The Art of Self-Defense
2019 | 104m | English
Popularity: 1 (history)
| Director: | Riley Stearns |
|---|---|
| Writer: | Riley Stearns |
| Staring: |
| 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. | |
| Release Date: | Jul 12, 2019 |
|---|---|
| Director: | Riley Stearns |
| Writer: | Riley Stearns |
| Genres: | |
| Keywords | martial arts, crematorium, karate, sexism, dojo, german shepherd, misogyny, mugging, death of pet, black belt, masculinity, accountant, deadpan, toxic masculinity, traumatized man, ambiguous |
| Production Companies | End Cue |
| Box Office |
Revenue: $2,400,000
Budget: $1,800,000 |
| Updates |
Updated: Feb 01, 2025 Entered: Apr 13, 2024 |
| Name | Character |
|---|---|
| Jesse Eisenberg | Casey |
| Alessandro Nivola | Sensei |
| Imogen Poots | Anna |
| Steve Terada | Thomas |
| David Zellner | Henry |
| Phillip Andre Botello | Kennith |
| Jason Burkey | Alex |
| Mike Brooks | Steve |
| C.J. Rush | Other Steve |
| Davey Johnson | Gun Store Owner |
| Hauke Bahr | Grant |
| Katherine Martin | Bakery Woman |
| Cameron Murphy | New White Belt |
| Nicholas Hulstine | Pickup Truck Driver |
| Lena Friedrich | French Girl |
| Louis Robert Thompson | Veterinarian |
| Dallas Edwards | Manuel |
| Katherine Smith-Rodden | Store Cashier |
| Frederic Spitz | French Guy |
| Alex Haydon | Man Wearing Pants |
| Mark Sawyer-Dailey | Man Reading Newspaper |
| Leland Orser | Detective McCallister |
| Josh Fadem | Serial Killer |
| Scott Goodman | Drunk Man |
| Justin Eaton | Lone Man |
| Caroline Amiguet | French Audio Instructor (voice) (uncredited) |
| Name | Job |
|---|---|
| Sarah Beth Shapiro | Editor |
| Josh Fried | Stunt Double |
| Chad Blevins | Art Direction |
| Siena Brown | First Assistant Director |
| Stephanie Adams | Second Assistant Director |
| Diletta Di Nicolantonio | Assistant Director |
| Elissa Ruminer | Key Makeup Artist, Hair Department Head |
| Aaron Worman | Special Effects Makeup Artist |
| Amy L. Forsythe | Makeup Department Head |
| Demetri Evdoxiadis | Supervising Sound Editor, Sound Re-Recording Mixer |
| Zack Goldsborough | Sound Recordist |
| Michael Ragen | Director of Photography |
| Wayne Beauchamp | Special Effects Coordinator |
| Toby Sells | Prosthetic Designer |
| Jami Villers | Costume Design |
| Emily Blevins | Set Decoration |
| May Satsuki Asai | Visual Effects |
| Casey Curtiss | Digital Compositor |
| Mindy Kelly | Fight Choreographer, Stunt Coordinator |
| Becca Brooks Morrin | Set Dresser |
| Raymond Park | Sound Effects Editor |
| Matt Ware | Chief Lighting Technician, Gaffer |
| Riley Stearns | Screenplay, Director |
| Heather McIntosh | Original Music Composer |
| Charlotte Royer | Production Design |
| Ross Kohnstam | Stunts |
| T. Ryan Mooney | Stunt Double |
| Nikki Stanley | Stunt Double |
| Dan Mast | Stunt Driver |
| Heather Bonomo | Stunt Driver |
| Steve Terada | Stunt Driver |
| Nick DeKay | Stunt Driver |
| John Ross | Utility Stunts |
| Geoffrey Storts | First Assistant Camera |
| Josh Boyd | Second Assistant Camera |
| Dave Ogle | Steadicam Operator |
| Jared Hardy | Digital Imaging Technician |
| Isaac Harrison | Still Photographer |
| Chris Polczinski | Production Sound Mixer |
| Tasha Ann Ladwig | Boom Operator |
| Gregory Sheppard | Graphic Designer |
| Eli Kleinsmith | Property Master |
| J. Ryan McCleney | Set Designer |
| Brett Durbin | Script Supervisor |
| Eliot Brown | Best Boy Electric |
| Scott Phelps | Additional Gaffer |
| Hunter Zieske | Electrician |
| Zach Erwin | Electrician |
| Tyler Buchholz | Key Grip |
| Daniel Williamson | Best Boy Grip |
| Seth Ware | Grip |
| David Lowe | Dolly Grip |
| Tora Eff | Assistant Costume Designer |
| Erick Lagunes | Second Second Assistant Director |
| Name | Title |
|---|---|
| Stephanie Whonsetler | Producer |
| Walter Kortschak | Producer |
| Andrew Kortschak | Producer |
| David Zellner | Executive Producer |
| Nathan Zellner | Executive Producer |
| Cody Ryder | Producer |
| Andrew Karpen | Executive Producer |
| Lisa Ciuffetti | Co-Producer |
| Camille Bertrand | Co-Producer |
| Munika Lay | Executive Producer |
| Kent Sanderson | Executive Producer |
| Organization | Category | Person |
|---|
Popularity History
| Year | Month | Avg | Max | Min |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 4 | 17 | 26 | 11 |
| 2024 | 5 | 20 | 35 | 13 |
| 2024 | 6 | 21 | 39 | 11 |
| 2024 | 7 | 22 | 48 | 13 |
| 2024 | 8 | 15 | 22 | 9 |
| 2024 | 9 | 12 | 18 | 6 |
| 2024 | 10 | 16 | 28 | 9 |
| 2024 | 11 | 13 | 22 | 8 |
| 2024 | 12 | 15 | 25 | 8 |
| 2025 | 1 | 13 | 21 | 9 |
| 2025 | 2 | 11 | 17 | 3 |
| 2025 | 3 | 5 | 15 | 1 |
| 2025 | 4 | 3 | 6 | 1 |
| 2025 | 5 | 2 | 7 | 1 |
| 2025 | 6 | 2 | 4 | 1 |
| 2025 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| 2025 | 8 | 2 | 3 | 1 |
| 2025 | 9 | 5 | 6 | 3 |
| 2025 | 10 | 5 | 6 | 4 |
| 2025 | 11 | 2 | 4 | 1 |
| 2025 | 12 | 3 | 8 | 1 |
| 2026 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
Trending Position
| Year | Month | High | Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 4 | 932 | 932 |
| Year | Month | High | Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2 | 796 | 796 |
‘The Art of Self-Defense’ is a truly funny, dark experience that will polarise audiences, hopefully leaving most of them satisfied. Just try not to think about it too much. - Ashley Teresa Read Ashley's full article... https://www.maketheswitch.com.au/article/review-the-art-of-self-defense-a-sa ... tire-as-pitch-black-as-a-karate-belt
I went in expecting mumblecore, but got more of a Wes Anderson (which, to be fair, a primary influence of mumblecore). Wes Anderson almost always has violence in his movies, but probably nothing so brutal as _The Art of Self-Defense_. I thought that the whole movie would essentially be setting up Ei ... senberg as an awkward, meek nerd, who at the very end would go uber-violent, and the joke that they bothered to make a movie for would essentially be "You didn't think this guy would punch very good but then he does". Happy to say, I was wrong. Not only does Eisenberg punch pretty good on actually more than one occasion, there's also a story in _The Art of Self-Defense_ as well, which I was not expecting. Now I still didn't think it was very good, and I definitely didn't think it was very funny, but my very low expectations were exceeded, so in the end I'm actually moderately happy with this one. _Final rating:★★½ - Had a lot that appealed to me, didn’t quite work as a whole._