Welcome to the eighth 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. Inside Llewyn Davis (2013) Dir. Coen Brothers
Directed by the always captivating Coen Brothers, Inside Llewyn Davis is the story of the 1960’s folk musician who feels as though he has missed the boat. Llewyn Davis (Oscar Isaac) arrives at the early 1960’s run down, unlike his enthusiastic friends in the folk music scene. His last album isn’t getting the buzz he was hoping for, and his agent is struggling to find the gigs and opportunities that his peers are thriving off. Llewyn has to battle the hardship’s of the American winter, along with his inability to find a genuine home for himself as he bounces from couch to couch, each time finding it harder to justify his musical lifestyle. Llewyn meets Jean (Carey Mulligan) and Jim (Justin Timberlake) on the way who he has a turbulent, yet courteous relationship with as they reach their various amounts of success with and without the presence of Llewyn.
Oscar Isaac is outstanding in this film. No, I mean he is unequivocally brilliant in every way. Isaac embodies everything about the struggles of a folk musician in the 1960’s folk scene after the unimaginable success story of a young Bob Dylan. Llewyn has literally and figuratively missed the boat. He is constantly told that his voice is pretty good, but not Dylan, he’s a decent backup performer at best, but at what point of your career as a young musician can you actually come to terms with this kind of brutal assessment. The passion project that you have spent your whole life trying to pursue is now looking like a waste of time. Unless you are Bob Dylan, you simply did not make it in this brutal life.
As memorable as Inside Llewyn Davis is, it will always go down in my memory as having one of the most brilliant studio performances ever on screen. Timberlake, Isaac, and the always superb Adam Driver join together for a unique performance of ‘Please Mr Kennedy’ with Isaac and Timberlake harmonising beautifully together, Adam Driver provides the distinctive backing sounds that take the song to the next level. The music in this film is deeply original and absolutely authentic to the time that the film is based in. A cheerful, yet deeply layered score to accompany a profoundly influential picture.
As I talk about the brilliance of the cast and musical accessories for Inside Llewyn Davis, it would be a criminal act for me to not discuss the films most important asset. Ambience. I’m not sure how the Coen Brothers had managed to create this kind of soft yet tragic atmosphere through it’s tonality, but it is genuinely remarkable. They have managed to create a film with simple, yet charming cinematography that perfectly represents the tragic existence of the films title character. A man losing his identity (or what he thought was supposed to be his identity).
Inside Llewyn Davis is undoubtedly one of the Coen Brothers’ more understated films and I can’t think of why this is. It’s musical but not overbearing, the performances are real and sincere, and you still get that distinctive Coen Brothers style. It’s a no brainer, if you haven’t seen this film before, go out there and chalk it off.
2. Road to Perdition (2002) Dir. Sam Mendes
Whenever I think about a film that I wish I could experience again for the first time, Sam Mendes’ Road to Perdition always stands tall in my memory. As a mob enforcer’s son (Tyler Hoechlin) witnesses a murder, the enforcer Michael Sullivan (Tom Hanks) is exiled from the mob in brutal circumstances by a boss (Paul Newman) he once considered as a father figure. As his life turns upside down, he enters into an adventure of betrayal and redemption as he is tracked down by sadistic assassin Maguire (Jude Law). Michael must drop everything in his past life and go on a mission across America to save his son from the ugly side of the 1930’s crime world. From the outset, Road to Perdition is genuinely the full package, and testament to a picture that thrives of an unbelievably strong and authentic cast.
I have always loved the classy cinema of Sam Mendes. A
director whose work I feel has been massively underappreciated since the successes
of American Beauty, a film that has inspired so many of the most famous
films of the 21st century. But as much as I love American Beauty,
we are actually here to talk about the style of Road to Perdition, a
film that effortlessly oozes class from every opening. From the quite frankly
beautiful score from Thomas Newman, that encapsulates the fragility of life in
the gangster underworld or the simple, yet effective cinematography that transports
you into the innocent beauty of 1930’s USA. There are some films that look good
and sound good, yet somehow have something missing in the story, and when you
look past the aesthetics, you are feeling empty. Road to Perdition has
the looks, but plenty of substance to match.
Additionally, from the brilliant cinematography is how Road
to Perdition is a picture that is completely infused with water. Almost every
scene with the crime boss Mr Rooney is drenched in rain, damp, and darkness.
Establishing Mr Rooney as an uncompromising figure who despite his strong family
outlook, has an incredibly cold view of those who may potentially challenge his
image. Michael Sullivan always saw Mr Rooney as a father figure for himself,
but as soon as his son’s innocent mistake puts his own position into jeopardy,
Mr Rooney immediately sets his sights on banishing Michael from the gang, with
force. Another unforgettable side antagonist that works brilliantly in this
water-soaked movie is the hitman tasked with tracking down Michael,
as Rooney ties up his loose ends. The hitman’s twisted obsession with taking pictures
of his victims is only amplified as evil thanks to the film’s overwhelmingly
dark colour palette.
I’m not going to claim that Road to Perdition is easy
to like, but it is easy to become immersed in due to the fact there is a lot
going on underneath the surface. The problems of the gang appear to be triggered by Rooney’s
preference over family loyalty instead of honest, fair, and ‘good’ management.
Nevertheless, Michael’s misfortune is unquestionably a consequence of placing his
trust in Mr Rooney from the very beginning.
A story of tragedy, loss, redemption, and a visibly bittersweet ending, but always a film that you need to see before you die!
3. Beautiful Boy (2018) Dir. Felix Van Groeningen
Based on the real-life memoirs of Father David, and son Nic Sheff. Beautiful Boy is the painfully real story of addiction and family, and of course the challenges that arise when both are mixed together. Through compulsion, relapses, deceit and of course recovery, the film is a ‘beautiful’ story about the power of family in someone’s survival against this heart-breaking affliction. Nic (Timothee Chalamet) begins his journey into drug addiction like most people, an introvert curious to find a way of making himself appear more outgoing, little does he realise that this innocent curiosity will leave him gripped by a force out of his control. David (Steve Carell) is the demoralized father, constantly subjected to a barrage of issues that come with having a son transfixed by addiction. Watching a child that you have raised from nothing become lost to a world of addiction must create an amount of pain that is inconceivable, yet Beautiful Boy shares this unthinkable feat.
So many films have come and gone about addiction, the most famous being Requiem for a Dream (2000) a dream that is so shocking and excruciating to watch but offers an incredibly intriguing portrayal of the effects addiction has on oneself. Nevertheless, Beautiful Boy offers a much more refined and authentic experience for me. Drug addiction is obviously deeply damaging for someone’s physical health, but it is the devastating emotional impact that filters into the affected persons family. As your health deteriorates uncontrollably, imagine how that makes your family feel. Whatever you choose to do to your own body is ultimately your choice, but as a by product of this, you put the people who love you the most through a genuine form of hell.
I love the realism that is portrayed almost without a blip. People who are addicts do not just end their addiction ‘because their parents told them to stop’, the addiction has a grip on life, both internally and externally. No matter how many times Nic’s father thinks he has stopped his son going to back to drugs he relapses, highlighting that addiction can only really be stopped when the change comes from within. Realising that if they don’t stop, they will be in an early grave. There’s a real overwhelming sense of regret and frustration that dominates with all things considered. How the innocent boy that used to run around and play, has had his life transformed thanks to a debilitating obsession to a substance that has sent his life spiralling out of control.
If you’re looking for a tidy and polished story about a person turning a setback into a positive, without any bumps along the road, then this film cannot produce that, but nothing was ever that simple. It’s a real account of this unimaginable trauma, a story with promise, but to get to that promise, a whole lot of pain and suffering on the way. With all of this, it’s unforgivable of me to not even mention the painstaking chemistry between Father Steve Carrell and son Timothee Chalamet in Beautiful Boy, most notably Steve Carrell who perfectly displays a deep-rooted love for his son that despite all of this heartache and anguish, he simply cannot turn his back on his son.
Whatever you get out of Beautiful Boy is ultimately up to you, one thing is sure though, it’s hard to get it out of your head.
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