017

Paul is a down-on-his-luck screenwriter who picks up a drifter and offers him a place to stay. However, when the deranged stranger takes Paul hostage and forces him to write, their unhinged relationship brings buried secrets to light.

Broke

Broke

Western · 2025

A bronc rider in denial about his fading rodeo career battles against brain injury and a sudden blizzard while reflecting on how it became so difficult to achieve his dreams.

The Doors

The Doors

Music · 1991

The story of the famous and influential 1960s rock band and its lead singer and composer, Jim Morrison.

Mulholland Drive

Mulholland Drive

Thriller · 2001

Blonde Betty Elms has only just arrived in Hollywood to become a movie star when she meets an enigmatic brunette with amnesia. Meanwhile, as the two set off to solve the second woman's identity, filmmaker Adam Kesher runs into ominous trouble while casting his latest project.

Requiem for a Dream

Requiem for a Dream

Crime · 2000

The drug-induced utopias of four Coney Island residents are shattered when their addictions run deep.

The Ghoul

The Ghoul

Drama · 2017

A homicide detective goes undercover as a patient to investigate a psychotherapist he believes is linked to a strange double murder. As his therapy sessions continue the line between fantasy and reality begins to blur.

Trance

Trance

Thriller · 2013

A violent gang enlists the help of a hypnotherapist in an attempt to locate a painting which somehow vanished in the middle of a heist.

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.

Directed by

Abel Ferrara

Written by

Abel Ferrara · Christ Zois · Marla Hanson

Matthew Modine

Matthew Modine

Matty

Claudia Schiffer

Claudia Schiffer

Susan

Dennis Hopper

Dennis Hopper

Mickey

Béatrice Dalle

Béatrice Dalle

Annie

Sarah Lassez

Sarah Lassez

Annie 2

Steven Bauer

Steven Bauer

Mickey's Studio Actor

N

Nancy Ferrara

Mickey's Studio Actress

Court is in session

Put The Blackout on trial.

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

The defence The Auteur Devotee

“Sincerity is not manipulation.”

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

The prosecution The Adrenaline Seeker

“The strings are showing.”

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