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Pretty Baby

Pretty Baby

Drama · 1978

In 1917 New Orleans, a 12-year-old girl is raised in a brothel by her prostitute mother.

Movie details

Pretty Baby

“The image of an adult world seen through a child's eyes.”

1978 Drama 1h 50m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

7.0 / 10

Community rating

In 1917 New Orleans, a 12-year-old girl is raised in a brothel by her prostitute mother.

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 Pretty Baby?

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.

sex, lies, and videotape

sex, lies, and videotape

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A Love Song for Bobby Long

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A headstrong young woman returns to New Orleans after the death of her estranged mother.

Saint Jack

Saint Jack

Drama · 1979

Jack Flowers is an American hustler trying to make his fortune in 1970s Singapore in small time pimping. His dreams of building a fortune by running a brothel himself and returning to the States is materialized when he is offered the opportunity by the CIA to run a brothel for the R&R activities of U.S. soldiers on leave in Singapore.

Trafficked

Trafficked

Drama · 2017

In this story inspired by real characters, three girls from America, Nigeria and India are trafficked through an elaborate global network and enslaved in a Texas brothel, and must together attempt a daring escape to reclaim their freedom.

Walk on the Wild Side

Walk on the Wild Side

Drama · 1962

At a 1930s New Orleans bordello, Hallie is the main attraction for both clients and the shrewd madam. The arrival of Dove Linkhorn, her lovesick sweetheart from three years ago, disrupts the normal and triggers a chain of events involving a number of people, including the young woman he travelled with, who is now the Doll House's newest employee.

Hands of Stone

Hands of Stone

Drama · 2016

The legendary Roberto Duran and his equally legendary trainer Ray Arcel change each other's lives.

Welcome to the Rileys

Welcome to the Rileys

Drama · 2010

Years after their teenage daughter’s death, Lois and Doug Riley, an upstanding Indiana couple, are frozen by estranging grief. Doug escapes to New Orleans on a business trip. Compelled by urgencies he doesn’t understand, he insinuates himself into the life of an underage hooker, becoming her platonic guardian.

Novitiate

Novitiate

Drama · 2017

In the early 1960s, during the Vatican II era, a young woman training to become a nun struggles with issues of faith, sexuality and the changing church.

Rambling Rose

Rambling Rose

Drama · 1991

In the Deep South of the 1930s, Rose is taken in by the Hillyer family to serve as housemaid so that she can avoid falling into a life of prostitution. Her appearence and personality is such that all men fall for her, and she knows it. She can't help herself from getting into trouble with men.

12 Years a Slave

12 Years a Slave

Drama · 2013

In the pre-Civil War United States, Solomon Northup, a free black man from upstate New York, is abducted and sold into slavery. Facing cruelty as well as unexpected kindnesses Solomon struggles not only to stay alive, but to retain his dignity. In the twelfth year of his unforgettable odyssey, Solomon’s chance meeting with a Canadian abolitionist will forever alter his life.

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Louis Malle

Written by

Polly Platt · Louis Malle

Brooke Shields

Brooke Shields

Violet

Keith Carradine

Keith Carradine

Bellocq

Susan Sarandon

Susan Sarandon

Hattie

Frances Faye

Frances Faye

Nell

Antonio Fargas

Antonio Fargas

Professor

Matthew Anton

Matthew Anton

Red Top

Diana Scarwid

Diana Scarwid

Frieda

Court is in session

Put Pretty Baby 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.