feeldb

Mad City

1997 · 114 min · Director: Costa-Gavras ★ IMDb 6.3 · 22,063 ratings

Show plot summary (may contain spoilers)

Sam Baily, upset over losing his job, takes a natural history museum hostage. Max Brackett, journalist, is in the museum when this occurs, and gets the scoop. The story spreads nation wide, and soon it is all anyone talks about. The story itself is the news, not the reason why or the real people behind it.

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Emotional fingerprint

Mad City (1997) — Movie. Top emotional signals: Empathy 30%, Anxiety 25%, Sadness 20%. Source: AI estimate. Shares describe emotional signal, not percentages of people. Your experience may differ. How we measure

  1. Anger15%

AI estimate · no viewer votes yet

How we measure

AI estimate

Share of emotional signal, not the percentage of people or a probability of enjoyment.

Each viewer contributes one response, split equally across their selected emotions. When available, an automated estimate supplies a prior that is blended with those responses. Counts include distinct viewers, not automated estimates or archived anonymous votes. Fewer than 3 viewers is an early estimate; more responses do not guarantee certainty.

Why it feels this way

The strongest emotional signals are Empathy, Anxiety, Sadness. Genres: Thriller, Drama, Crime. AI estimate.

Is it worth watching?

Consider this title if you are looking for Empathy, Anxiety and Sadness. Its IMDb rating of 6.3/10 suggests a generally positive audience reception. For these leading emotions, its Feel Score is 65/100.

How did it make you feel?

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Emotional journey

AI · from subtitles
  • Tension
  • Sadness
  • Empathy

Not enough subtitle evidence

No dominant emotion

Dominant emotion: Anger

Dominant emotion: Tension

Dominant emotion: Empathy

Dominant emotion: Sadness

Tension
Sadness
Empathy
Emotional journey Emotional intensity over the film’s runtime, from quieter to stronger on a fixed 0–1 scale. Hatched intervals have insufficient subtitle evidence. The table provides the values.
Ending hidden

Dominant emotion

Intensity dips around 3 %, then rises around 13 %, then peaks around 98 %.Ending hidden

Emotional journey
%Approximate minuteDominant emotionOverall intensityTensionSadnessEmpathy
2.5 %≈ 3′Anger37 %33 %7 %14 %
7.5 %≈ 9′Tension53 %51 %11 %18 %
12.5 %≈ 14′Tension69 %68 %19 %28 %
17.5 %≈ 20′Tension72 %71 %20 %34 %
22.5 %≈ 26′Tension65 %63 %16 %32 %
27.5 %≈ 31′Tension58 %54 %19 %37 %
32.5 %≈ 37′Empathy64 %53 %38 %55 %
37.5 %≈ 43′Empathy66 %49 %50 %62 %
42.5 %≈ 48′Empathy59 %49 %34 %45 %
47.5 %≈ 54′Tension61 %56 %24 %38 %
52.5 %≈ 60′Empathy70 %62 %33 %53 %
57.5 %≈ 66′Tension68 %63 %31 %52 %
62.5 %≈ 71′Anger59 %48 %28 %43 %
67.5 %≈ 77′Sadness57 %35 %39 %49 %
72.5 %≈ 83′Empathy60 %41 %43 %54 %
77.5 %≈ 88′Anger66 %56 %41 %55 %
82.5 %≈ 94′Tension73 %69 %48 %59 %
87.5 %≈ 100′Tension82 %78 %65 %67 %
92.5 %≈ 105′Sadness90 %74 %82 %76 %
97.5 %≈ 111′Sadness93 %58 %88 %79 %
Riches to rags

Rags to riches: The emotional tone rises from negative to positive.

Riches to rags: The emotional tone falls from positive to negative.

Man in a hole: The tone falls, then recovers.

Icarus: The tone rises, then falls.

Cinderella: The tone rises, falls, then rises again.

Oedipus: The tone falls, rises, then falls again.

AI reading of the film’s English subtitles (dialogue and sound cues) — not viewer votes. How we measure ↗

Afterward Reveal viewer responses · may contain spoilers

Viewer responses about feelings after the title ended, separate from feelings while watching. No AI estimates.

0 responses so far

Feeling details appear after at least 3 viewers respond, to protect privacy.

Cast

Mia Kirshner

Laurie Callahan

Alan Alda

Kevin Hollander

Robert Prosky

Lou Potts

Blythe Danner

Mrs. Banks

Ted Levine

Lemke

MD
Milton Davis Jr.

The Kids

Bill Nunn

Cliff Williams

John Landis

Doctor

WO
William O'Leary

CTN Junior Executive

Jay Leno

Jay Leno

TL
Tammy Lauren

Miss Rose

Kyla Pratt

The Kids

AB
Akosua Busia

Diane

ER
Ebbe Roe Smith

Bartholomew

SG
Scanlon Gail

Bob

Details

Directed by
Costa-Gavras
Written by
Tom Matthews, Eric Williams
Type
Movies
Released
1997
Runtime
114 min
Country
United States
Ratings
★ IMDb 6.3 · 22,063 ratings
Feels mostly
Empathy
Data updated

Where to watch

Also on

Availability varies by country

Data: JustWatch · Wikidata

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Emotion overlap shows mood similarity, not a prediction of enjoyment.