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.
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Bliss
Drama · Romance · 1997
On his wedding day, Joseph nervously admits that his wife is not quite like other women. But his beautiful bride is more than just the "impulsive, compulsive, obsessive" woman he thinks he knows. And when Joseph discovers she is hiding troubling secrets, it sends them both on a sexual odyssey that will either destroy or redeem their relationship.
Movie details
Bliss
“A daring love story that breaks all the rules.”
1997 Drama · Romance 1h 43m
Critical arithmetic
One number, for now.
Scores change. Arguments endure.
TMDB
6.4 / 10
Community rating
On his wedding day, Joseph nervously admits that his wife is not quite like other women. But his beautiful bride is more than just the "impulsive, compulsive, obsessive" woman he thinks he knows. And when Joseph discovers she is hiding troubling secrets, it sends them both on a sexual odyssey that will either destroy or redeem their relationship.
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 Bliss?
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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An embittered woman seeks escape in marriage, only to fall for her husband’s best friend.
On Chesil Beach
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In 1962 England, a young couple finds their idyllic romance colliding with issues of sexual freedom and societal pressure, leading to an awkward and fateful wedding night.
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Untamed Heart
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Blue Valentine
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Dean and Cindy live a quiet life in a modest neighborhood. They appear to have the world at their feet at the outset of the relationship. However, his lack of ambition and her retreat into self-absorption cause potentially irreversible cracks in their marriage.
Trishna
Drama · 2011
When her father is killed in a road accident, Trishna's family expect her to provide for them. The rich son of an entrepreneur starts to restlessly pursue her affections, but are his intentions as pure as they seem?
Forever First Love
Drama · 2020
Paul travels the world to capture the perfect photographic moment. Amid the colour and chaos of a crowded Filipino market, destiny intervenes when Paul’s first love, Anna appears in his lens. The travellers spend the day exploring the beauty of a 16th century town and whilst passions reignite, their principles on relationships, religion and morality clash. The night they spend together will change everything.
Where it lives
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Names above the title
The people responsible.
Cast & crew
Directed by
Lance Young
Written by
Lance Young
Craig Sheffer
Joseph
Sheryl Lee
Maria
Terence Stamp
Baltazar
Casey Siemaszko
Tanner
Spalding Gray
Alfred
Lois Chiles
Eva
Blu Mankuma
Nick
Court is in session
Put Bliss 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.