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 
Life During Wartime
Comedy · Drama · 2010
Friends, family, and lovers struggle to find love, forgiveness, and meaning in an almost war-torn world riddled with comedy and pathos.
Movie details
Life During Wartime
“The scars of the past haunt us, even in our quest for redemption.”
2010 Comedy · Drama 1h 37m
Critical arithmetic
One number, for now.
Scores change. Arguments endure.
TMDB
5.9 / 10
Community rating
Friends, family, and lovers struggle to find love, forgiveness, and meaning in an almost war-torn world riddled with comedy and pathos.
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 Life During Wartime?
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.
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Don't Think Twice
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An improv group deals with several crises, including the loss of their lease and one member hitting the big time.
You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah
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Stacy and Lydia are BFFs who've always dreamed about having epic bat mitzvahs. But things start to go comically awry when a popular boy and middle school drama threatens their friendship and their rite of passage.
Carnage
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Two pairs of parents hold a cordial meeting after their sons are involved in a fight, though as their time together progresses, increasingly childish behavior throws the discussion into chaos.
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Names above the title
The people responsible.
Cast & crew
Directed by
Todd Solondz
Written by
Todd Solondz
Shirley Henderson
Joy Jordan
Michael Kenneth Williams
Allen
Ally Sheedy
Helen Jordan
Paul Reubens
Andy Kornbluth
Allison Janney
Trish Maplewood
Michael Lerner
Harvey
Dylan Riley Snyder
Timmy Maplewood
Court is in session
Put Life During Wartime 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.