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 
Vita & Virginia
Drama · Romance · 2019
Socialite Vita Sackville-West and literary icon Virginia Woolf run in different circles in 1920s London. Despite the odds, the two forge an unconventional affair, set against the backdrop of their own strikingly contemporary marriages.
Movie details
Vita & Virginia
“The love story that inspired Virginia Woolf's Orlando.”
2019 Drama · Romance 1h 50m
Critical arithmetic
One number, for now.
Scores change. Arguments endure.
TMDB
6.8 / 10
Community rating
Socialite Vita Sackville-West and literary icon Virginia Woolf run in different circles in 1920s London. Despite the odds, the two forge an unconventional affair, set against the backdrop of their own strikingly contemporary marriages.
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 Vita & Virginia?
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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Names above the title
The people responsible.
Cast & crew
Directed by
Chanya Button
Written by
Eileen Atkins · Chanya Button
Elizabeth Debicki
Virginia Woolf
Gemma Arterton
Vita Sackville-West
Isabella Rossellini
Lady Sackville
Rupert Penry-Jones
Harold Nicolson
Peter Ferdinando
Leonard Woolf
Emerald Fennell
Vanessa Bell
Nathan Stewart-Jarrett
Ralph
Court is in session
Put Vita & Virginia 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.