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Sweetie

Sweetie

Drama · Comedy · 1989

The buttoned-down, superstitious Kay is attempting to lead a normal existence with her new boyfriend Louis. That’s until Sweetie, her rampaging, devil-may-care sister, returns home after an absence, exposing the rotten roots of their family and placing a strain on Kay and Louis’ relationship.

Movie details

Sweetie

“There will not be a more extraordinary film than “Sweetie” in a long long time!”

1989 Drama · Comedy 1h 40m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

6.0 / 10

Community rating

The buttoned-down, superstitious Kay is attempting to lead a normal existence with her new boyfriend Louis. That’s until Sweetie, her rampaging, devil-may-care sister, returns home after an absence, exposing the rotten roots of their family and placing a strain on Kay and Louis’ 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 Sweetie?

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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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Jane Campion

Written by

Jane Campion · Gerard Lee

Geneviève Lemon

Geneviève Lemon

Dawn 'Sweetie'

Karen Colston

Karen Colston

Kay

Tom Lycos

Tom Lycos

Louis

J

Jon Darling

Gordon

D

Dorothy Barry

Flo

A

Andre Pataczek

Clayton

M

Michael Lake

Bob

Court is in session

Put Sweetie 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 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.