Dark Matter

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Dark Matter

R,

2008,

1h 26m,

Drama

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Watchlist

Watchlist

41%

41 Reviews

Tomatometer

40%

10,000+ Ratings

Popcornmeter

41%

Tomatometer

41 Reviews

40%

Popcornmeter

10,000+ Ratings

Liu Xing (Ye Liu), a promising Chinese doctoral candidate accepted into an elite astronomy program in the United States, struggles to adjust to life in his new home. Xing finds an unlikely friend in university donor Johanna Silver (Meryl Streep) and a willing mentor in acclaimed professor Jacob Reiser (Aidan Quinn). But, when Xing's groundbreaking research begins to contradict Reiser's famed theories, Xing finds his dissertation derailed and his career in science speedily spiraling downward.

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Critics Consensus

The creaky plotting, inscrutable characters, and unconvincing ending make it difficult for audiences to connect with Dark Matter.

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Richard Brody

The New Yorker

Dec 19, 2022

Despite cavernous plot holes and some unabashed Chinese nationalist speechifying, the spectacle of intellect thwarted in mid-flight has a moody resonance.

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Leo Goldsmith

IndieWire

Aug 8, 2009

Begins with a shot of Meryl Streep practicing tai chi, and therein lies a precise encapsulation of the film's attitude toward the intersection of Eastern and Western cultures

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Maureen M. Hart

Chicago Tribune

Oct 18, 2008

3/4

The film does a fine job of displaying the contrasts between these tense, formalized Chinese students and the faux populist American academics.

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Kelly Vance

East Bay Express

Aug 15, 2011

We know we're in strange territory from the opening shot.

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Burl Burlingame

Honolulu Star-Advertiser

Jul 5, 2011

1.5/4

Xing is surprised to discover Western academics are just as ruthless as communist apparatchiks and, ill equipped emotionally to handle humiliation, he takes his guns to town.

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Dave White

Movies.com

Apr 4, 2011

1.5/5

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Leia L

May 9, 2009

Based on a true story that happened near where I live. Movie was alright but could've been better with the cast they had.

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Chen Shi-Zeng

Director

Ye Liu

Liu Xing

Aidan Quinn

Jacob Reiser

Meryl Streep

Joanna Silver

Blair Brown

Hildy

Bill Irwin

Hal Silver

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Synopsis

Liu Xing (Ye Liu), a promising Chinese doctoral candidate accepted into an elite astronomy program in the United States, struggles to adjust to life in his new home. Xing finds an unlikely friend in university donor Johanna Silver (Meryl Streep) and a willing mentor in acclaimed professor Jacob Reiser (Aidan Quinn). But, when Xing's groundbreaking research begins to contradict Reiser's famed theories, Xing finds his dissertation derailed and his career in science speedily spiraling downward.

Director: Chen Shi-Zeng
Producer: Andrea Miller, Janet Yang, Mary Salter
Screenwriter: Billy Shebar
Distributor: First Independent Pictures
Production Co: Saltmill Prods., American Sterling Productions
Rating: R (Language|Brief Sexual Content|A Scene of Violence)
Genre: Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Apr 11, 2008, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Jun 22, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA): $30.0K
Runtime: 1h 26m

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