Parents' Guide to

Spinning Man

By Jeffrey Anderson, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 16+

Sturdy, smart thriller has drinking, violence, sex.

Movie R 2018 100 minutes
Spinning Man Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

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What's the Story?

In SPINNING MAN, philosophy professor Evan Birch (Guy Pearce) is happily married to Ellen (Minnie Driver), with two kids. But they've recently moved, apparently to escape some kind of dark past. Trouble starts again when a beautiful young student named Joyce (Odeya Rush) goes missing, and the few clues that the police have turned up point toward Evan. Unruffled detective Malloy (Pierce Brosnan) questions him; the more Evan tries to sustain his innocence, the guiltier he looks. Meanwhile, another student, Anna (Alexandra Shipp), seems to be flirting with Evan, making the situation even more difficult. Finally, Evan must answer a question that he's posed in class many times: What is the truth, and what is one's perception of the truth?

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say: Not yet rated
Kids say: Not yet rated

This little thriller, part lurid potboiler and part philosophical quandary, plays like a sturdy B movie: It won't change the world, but it might keep late-night viewers from changing channels. Spinning Man skillfully provides visual bits of the mystery without offering any definitive answers; it constantly keeps viewers off-balance and unsure about whether Evan is innocent. Thanks to Pearce's performance, however, we hope that he might be. Evan's lectures feel realistic and thoughtful, rather than perfunctory or functional; they offer genuine reflection on the rest of the story. Frequent images of mice and traps also help the movie's atmosphere.

Brosnan offers another interesting layer; his detective Malloy speaks slowly, and his every behavior is measured (he's shown to be a recovering alcoholic), which makes his moments with Evan intelligent and engaging. The climactic sequence with the two of them, while unorthodox, is also fairly brave and somewhat fascinating. Likewise, Driver's Ellen -- rather than being a sidelined "wife" character -- actually has feelings and a past, which she calls upon to make her character believable and sympathetic. Of course, Spinning Man also knows how to work more below-the-belt angles -- it has its moments of erotic desire and anticipation -- and it doesn't add up to anything exceptional, but it's still a dizzy entertainment.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about Spinning Man's violence. Is it shocking or thrilling? How much is shown, and how much is kept offscreen? How does this approach affect you? What's the impact of media violence on kids?

  • How does the main character view sex? Does he value or respect women? What are his values?

  • Does the movie relate to the #MeToo movement? Why or why not?

  • How is drinking represented? What's the difference between the main character, who gets drunk on one occasion, and the character who's a recovering alcoholic?

  • What does the professor mean when he talks about absolute truth vs. the perception of truth? Does this mean that there's no such thing as absolute truth?

Movie Details

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