The Vanishing of Sidney Hall
The movie follows an enigmatic detective as he 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.
16 September 1956, Chicago, Illinois, USA
26 October 1997, Poughkeepsie, New York, USA
9 April 1998, Conyers, Georgia, USA
26 June 1993, Hoboken, New Jersey, USA
23 October 1994, Montana, USA
11 May 1964, Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA
2 October 1962, St. Louis, Missouri, USA
3 February 1956, Jersey City, New Jersey, USA
7 February 1991, Marseille, France
13 April 1994, St. Louis, Missouri, USA
March 09, 2018
When a publicist tells Sidney, "You're being drunk and pretentious and I'm gonna punch you in the face," it's as if she's reading the minds of moviegoers.
March 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.
January 26, 2017
Unspools into nearly two hours of baffling narrative choices, weak character development, and so many offensive cliches that it would be funny if they wasn't so, well, offensive.
March 07, 2018
Perhaps the greatest tragedy of The Vanishing of Sidney Hall is that nobody told writer/director Shawn Christensen that his gag-on-impact green smoothie of dated arthouse tropes was, in fact, a comedy.
August 05, 2018
... while its subject matter may weigh heavy, the overall package is an emotionally engaging viewing experience for anyone willing to take the journey.
March 02, 2018
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.
March 01, 2018
A tortured mystery dripping with pretentiousness.
March 24, 2018
It's ambitious, takes risks, and contains some finely crafted lines ("Life isn't very interesting unless you're a bit psychotic"), and yet I'm still not sure I could recommend you give up two hours of your life to see it.
March 02, 2018
Suffers from an air of affectation and artificiality made worse by the convoluted structure imposed on the narrative.
January 27, 2017
The artificially constructed nature of the narrative gives the supposedly shocking revelations way too much importance, essentially subjugating any sense of character development and flaws to its mystery-type structure.
March 02, 2018
Swearing, implied abuse in "tortured artist" drama.
February 28, 2018
Christensen favors dreamy shots of dusty libraries and desert horizons that, while beautiful, don't make up for the contrived plot driving Sidney toward his destiny.
