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James White

James White

Drama · 2015

James White is a troubled twentysomething trying to stay afloat in a frenzied New York City. As he retreats further into a hedonistic lifestyle, his mother's battle with a serious illness faces a series of setbacks that force him to assume more responsibility. With the pressure on him mounting, James must find new reserves of strength or risk imploding completely.

Movie details

James White

“Sometimes we choose our path. Sometimes our path chooses us.”

2015 Drama 1h 27m

Critical arithmetic

The consensus, allegedly.

IMDb

7.1 / 10

7.3K votes

Rotten Tomatoes

92 %

Tomatometer

Metacritic

83 / 100

Metascore

TMDB

6.6 / 10

Community rating

External scores via OMDb · CC BY-NC 4.0. Values normalized for display; availability varies by title.

James White is a troubled twentysomething trying to stay afloat in a frenzied New York City. As he retreats further into a hedonistic lifestyle, his mother's battle with a serious illness faces a series of setbacks that force him to assume more responsibility. With the pressure on him mounting, James must find new reserves of strength or risk imploding completely.

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 James White?

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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What Maisie Knew

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Where it lives

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Josh Mond

Written by

Josh Mond

Christopher Abbott

Christopher Abbott

James White

Cynthia Nixon

Cynthia Nixon

Gail White

Kid Cudi

Kid Cudi

Nick

Makenzie Leigh

Makenzie Leigh

Jayne

Ron Livingston

Ron Livingston

Ben

David Call

David Call

Elliot

Scott Cohen

Scott Cohen

Barry White

Court is in session

Put James White 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.