feeldb

Life During Wartime

2009 · 97 min · Director: Todd Solondz ★ IMDb 6.4 · 8,372 ratings

Show plot summary (may contain spoilers)

Separated from her incarcerated husband Bill (Hinds), Trish (Janney) is about to be married again. Bill is a pedophile, so Trish couldn't be more excited to have Harvey (Lerner), a "normal" father figure for her two sons. But when Bill is released from prison and the boys finally meet their future stepdad, the family is forced to decide whether to forgive or to forget. Trish's sister, the virginal, angelic Joy (Henderson), is also haunted by ghosts of lovers past. On leave from her degenerate husband, Allen (Williams), and her job at a New Jersey correctional facility, Joy unwittingly leaves behind a trail of shame and exposed secrets wherever she goes. In one of the film's most stylized sequences, the image of Joy walking the dark streets of Miami in her nightgown maintains her innocence against a backdrop of self-affliction and desire.

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Emotional fingerprint

Life During Wartime (2009) — Movie. Top emotional signals: Confusion 30%, Empathy 25%, Sadness 20%. Source: AI estimate. Shares describe emotional signal, not percentages of people. Your experience may differ. How we measure

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 Confusion, Empathy, Sadness. Genres: Comedy, Drama. AI estimate.

Is it worth watching?

Consider this title if you are looking for Confusion, Empathy and Sadness. Its IMDb rating of 6.4/10 suggests a generally positive audience reception. For these leading emotions, its Feel Score is 66/100.

How did it make you feel?

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Pick up to three · 0/3

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Emotional journey

AI · from subtitles
  • Sadness
  • Disturbing
  • Empathy

Not enough subtitle evidence

No dominant emotion

Dominant emotion: Sadness

Dominant emotion: Humor

Dominant emotion: Disturbing

Sadness
Disturbing
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. Not enough subtitle evidence
Ending hidden

Dominant emotion

Intensity dips around 23 %, then dips around 48 %, then peaks around 88 %.Ending hidden

Emotional journey
%Approximate minuteDominant emotionOverall intensitySadnessDisturbingEmpathy
2.5 %≈ 2′Sadness52 %38 %27 %32 %
7.5 %≈ 7′Humor53 %26 %33 %26 %
12.5 %≈ 12′Humor52 %15 %33 %22 %
17.5 %≈ 17′Not enough subtitle evidenceNot enough subtitle evidenceNot enough subtitle evidenceNot enough subtitle evidenceNot enough subtitle evidence
22.5 %≈ 22′Sadness56 %47 %45 %38 %
27.5 %≈ 27′Disturbing69 %56 %61 %49 %
32.5 %≈ 32′Sadness72 %57 %65 %60 %
37.5 %≈ 36′Disturbing61 %46 %55 %53 %
42.5 %≈ 41′Sadness53 %39 %46 %36 %
47.5 %≈ 46′Sadness49 %36 %39 %32 %
52.5 %≈ 51′Humor49 %37 %33 %39 %
57.5 %≈ 56′Sadness54 %43 %35 %43 %
62.5 %≈ 61′Sadness56 %39 %39 %38 %
67.5 %≈ 65′Humor56 %30 %40 %33 %
72.5 %≈ 70′Disturbing65 %31 %55 %36 %
77.5 %≈ 75′Disturbing78 %48 %73 %48 %
82.5 %≈ 80′Sadness86 %68 %78 %64 %
87.5 %≈ 85′Disturbing87 %70 %79 %68 %
92.5 %≈ 90′Disturbing83 %66 %66 %60 %
97.5 %≈ 95′Sadness77 %68 %42 %60 %
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 ↗

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Afterward Reveal viewer responses · may contain spoilers

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

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Cast

Shirley Henderson

Joy Jordan

Paul Reubens

Andy Kornbluth

DR
Dylan Riley Snyder

Timmy Maplewood

Ciarán Hinds

Bill Maplewood

Renée Taylor

Mona Jordan

Charlotte Rampling

Jacqueline

RP
Rich Pecci

Mark

EH
Emma Hinz

Chloe Maplewood

RC
Rebecca Chiles

Hostess

GQ
Gabriel Quilichini

Waiter

CM
Carmen Marie Colón Mejía

Sarah

FS
Fernando Samalot

Eddie

MA
Meng Ai

Jesse

SP
Susan Pages

Bar Mitzvah Guest (uncredited)

Details

Directed by
Todd Solondz
Written by
Todd Solondz
Type
Movies
Released
2009
Runtime
97 min
Country
United States
Genres
Comedy, Drama
Ratings
★ IMDb 6.4 · 8,372 ratings
Feels mostly
Confusion
Data updated

Where to watch

Data: JustWatch · Wikidata

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