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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 77% 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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Ruth H @HardheadedWoman 15h Not only did Sidney Hall vanish but so did this movie. Glad that I found it on Netflix. Despite what critics say, it’s beautifully done and it will break your heart. Always happy to see Kyle Chandler. See more No N @LimaBravo 23h Excellent script, performances, and production. The critics' rating of 12 validates my longstanding movie selection process of seeking films on RT with a low critics' rating and high audience rating. See more Kalissa H. @kali_416 1d The ending part is really good. Logan Lerman is great in this. See more Leigh B @Leigh444 1d Good lord. I think I’m just tired of stories about men. This is one of the worst. It’s just one long masturbatory "fantasy" trope about the misunderstood sensitive male genius artist. It’s neither well written, compelling or interesting. Dear god save me from any more of these stupid movies. See more Lexi S. @sexeelexee 1d Some bad reviews to me are sensical... This movie, whilst a rollercoaster of a story, is pretty sad and takes a while to make sense - but I don't get the low rating. I would have, honestly, after the opening scene, have condemned it. I almost turned it off immediately (as I was turned off of the whole thing immediately), but I have tried in the last decade to finish things I start. These days we don't invest in a lot of things unless they draw us in immediately or blow our minds within the time limit of a TikTok video. This is something else. The Vanishing of Sidney Hall was not about the character's actually physical disappearance... It was a tragedy. A disappearance of many lives within one person harboring hope that good will triumph and love will prevail. That they will be okay. That trauma and terror will not win. This is the most Shakespearean modern-day cinema I've ever [unpleasantly] witnessed. Never mind liking it, enjoying it, thinking it was incredible - it is art. Elle Fanning and Logan Lerman have always been actors that I respect and appreciate. They deliver their all: in any genre, era, or work of art. So I watched it, and I hated it, and I know they absolutely killed it. Don't get me wrong, I watch these things for happy endings. I want cinema to be escapism. But on the off-chance I choose a movie based off actors and mystery, I want to feel. And this? I feel like Shakespeare. I feel tragedy. I feel like this encompasses literature in a way Romeo and Juliet doesn't reach modern students/audiences - they're removed from it by history, able to joke from years between - and that, alone, is art. See more Colleen R @Leeni Nov 14 Beautiful and haunting, a well-acted cathartic tragedy. 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
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