The defence The Auteur Devotee
“Ambition earns the room.”
The film reaches for consequence and scale, accepting the risk of seriousness instead of shrinking from it.
Back to trending 
Strong Island
Documentary · 2017
Examining the violent death of the filmmaker’s brother and the judicial system that allowed his killer to go free, this documentary interrogates murderous fear and racialized perception, and re-imagines the wreckage in catastrophe’s wake, challenging us to change.
Movie details
Strong Island
2017 Documentary 1h 47m
Critical arithmetic
One number, for now.
Scores change. Arguments endure.
TMDB
6.3 / 10
Community rating
Examining the violent death of the filmmaker’s brother and the judicial system that allowed his killer to go free, this documentary interrogates murderous fear and racialized perception, and re-imagines the wreckage in catastrophe’s wake, challenging us to change.
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 Strong Island?
For the defence
The Auteur Devotee
“You watch the director, not the movie.”
Read their case For the prosecution
The Popcorn Loyalist
“Big screen, big feelings, no apologies.”
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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H.H. Holmes: America's First Serial Killer
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Torture chambers, acid vats, greased chutes and gassing rooms were just some of the devices of death designed by the Torture Doctor, H.H. Holmes in his castle of horrors. Follows Holmes' entire life as a criminal mastermind.
The Wolfpack
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Locked away from society in an apartment on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, the Angulo brothers learn about the outside world through the films that they watch. Nicknamed ‘The Wolfpack’, the brothers spend their childhood reenacting their favorite films using elaborate home-made props and costumes. Their world is shaken up when one of the brothers escapes and everything changes.
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Murder to Mercy: The Cyntoia Brown Story
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After 16-year-old Cyntoia Brown is sentenced to life in prison, questions about her past, physiology and the law itself call her guilt into question.
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My Father, the BTK Killer
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Raised by a man leading a monstrous double life, the daughter of the BTK serial killer shares her chilling story.
The Crash
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A teen slams her car into a building, killing her boyfriend and his friend. What seems like a tragic accident becomes a murder case.
Where it lives
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Names above the title
The people responsible.
Cast & crew
Directed by
Yance Ford
Yance Ford
Himself
H
Harvey Walker
Himself
K
Kevin Myers
Himself
B
Barbara Dunmore Ford
Herself
L
Lauren Ford
Herself
D
David Breen
Himself
E
Ed Boyar
Himself
Court is in session
Put Strong Island on trial.
Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.
The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist
“Importance has entered the chat.”
The production keeps announcing its significance, as though awards-season posture were proof of insight.