The defence The Sentimental Softie
“Sincerity is not manipulation.”
The film risks embarrassment to make emotion communal, and that openness is harder than fashionable detachment.
Back to trending 
A Hole in the Head
Comedy · Drama · 1959
An impractical widower tries to hang onto his Miami hotel and his 12-year-old son.
Movie details
A Hole in the Head
“The most wonderful entertainment in the whole wide wonderful world!”
1959 Comedy · Drama 2h 0m
Critical arithmetic
One number, for now.
Scores change. Arguments endure.
TMDB
6.2 / 10
Community rating
An impractical widower tries to hang onto his Miami hotel and his 12-year-old son.
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 A Hole in the Head?
For the defence
The Sentimental Softie
“You came to feel something, and you will.”
Read their case For the prosecution
The Cool Ironist
“Feeling things is a little embarrassing.”
Read their objectionThe 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.
The Adults
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Eric returns home for a short visit and finds himself caught between reuniting with his sisters and chasing a victory with his old poker group. As the trip extends, Eric finds it increasingly difficult to avoid confrontations and revelations as his carefully constructed façade of his adulthood gives way to old childhood conflicts.
Landline
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A teenager living with her sister and parents in Manhattan during the 1990s discovers that her father is having an affair.
Uncorked
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Almost Friends
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A man in his mid-20s, still living at home with his mother and stepfather, puts all his eggs in one basket: the girl who works at his local coffee shop. The problem is, she has a serious boyfriend. As they become closer, the line between friendship and intimacy is blurred, and the situation forces both to examine where they are in their lives.
Somewhere in Queens
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Leo and Angela Russo live a simple life in Queens, surrounded by their overbearing Italian-American family. When their son finds success on his high school basketball team, Leo tears the family apart trying to make it happen.
The Middle Man
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Frank Farrelli takes on the job as a middle man in the God-forsaken town of Karmack, USA, a community in a depression so deep that they need a middle man to professionally communicate more of the bad news.
House of D
Comedy · 2004
In the present, artist Tom Warshaw recalls his traumatic coming of age. As a 13-year-old growing up in New York City in 1973, Tom hangs out with Pappass, a mentally disabled man. With Tom's mother battling depression after the death of her husband, the young boy is left to his own devices. When Tom develops a crush on schoolmate Melissa, Pappass feels abandoned and begins behaving erratically.
About Alex
Comedy · 2014
When a group of old college friends reunite over a long weekend after one of them attempts suicide, old crushes and resentments shine light on their life decisions, and ultimately push friendships and relationships to the brink.
Playing God
Comedy · 2021
A brother and sister con-artist duo find themselves scamming a grieving billionaire by convincing him they can introduce him to God, face-to-face.
The Confirmation
Drama · 2016
A divorced father reconnects with his son when they track down a stolen toolbox over the course of a weekend.
Where it lives
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Names above the title
The people responsible.
Cast & crew
Directed by
Frank Capra
Written by
Arnold Schulman
Frank Sinatra
Tony Manetta
Edward G. Robinson
Mario Manetta
Eleanor Parker
Eloise Rogers
Thelma Ritter
Sophie Manetta
Carolyn Jones
Shirl
Keenan Wynn
Jerry Marks
Dub Taylor
Fred
Court is in session
Put A Hole in the Head on trial.
Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.
The prosecution The Cool Ironist
“The strings are showing.”
Every cue tells you exactly what to feel and when, leaving sentiment to do the work character should have done.