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 
Down by Love
Drama · Romance · 2016
A man, a woman. A prison director, his inmate. An impossible love, a true story.
Movie details
Down by Love
2016 Drama · Romance 1h 50m
Critical arithmetic
One number, for now.
Scores change. Arguments endure.
TMDB
6.0 / 10
Community rating
A man, a woman. A prison director, his inmate. An impossible love, a true story.
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 Down by Love?
For the defence
The Sentimental Softie
“You came to feel something, and you will.”
Read their case For the prosecution
The Adrenaline Seeker
“If it slows down, you check your phone.”
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.
An Affair of Love
Romance · 1999
A man and a woman meet to fulfill her sexual fantasy.
The Lost Boys
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In a youth correctional facility, Joe is preparing his return to society. But William’s arrival turns his desire for freedom into desire of another kind. Behind fences and cell walls, passions begin to play havoc with the need for liberty.
My King
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Tony is admitted to a rehabilitation center after a serious ski accident. Dependent on the medical staff and pain relievers, she takes time to look back on a turbulent relationship that she experienced with Georgio.
On the Edge
Drama · 2001
A suicidal young man is committed to a Dublin psychiatric hospital where he meets new friends who greatly influence his life.
A Journal for Jordan
Drama · 2021
Based on the true story of First Sergeant Charles Monroe King, a soldier deployed to Iraq begins to keep a journal of love and advice for his infant son. Back at home, senior New York Times editor Dana Canedy revisits the story of her unlikely, life-altering relationship with King and his enduring devotion to her and their child.
My Days of Mercy
Romance · 2018
The daughter of a man on death row falls in love with a woman on the opposing side of her family's political cause.
Fire with Fire
Drama · 1986
A tough, street-smart kid serving a sentence in a state youth reformatory meets a beautiful, innocent girl studying at a nearby convent. When forbidden love blossoms between them, they must fight the prison authorities, their parents and the law.
My Fault: London
Drama · 2025
18-year-old Noah moves from America to London, with her mother who's recently fallen in love with William, a wealthy British businessman. Noah meets William’s son, bad-boy Nick, and soon discovers there is an attraction between them neither can avoid. As Noah spends the summer adjusting to her new life, her devastating past will catch up with her while falling in love for the first time.
Mrs. Soffel
Drama · 1984
Kate Soffel is married to a prison warden in Pittsburgh, and is the mother of their four children. Ed Biddle is a convicted murderer awaiting execution on death row with his brother Jack. When Kate meets Eddie through her Bible readings to the prisoners, she is drawn to him, and they pursue a clandestine relationship. She agrees to help the brothers escape, and begins a treacherous journey with them to freedom in Canada.
My Policeman
Drama · 2022
In the late 1990s, the arrival of elderly invalid Patrick into Marion and Tom’s home triggers the exploration of seismic events from 40 years previous: the passionate relationship between Tom and Patrick at a time when homosexuality was illegal.
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Names above the title
The people responsible.
Cast & crew
Directed by
Pierre Godeau
Written by
Pierre Godeau
Guillaume Gallienne
Jean
Adèle Exarchopoulos
Anna
Stéphanie Cléau
Elise
Aliénor Poisson
Louise
Cyrielle Martinez
Zoé
Selma Mansouri
Sonia
Sabila Moussadek
Aida
Court is in session
Put Down by Love on trial.
Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.
The prosecution The Adrenaline Seeker
“The strings are showing.”
Every cue tells you exactly what to feel and when, leaving sentiment to do the work character should have done.