Burn After Reading
2008USA★ 6.75.5 pt match
Both films sit with figuring out who you are. Both circle the same ground: class and money and men and women navigating expectations. Both move the same way too, dark comedy, absurdist, and escalating.
Carnage
2011FranceLanguage: EnglishDirected by Roman Polanski★ 7.2
Available in English: subtitled
Two pairs of parents hold a cordial meeting after their sons are involved in a fight, though as their time together progresses, increasingly childish behavior throws the discussion into chaos.
Themes and style
Tone
dark comedyabsurdistchaoticcold and detached
Pacing
escalatingslow build to explosion
Story
unravelingcon deception
Emotion
guiltshamerageloyalty under pressurefiguring out who you are
Themes
class and moneymen and women navigating expectationsfamily duty
Feel
catharticcerebraldiscussion starterrewatchable
Violence
suggestiveWhere to watch
Hollywood films like Carnage
If Carnage hit you the right way, here are Hollywood films that share its DNA. Same emotional weight, same kind of stories, same kind of payoff.
Dr. Strangelove
1964USA★ 8.14 pt match
Both films sit with figuring out who you are and rage. They share the same lens on men and women navigating expectations. Same energy: dark comedy, absurdist, and escalating.
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
2017USA★ 8.14 pt match
What ties these together is rage and guilt. Both circle the same ground: men and women navigating expectations and class and money. Same energy: dark comedy and escalating.
Trading Places
1983USA★ 7.24 pt match
What ties these together is figuring out who you are. Both circle the same ground: class and money and men and women navigating expectations. Same energy: dark comedy, absurdist, and escalating.
Superbad
2007USA★ 7.33 pt match
Like Carnage, this one is rooted in figuring out who you are. The world both films live in revolves around men and women navigating expectations. Both move the same way too, dark comedy, chaotic, and escalating.
The Big Lebowski
1998USA★ 7.83 pt match
What ties these together is figuring out who you are and loyalty under pressure. They share the same lens on class and money. The feel is the same: dark comedy and absurdist.
Planes, Trains and Automobiles
1987USA★ 7.33 pt match
They share the same lens on class and money and family duty. Both move the same way too, dark comedy and escalating.
The Nice Guys
2016USA★ 7.13 pt match
Both films sit with loyalty under pressure and guilt. The world both films live in revolves around men and women navigating expectations and class and money. The feel is the same: dark comedy, chaotic, and escalating.