Film

Krystal

Name: Krystal
Genre: Drama, Comedy
Released: 2018
Cast: Rosario Dawson, Nick Robinson, T.I., Grant Gustin, Felicity Huffman

Drama

A 2018 dramedy about a sheltered young man who infiltrates an AA group to get close to a stripper he's infatuated with. It's a character-driven indie that wants to be a quirky romantic comedy but wrestles with uncomfortable power dynamics and tonal confusion. For viewers drawn to ambitious misfires or character studies that don't quite land.

TMDb rating

2.6

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you like small, awkward character studies where tenderness and bad decisions sit side by side, and you don't mind a story that wanders around its recovery-room setting.

Skip it if you want the sharp, fast comedy the genres promise, since this runs gentle and sad and rarely lands its jokes with much force.

What it asks of you: It runs about ninety minutes at an unhurried pace, and it wants you to sit with its awkwardness rather than be carried along by plot.

Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.

If you liked this

Safety Not Guaranteed2012

Quirky indie romance about an oddball stranger and a woman he pursues obsessively. It has charm, heart, and similar fish-out-of-water energy, but treats its premise with actual wit and emotional intelligence.

But Smaller scale and pacing; feels more deliberately understated than obviously entertaining.

Seeking a Friend for the End of the World2012

Steve Carell and Keira Knightley's unlikely pairing drives this romantic comedy about two broken people. It has the same indie sensibility and willingness to be both funny and genuinely sad.

But Relentlessly bleak and melancholic; the romance never quite overcomes the dread of the premise.

Seeking a Friend for the End of the World poster

The Way Back2010

A coming-of-age dramedy about a socially awkward kid finding his place. Sam Rockwell is magnetic, the ensemble is warm, and it actually earns its sweet moments without losing sight of real pain.

But Fairly conventional structure; the feel-good resolution feels earned rather than surprising.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Krystal

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

A Prophet2009

Both track how a sheltered protagonist is shaped by infiltrating a world designed to exclude him, and both ask uncomfortable questions about attraction, power, and what we're willing to compromise to belong.

Jacques Audiard's masterpiece about a young man's transformation inside prison through sheer force of will. It has the same structure—a vulnerable outsider learning the rules of a closed world—but it's genuinely great filmmaking about character evolution and masculine identity. Visceral and unsentimental in ways Krystal aspires to be.

But French, subtitled, and the prison violence is real. Not a comfort watch. 155 minutes long.

Begin Again2014

Mark Ruffalo and Keira Knightley in a New York romance about broken people making music together. Messy characters, genuine chemistry, and it trusts the audience to sit with ambiguity.

But Very of its moment; the indie-music-as-salvation angle plays dated now, and the pacing meanders.

Drinking Buddies2013

Olivia Wilde and Jake Johnson's chemistry anchors this mumblecore romance about attraction and friendship blurred. Improvised feel, real emotional stakes, and it doesn't judge its characters for being attracted to the wrong people.

But Deliberately loose structure; no plot engine means some viewers will find it shapeless.

I Smile Back2015

Sarah Jessica Parker in a raw, unsentimental portrait of depression and addiction. It's unflinching about how messy people can be, and how loved they still deserve to be.

But Genuinely bleak; there's no redemption arc or easy comfort here. Very hard to watch in spots.

Fort Tilden2014

Two young women navigate friendship and attraction across a single day. Mumblecore in the best sense—funny, awkward, alive to the actual texture of how people talk and connect.

But Plotless and interior; nothing happens except conversation and feeling, which some find tedious.

Flower2017

Zoey Deutch is a teenage troublemaker drawn into a revenge plot. It's uncomfortable and dark and refuses easy morality about who deserves sympathy.

But Frequently unpleasant; the tone shifts between comedy and darkness in ways that don't always gel.

Addicted to Fresno2015

Aubrey Plaza and Judy Greer as nun sisters caught up in a murder cover-up. A weird, low-budget dark comedy that doesn't quite work but commits fully to its strange energy.

But Tone is all over the place; the premise is weirder than the execution can support.

Transparent2014

Both use addiction and attraction as metaphors for the need to belong to something, and both are interested in the damage caused by pursuing people instead of understanding them.

Five seasons of Jill Soloway's sprawling family drama about a parent's transition and how it shatters and reforms everyone around them. Messy characters, real pain, genuine weirdness. It refuses sentimentality or easy answers.

But Slow pacing and no plot momentum; it's about texture and family dynamics, not narrative. Some characters are almost unbearable to watch. Gets progressively darker and more challenging.

The Sopranos1999

Both are interested in how attraction can be a symptom of something else—loneliness, a need to fix, the pursuit of a fantasy instead of a person. Both ask what it costs to want someone as an idea rather than as they actually are.

Not for the crime drama—watch it for therapy scenes with Lorraine Bracco, where Tony talks about his mother and his desires. These sequences have the intimate character study feeling Krystal reaches for: broken people trying to make sense of their own needs and damage. Six seasons of television's best writing about interiority.

But Violent and brutal; the gangster stuff is secondary but it's still graphic. And watching Tony is exhausting—he's a bad person who never really changes. The pace is glacial by modern standards.