The Art of Self-Defense
2019 | 104m | English
Popularity: 5 (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: | Comedy, Thriller |
| Keywords | martial arts, crematorium, karate, sexism, sports, cult, psychopath, satire, murder, dojo, dark comedy, motorcycle gang, dog, 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 | Hair Department Head, Key Makeup Artist |
| 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 | Gaffer, Chief Lighting Technician |
| 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 |
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._