The defence The Arthouse Gremlin
“Its refusal to behave is the point.”
The strange choices create the kind of friction that follows you out of the theatre and into the argument.
Back to trending 
The Villain
Comedy · 2009
With gun-toting rivals on his tail, a daring bank robber takes refuge in the quiet residential street here he grew up and where his mother, Maniette, still lives. An unscrupulous property developer, Korazy, is buying up the neighborhood to turn it into a gleaming new banking district, but to her son's disgust Maniette leads the inhabitants resistance. Her ingenious methods provoke her boy's admiration, but he fights back with sneaky traps and underhand tricks when Maniette tries to force him to do the right thing just once in his life.
Movie details
The Villain
2009 Comedy 1h 26m
Critical arithmetic
One number, for now.
Scores change. Arguments endure.
TMDB
6.4 / 10
Community rating
With gun-toting rivals on his tail, a daring bank robber takes refuge in the quiet residential street here he grew up and where his mother, Maniette, still lives. An unscrupulous property developer, Korazy, is buying up the neighborhood to turn it into a gleaming new banking district, but to her son's disgust Maniette leads the inhabitants resistance. Her ingenious methods provoke her boy's admiration, but he fights back with sneaky traps and underhand tricks when Maniette tries to force him to do the right thing just once in his life.
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 Villain?
For the defence
The Arthouse Gremlin
“The stranger, the better.”
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 Wild Goose Chase
Comedy · 1975
The whole intrigue is centered around carte-blanche documents kept in a vault. Whoever fills in the blank becomes the owner of a revue. Big money is involved. The nephew of the owner of the vault is trying to cheat his uncle and have his name in the documents. Everything is even more complicated because the manager of the bank has a finger in the pie, too. Who but a humble bank-teller (Pierre Richard) will ruin the scheme?
Dead Weight
Comedy · 2002
After winning the lottery, a convict must chase down the warden who has his winning ticket.
The Pimp
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A mild-mannered banker is forced to masquerade as a notorious gangster and pimp.
Le Guignolo
Comedy · 1980
After the failure of his recent criminal exploits, international con artist Alexandre Dupré sets off for Venice to try to dupe some Japanese business men into buying a fake copy of a stolen Caneletto. On the aeroplane, a stranger asks him to look after his briefcase until after they have landed. Alexandre agrees, but the stranger is shot dead soon after and Alexandre himself becomes the target of enemy agents who are keen to recover the briefcase...
Ruby & Quentin
Comedy · 2003
After hiding his loot and getting thrown in jail, brooding outlaw Ruby befriends Quentin, a dim-witted and garrulous giant. After Quentin botches a solo escape attempt, they make a break together. Unable to shake the clumsy Quentin, Ruby is forced to take him along as he pursues his former partners in crime to avenge the death of the woman he loved and get to the money.
Oscar
Comedy · 1991
Angelo "Snaps" Provolone made his dying father a promise on his deathbed: he would leave the world of crime and become an honest businessman. Despite having no experience in making money in a legal fashion, Snaps sets about to keep his promise.
The Three Stooges
Comedy · 2012
Left on the doorstep of an orphanage run by nuns, three newborn knuckleheads grow up to be finger-poking, nyuk-nyuking janitors named Larry, Curly and Moe. When they learn that financial problems will soon force the only home they've ever known to close, the trio sets out to raise $830,000 in one month. Out in the world for the very first time, the three innocent bumblers become embroiled in a murder plot and find stardom on a TV reality show.
Stark Raving Mad
Comedy · 2002
A crook quietly plots his revenge against the boss who murdered his brother while working for him.
Excess Baggage
Action · 1997
A rich brat fakes her own kidnapping, but in the process ends up locked in the trunk of a car that gets stolen.
Mad Money
Comedy · 2008
Three female employees of the Federal Reserve plot to steal money that is about to be destroyed.
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Names above the title
The people responsible.
Cast & crew
Directed by
Albert Dupontel
Written by
Albert Dupontel
Albert Dupontel
Sidney Thomas
Catherine Frot
Maniette Thomas
Bouli Lanners
Nick Korazy
Nicolas Marié
Doctor Jean William
Bernard Farcy
Inspector Elliot
Christine Murillo
Melle Somoza
Philippe Duquesne
Redhead Painter
Court is in session
Put The Villain on trial.
Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.
The prosecution The Cool Ironist
“Oddness is not depth.”
A film can break every rule and still leave nothing behind but the memory of how hard it tried to be singular.