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American Pastoral

American Pastoral

Crime · Drama · 2016

Set in postwar America, a man watches his seemingly perfect life fall apart as his daughter's new political affiliation threatens to destroy their family.

Movie details

American Pastoral

“A radically ordinary story.”

2016 Crime · Drama 1h 48m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

6.2 / 10

Community rating

Set in postwar America, a man watches his seemingly perfect life fall apart as his daughter's new political affiliation threatens to destroy their family.

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 American Pastoral?

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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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Ewan McGregor

Written by

John Romano

Ewan McGregor

Ewan McGregor

Swede Levov

Jennifer Connelly

Jennifer Connelly

Dawn Levov

Dakota Fanning

Dakota Fanning

Merry Levov

David Strathairn

David Strathairn

Nathan Zuckerman

Peter Riegert

Peter Riegert

Lou Levov

Rupert Evans

Rupert Evans

Jerry Levov

Uzo Aduba

Uzo Aduba

Vicky

Court is in session

Put American Pastoral on trial.

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

The defence The Auteur Devotee

“Form is the argument.”

Every composed frame and deliberate cut is evidence that control can be thrilling in its own right.

The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist

“Technique in search of a pulse.”

Immaculate construction is still construction. The film may be too busy proving its craft to feel alive.