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The Art of Self-Defense

2019 · 104 min

A deadpan, quietly unnerving descent into cultish masculinity that makes you squirm and chuckle at the same time.

Directed by
Riley Stearns
Genres
Comedy, Thriller, Drama
Starring
Jesse Eisenberg, Alessandro Nivola, Imogen Poots
Overview
Casey is attacked at random on the street and enlists in a local dojo led by a charismatic and mysterious Sensei in an effort to learn how to defend himself. What he uncovers is a sinister world of fraternity, violence and hypermasculinity and a woman fighting for her place in it.

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Rent in the UK
  • Apple TV Store
  • Rakuten TV
  • Sky Store
More options Data from JustWatch
Directed by
Riley Stearns
Genres
Comedy, Thriller, Drama
Starring
Jesse Eisenberg, Alessandro Nivola, Imogen Poots
In your watch list

How it feels

Written by AI. It can be wrong.

Tone
  • darkstrength 3 of 3
  • satiricalstrength 3 of 3
  • cynicalstrength 2 of 3
  • tensestrength 2 of 3
Pacing
slow-burn, 1 of 4, from slow-burn to relentless
Attention
engaged, 3 of 4, from background-friendly to demanding
Themes
  • identity
  • obsession
  • power
  • violence
  • gender
Places
  • workplace
  • big city
Era
contemporary
Audience
adult
Form
  • twist ending
Content intensity
  • Gore mild
  • Language strong
  • Violence strong
  • Sex mild
All scales, 0 to 10
Scales, 0 to 10
ScaleValue0 to 10
Action5
Horror4
Humour6
Realism6
Romance1
Tension7
Darkness8
Complexity6
Emotional weight6

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Where to watch in the UK

Rent
  • Apple TV Store
  • Rakuten TV
  • Sky Store
Buy
  • Apple TV Store
  • Rakuten TV
  • Amazon Video
  • Sky Store

Streaming data from JustWatch.All options on TMDB

Details

Genres
comedy, thriller, drama, mystery
Directed by
Riley Stearns
Written by
Riley Stearns
Starring
Jesse Eisenberg, Alessandro Nivola, Imogen Poots, Steve Terada, David Zellner, Phillip Andre Botello, Jason Burkey, Mike Brooks
Music
Heather McIntosh
Cinematography
Michael Ragen
Runtime
104 min
Country
United States of America
Languages
English, French, German, Spanish

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