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The Vanishing of Sidney Hall

Play trailer 2:24 Poster for The Vanishing of Sidney Hall R 2018 1h 59m Mystery & Thriller Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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12% Tomatometer 26 Reviews 78% Popcornmeter 500+ Ratings
An enigmatic detective embarks on a cross-country search for a once-prominent author who's mysteriously disappeared after a string of dangerous arsons have targeted his celebrated but controversial first novel.
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The Vanishing of Sidney Hall

The Vanishing of Sidney Hall

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Critics Consensus

There's no mystery here: The Vanishing of Sydney Hall may be nicely shot, but it is ultimately vapid and forgettable.

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Critics Reviews

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Glenn Kenny RogerEbert.com 03/02/2018
0/4
In the unlikely event that you've ever been truly curious as to how much M.F.A.-style toxic masculinity can be packed into one motion picture, you ought to check out The Vanishing of Sidney Hall. Go to Full Review
Robert Abele Los Angeles Times 03/01/2018
The most passable lens through which to watch writer-director Shawn Christensen's risible indie drama "The Vanishing of Sidney Hall" is by counting the many ways it grates as both an agonized-artist pity party and a male fantasy of envied power. Go to Full Review
Jeannette Catsoulis New York Times 03/01/2018
A tortured mystery dripping with pretentiousness. Go to Full Review
Dominic Griffin Spectrum Culture 07/17/2019
1/5
There's a lot of mysteries to solve here, but the most important one is whether or not anyone will find a worse film released in 2018. Go to Full Review
Brent Hankins The Lamplight Review 04/09/2019
3/10
Directed by Shawn Christensen from a screenplay he co-wrote with Jason Dolan, The Vanishing of Sidney Hall meanders its way through an excruciating two hours, and seeing the film through to completion is like an exercise in self-flaggelation. Go to Full Review
Sean Mulvihill FanboyNation.com 10/30/2018
1/5
As hard as it tries - and, oh boy, does it try - The Vanishing of Sidney Hall is a film of artistic flourishes looking for a story it has no real clue how to tell. Go to Full Review
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Audience Reviews

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Jackson S @RT00105367 Jun 30 Wow. The critics who rated this film so poorly should be forcefully reassigned to work that they are better suited for. This movie is not a mystery, it is not a drama; it is a tragedy. A true and—I posit Aristotle would argue—very successful tragedy. If you can embrace the depth of this film and stay present through the impending catharsis, you will understand it for its beauty and richness, albeit painful. See more Sam T @RT35562356 Jun 28 I've very confused by the critics scores for this movie, some of the timeline jumps were confusing to navigate, but it was a beautiful movie that showed a very raw reality for someone struggling with a sudden rise to fame & just as sudden descent into being a literary pariah. He was dealing with multiple traumas throughout the film. Don't listen to the critics, this movie was definitely worth the watch. See more Sterling G @sternels77 Jun 22 Real people can be pretentious, so what does a character being pretentious have to do with whether a movie is any good or not? It’d be weirder if you watched a movie about a character absorbed in their own misery and thought the movie wasn’t pretentious or came out feeling happy about it. Forget about liking it, I couldn’t stand this movie. But it drew me in and made me feel passionate about every action the characters took. It told a story that was compelling enough for me and my family to pause numerous times and question where it was going or theorize what might happen next. In the same way the teacher told the MC his story ‘manipulated him to keep reading.’ My favorite detail was how Sidney describes a nightmare he has of someone following him, only for that to end up being a good thing. His book saved a single life. Perfectly wraps around to that interview at the beginning when he says he never cared about the book being popular, but whether even one person wanted to read it. See more Emily H. @RT58927386 Jun 15 I am glad I ignored the rt score/ ratings. I thought this was a very good movie. See more Stephen L @Jason4u0075 Jun 14 The critics got it very wrong this time. This is a masterpiece. See more Shanna A @RT57624016 Jun 13 Normally, I defend rotten tomatoes reviews, but starting to question. This one was absolutely engaging and a delightfully unique storyline. Elle Fanning is on point as usual and Friday night lights star… Such a fun twist. If you’re gonna get critical, the only thing I could possibly see is too much makeup on young Sydney but lol that’s really it. I literally never find a movie that’s more than a few years old that hits for me. My husband and I found this and we’re shocked that we’ve never heard of it. Big fail from the critics. See more Read all reviews
The Vanishing of Sidney Hall

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Movie Info

Synopsis An enigmatic detective embarks on a cross-country search for a once-prominent author who's mysteriously disappeared after a string of dangerous arsons have targeted his celebrated but controversial first novel.
Director
Shawn Christensen
Producer
Jonathan Schwartz
Screenwriter
Shawn Christensen, Jason Dolan
Distributor
A24
Production Co
Super Crispy Entertainment
Rating
R (Some Sexual References|Language)
Genre
Mystery & Thriller, Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Mar 2, 2018, Limited
Release Date (Streaming)
Mar 2, 2018
Runtime
1h 59m