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Martian Child

Martian Child

Comedy · Drama · 2007

A recently-widowed science fiction writer considers whether to adopt a hyper-imaginative 6-year-old abandoned and socially-rejected boy who says he's really from Mars.

Movie details

Martian Child

“Doesn't matter where you come from, as long as you find where you belong!”

2007 Comedy · Drama 1h 46m

Critical arithmetic

The consensus, allegedly.

IMDb

6.7 / 10

21.2K votes

Rotten Tomatoes

35 %

Tomatometer

Metacritic

48 / 100

Metascore

TMDB

6.7 / 10

Community rating

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

A recently-widowed science fiction writer considers whether to adopt a hyper-imaginative 6-year-old abandoned and socially-rejected boy who says he's really from Mars.

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 Martian Child?

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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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Menno Meyjes

Written by

Seth Bass · Jonathan Tolins

John Cusack

John Cusack

David

Bobby Coleman

Bobby Coleman

Dennis

Amanda Peet

Amanda Peet

Harlee

Sophie Okonedo

Sophie Okonedo

Sophie

Joan Cusack

Joan Cusack

Liz

Oliver Platt

Oliver Platt

Jeff

Richard Schiff

Richard Schiff

Lefkowitz

Court is in session

Put Martian Child on trial.

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

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.

The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist

“The strings are showing.”

Every cue tells you exactly what to feel and when, leaving sentiment to do the work character should have done.