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 
Beats
Drama · Comedy · Music · 2019
Summer 1994, Scotland. Johnno and Spanner are best mates, but Johnno’s family are moving him to a new town and a better life, leaving Spanner behind to face a precarious future. In pursuit of adventure and escape they head out on one last night to an illegal rave before parting ways indefinitely.
Movie details
Beats
2019 Drama · Comedy · Music 1h 40m
Critical arithmetic
One number, for now.
Scores change. Arguments endure.
TMDB
6.6 / 10
Community rating
Summer 1994, Scotland. Johnno and Spanner are best mates, but Johnno’s family are moving him to a new town and a better life, leaving Spanner behind to face a precarious future. In pursuit of adventure and escape they head out on one last night to an illegal rave before parting ways indefinitely.
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 Beats?
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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A
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An agoraphobic hip-hop prodigy and a disgraced former music manager cross paths in Chicago’s South Side and help each other face demons of their pasts.
Nashville
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Where it lives
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Names above the title
The people responsible.
Cast & crew
Directed by
Brian Welsh
Written by
Brian Welsh · Kieran Hurley
Lorn Macdonald
Spanner
Laura Fraser
Alison
Brian Ferguson
Robert
Ross Mann
D-Man
Gemma McElhinney
Laura
Amy Manson
Cat
R
Rachel Jackson
Wendy
Court is in session
Put Beats 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.