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Hillbilly Elegy

Hillbilly Elegy

Drama · 2020

An urgent phone call pulls a Yale Law student back to his Ohio hometown, where he reflects on three generations of family history and his own future.

Movie details

Hillbilly Elegy

“Inspired by a true story three generations in the making.”

2020 Drama 1h 57m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

6.7 / 10

Community rating

An urgent phone call pulls a Yale Law student back to his Ohio hometown, where he reflects on three generations of family history and his own future.

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 Hillbilly Elegy?

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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Beautiful Boy

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Grandview, U.S.A.

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Boy A

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Where it lives

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Ron Howard

Written by

Vanessa Taylor

Amy Adams

Amy Adams

Beverly "Bev" Vance

Glenn Close

Glenn Close

Bonnie "Mamaw" Vance

Gabriel Basso

Gabriel Basso

J.D. Vance

Haley Bennett

Haley Bennett

Lindsay Vance

Freida Pinto

Freida Pinto

Usha Chilukuri

Bo Hopkins

Bo Hopkins

Papaw

Owen Asztalos

Owen Asztalos

Young J.D. Vance

Court is in session

Put Hillbilly Elegy 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 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.