3 Films you need to see before you die!

Welcome to the fifth instalment of ‘3 films you need to see before you die!’ As you can probably anticipate, these lists will be unbelievably subjective and probably challenging for some people to read. With each small collection of films, I hope to shed light on the films that have captivated me in my own life and at the same time trying to sell them as an interest to you!

So, without waffling any further, here are 3 Films you need to see before you die! In my humble and biased opinion.

1. Wildlife (2018) Dir. Paul Dano

2018 was the breakthrough year for well-known Hollywood actors to take the plunge into directing with Bradley Cooper’s Star is Born and Jonah Hill’s Mid90’s. However, it was Paul Dano who captivated me the most with Wildlife.  Finding great success critically and in film festivals, Wildlife showcases the delicate nature of family life in 1960’s Montana with unforgettable performances by Jake Gyllenhaal (Jerry), Carey Mulligan (Jeanne), and Ed Oxenbould (Joe) as the family unit in crisis. The Brinson’s are your average working-class American family in the 1960’s, Joe is the bright son who plays football to please his father and always has time for his mother at home. Their life is altered when Jerry loses his job at the local Golf club, leaving him searching for a new opportunity to support the family, a situation the family has experienced before.

Jerry is a complicated man; he never takes the easy route out of his problems which frustrates Jeanne. Their relationship is strained further as Jerry leaves the family for a dangerous job fighting wildfires. Wildlife poses a number of important questions about family life without bias. Jerry decides to isolate his family, leaving Joe yearning for a father figure but, Jerry is adamant he is doing it for them. Jeanne does not want to be a stay-at-home mother; she is intelligent and needs more fulfilment in her life. Then there’s Joe, the good kid who is merely stuck in the middle. Neither his mother and father are winners or losers in this, neither are in the right or the wrong, they are simply doing what they feel is best for them and their family. 

Ed Oxenbould and Jake Gyllenhaal are both outstanding, but it is Carey Mulligan who is incredible in Wildlife. My favourite performance of hers since Drive (2011). she effortlessly portrays a woman left in an impossible position, forced to change her personality by a husband who in essence abandons her. A woman who makes mistakes, Strong, uncompromised, flawed but on a road to recovery. Carey Mulligan is brilliant. Dano’s direction is also very refreshing, he gives his characters space to really act, act past the conventions of dialogue and the script, and really explore what the film is truly about. Wildlife is aesthetically impressive, Dano masters the use of the spectacular Montana landscape to mirror the natural beauty in his environment with the natural beauty of his characters. These people make mistakes, but they are human and that is the essence of family, no matter what shortcomings people have, they are bound together by love.

Wildlife is absent of any family drama clichés and preconceived ideas. It is quiet in the way it brings up certain emotions way after the viewing experience has finished. The characters concerns are realistic and tangible, mostly involved with happiness and success. The most heart-warming moments are dominated by Joe’s overwhelming maturity and understanding for his parents’ troubles. He is the glue that holds the family together in its darkest times.

Paul Dano has always had a mood about his cinema, a caring character actor who creates his own vintage style in everything he does. Wildlife is pure Dano. 

2. Lost in Translation (2003) Dir. Sofia Coppola 

Sofia Coppola once said if she could not get Bill Murray to play the lead in Lost in Translation, she was not even going to bother making it. Thank god she got him. Lost in Translation stars Bill Murray as Bob Harris the dwindling American movie star working in Japan to promote a Japanese brand of whiskey for a large sum of money. As much as Bob Harris is content you can feel his alienation and loneliness in the Japanese culture. Bob is comfortably rich, but he is alone in the city. This is where Charlotte (Scarlett Johansson) comes in. A young American graduate, Charlotte arrived in Japan accompanying her hotshot photographer husband, but she herself feels removed from that life and searches for belonging in the city that supposedly never sleeps. Bob and Charlotte cannot help but feel attracted to each other, but not in the linear sense, an attraction of two easy going personalities that simply get along on a molecular level.

Lost in Translation is naturally authentic. Our two lead characters are so believable in their intentions and story development, even though there is an overwhelming assumption that they will be together, nothing is forced. Real relationships rarely have the ‘meet cutes’ associated with Hollywood and Sofia Coppola does a fantastic job of creating a film absent of those tried and tested cliches. Two people who just get each other, despite their age gap and different careers, they are drawn together for no particular reason other than their search for belonging. Their love builds gradually as most real relationships do, we learn about each person separate from each other, what they are longing for and perhaps why they fit so well together.

Bill Murray is effortlessly brilliant. Is he even acting? You would not even know; he is that good. Probably one of the most controlled acting performances of the last 20 years with his dry sense of humour and subdued approach to life, Bill Murray exceeds all expectations in Lost in Translation showing an unbelievable amount of reach that allows the film to obtain every inch of its vivid potential. It also proved to be a real breakout role for Scarlett Johansson who was only 17 at the time of shooting, it propelled her to become the deeply faceted and talented actress that she is today. 

Lost in Translation has style in substance and is undoubtedly a ‘cool’ film. You cannot help but get an overwhelming feeling of satisfaction in every shot. Everything is intentional, and everything is warm. This ‘cool’ feeling is prevalent in not just the aesthetics but the characters themselves. Bob is successful, well known and indeed cool, most people he interacts with in the film bombard him with cheap conversation and are evidently excited by his exterior reputation. Charlotte is different, she is friendly to him but shows an understanding level of reluctance, she does not necessarily care about his reputation, she just sees him as an interesting person to get to know more. Coppola also makes the outside characters feel just enough out of tune with Bob and Charlotte, allowing them to appear even more right for each other.

This is not a film to just throw on in the background as you will not get anything from it, so watch it with your eyes but also watch it with your heart. It will leave you pondering its beauty for days, exactly what Coppola would have wanted. 

3. Midsommar (2019) Dir. Ari Aster 

Despite what you have heard about Midsommar it is not a horror like anything you have seen before, it is a psychological thriller that displays its horror in plain sight. Ari Aster turned heads with his debut horror feature Hereditary (2018) and Midsommar is even better. This film does not scare you with any of the normal horror conventions, it is disturbing and terrifying, yet weirdly fills you with an irresistible sense of joy in the climax. Dani (Florence Pugh) is the grief-stricken college student who is stuck in a failing relationship with Christian (Jack Reynor). Dani is in desperate need of emotional support due to a family trauma that has turned her world upside down, instead Christian offers her little in the way of assistance, gaslighting her and making Dani feel like a constant burden to him. Christian’s Swedish friend Pelle (Vilhelm Blomgren) invites him and Dani (along with two other friends) to join him at the Midsommar festival back in his homeland for the summer. The festival is hosted by the Hårga, an idyllic Swedish community that on the surface appears open, friendly, and calming, the reality is something far from that.

Dani is grief stricken and riddled with anxiety, she hopes that the festival can provide her time to rebuild, mourn and come out of it stronger in her relationship and her mental state. However, the festival can only continue to push Dani and Christian away from each other, as they struggle to keep the flame alive between them. The festival appears at first like a spontaneous act of fun, the characters just happen to find themselves hallucinating off psychedelic drugs and soaking in the midnight sun. Nevertheless, the intentions of the Hårga begin to feel more premeditated as the film unravels. As previously mentioned, Dani and Christian are not the only outsiders enjoying the festivities. Mark (Will Poulter) and Josh (William Jackson Harper) are friends of Christian and both begin to make their own assumptions about the Hårga community, ultimately causing challenges for them as the Hårga traditions clash with their American values. 

Midsommar is hugely inspired by the Folk Horror classic The Wicker Man (1971) with its slow burning tension and deep foreshadowing of the terror that is brewing. When watching Midsommar, you know that something is not quite right, but you cannot quite put your finger on how it will exactly play out. No matter how wacky and abnormal this film becomes one character always shines through – Dani. Dani is the embodiment of any woman who has ever had to cope with an inconsiderate partner like Christian, normalising his backhanded and thoughtless ‘apologies’. Amazingly it is the Hårga that allows Dani to free herself from the toxic relationship (quite literally). Florence Pugh demonstrates a perfect sense of freedom in the film's invigorating closing moment. You will feel it too, pure bliss.

Midsommar is in essence a breakup movie with all of the conventions you come to expect from Ari Aster. Christian and Dani take on the Hårga customs and as a result end up worlds apart in the climax, and it is probably for the best. Pelle constantly asks Dani if Christian feels like ‘home’ to her. Dani knows that emotionally she is homeless and the Hårga cult provides that sense of belonging she has been striving for.

The cinematography is a joy, the crushing light and colourful composition protects the evil that hides underneath the surface. Florence Pugh may be the next best actress of our generation too, a layered, beautiful arc of a person finding belonging in her life in the most unorthodox way possible. It is not for everyone but why not find out if you like it for yourself!