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Paterno

Paterno

Drama · TV Movie · 2018

After becoming the winningest coach in college football history, Joe Paterno is embroiled in Penn State's Jerry Sandusky sexual abuse scandal, challenging his legacy and forcing him to face questions of institutional failure regarding the victims.

Movie details

Paterno

“The greater the legend, the harder the fall.”

2018 Drama · TV Movie 1h 45m

Critical arithmetic

The consensus, allegedly.

IMDb

6.5 / 10

8K votes

Rotten Tomatoes

69 %

Tomatometer

TMDB

6.2 / 10

Community rating

External scores via OMDb · CC BY-NC 4.0. Values normalized for display; availability varies by title.

After becoming the winningest coach in college football history, Joe Paterno is embroiled in Penn State's Jerry Sandusky sexual abuse scandal, challenging his legacy and forcing him to face questions of institutional failure regarding the victims.

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 Paterno?

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.

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Where it lives

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Streaming availability data supplied by JustWatch.

Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Barry Levinson

Written by

Debora Cahn · John C. Richards

Al Pacino

Al Pacino

Joe Paterno

Kathy Baker

Kathy Baker

Sue Paterno

Kenneth Maharaj

Kenneth Maharaj

MRI Tech

Michael Mastro

Michael Mastro

Guido D'Elia

Joshua Morgan

Joshua Morgan

Bobby - Media Wrangler

Ross Degraw

Ross Degraw

Sports Producer

M

Mitchell L. Mack

Devon Smith

Court is in session

Put Paterno 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.