Back to trending
Blue Jay

Blue Jay

Drama · Romance · 2016

Meeting by chance when they return to their tiny California hometown, two former high-school sweethearts reflect on their shared past.

Movie details

Blue Jay

2016 Drama · Romance 1h 20m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

7.0 / 10

Community rating

Meeting by chance when they return to their tiny California hometown, two former high-school sweethearts reflect on their shared past.

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 Blue Jay?

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.

The Fugitive Kind

The Fugitive Kind

Romance · 1960

Val Xavier, a drifter of obscure origins, arrives at a small town and gets a job in a store run by Lady Torrence. Her husband, Jabe M. Torrance, is dying of cancer. Val is pursued by Carol Cutere, the enigmatic local tramp-of-good-family.

Malcolm & Marie

Malcolm & Marie

Drama · 2021

As a filmmaker and his girlfriend return home from his movie premiere, smoldering tensions and painful revelations push them toward a romantic reckoning.

Untamed Heart

Untamed Heart

Drama · 1993

Caroline, a young waitress who seems to have bad taste in men, is on her way home one night when thugs attempt to rape her. Adam, the mysterious busboy who works at the same diner, helps fight off the assailants, and she begins a relationship with him -- but not all their fellow Minnesotans are happy for them. Meanwhile, the couple face their own difficulties when Caroline finds about Adam's past, including his unique health condition.

Breezy

Breezy

Drama · 1973

A free-spirited young woman, Breezy, hitches a ride with an aging real estate salesman, Frank. Sensing that she just wants to use him he tries to have nothing to do with her. She's not that easy to shake, however, and over time a bond forms between them.

Madame Bovary

Madame Bovary

Drama · 1949

In 19th-century France, doctor's wife Emma Bovary seeks to escape her dull provincial life through various extramarital affairs and extravagant spending, leading to tragic consequences.

Marked Men: Rule + Shaw

Marked Men: Rule + Shaw

Romance · 2025

Shaw Landon has loved Rule Archer from the moment she laid eyes on him. Rule, a fiery-tempered rebel tattoo artist, doesn’t have time for a good girl pre-med student like Shaw — even if she’s the only one who can see the person he truly is. She lives by other people’s rules; he makes his own. But a short skirt, too many birthday cocktails, and spilled secrets lead to a night neither can forget. Now, Shaw and Rule must figure out how a girl like her and a guy like him are supposed to be together without destroying their love…or each other.

A Love Song

A Love Song

Drama · 2022

Two childhood sweethearts, now both widowed, share a night by a lake in the mountains.

Clash by Night

Clash by Night

Drama · 1952

An embittered woman seeks escape in marriage, only to fall for her husband’s best friend.

The Map That Leads to You

The Map That Leads to You

Romance · 2025

Heather is a young woman traveling Europe with friends before starting her perfectly planned life. A chance meeting with Jack sparks an unexpected romance that leads to deep emotional discovery. As secrets and life choices test their bond, her path changes forever.

Empire of Light

Empire of Light

Drama · 2022

The duty manager of a seaside cinema, who is struggling with her mental health, forms a relationship with a new employee on the south coast of England in the 1980s.

Where it lives

Watch in your region.

Cinema release signals and current streaming, rental, and purchase options for your region.

Streaming availability data supplied by JustWatch.

Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Alexandre Lehmann

Written by

Mark Duplass

Mark Duplass

Mark Duplass

Jim

Sarah Paulson

Sarah Paulson

Amanda

Clu Gulager

Clu Gulager

Waynie

J

James Andrews

Background

H

Harris Benbury

Background

D

Daniel Brooks

Background

M

Mary Brooks

Background

Court is in session

Put Blue Jay on trial.

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

The defence The Prestige Tourist

“Sincerity is not manipulation.”

The film risks embarrassment to make emotion communal, and that openness is harder than fashionable detachment.

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.