Ellie-Mae Hougham and Tiana Young recommend their top picks for your next movie night
1. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)
A sci-fi romance comedy.
Directed by Michel Gondry (The Science of Sleep, Tokyo) and set in the early 2000s this movie is a cinematic masterpiece. It is both painstakingly heartbreaking and beautiful. Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet are the two main stars of this film, their performances are astounding and genuinely moving. This is the type of movie that turns you into a whole new person after watching it.
Summary
Joel Barish and Clementine Kruczynski are two individuals who come together to form a one-of-a-kind relationship which tragically ends after Clementine undergoes a new innovative scientific procedure. Heartbroken, Joel seeks out this same procedure which he eventually learns to regret.
Honest Review
I must admit to you… this movie does need a couple of re-watches to fully understand the plot, but I promise you every single second is worth it. This film is full of jaw-dropping twists and moments of epic realisation that will have you questioning everything you already know. In fact, Eternal Sunshine’s screenplay is so great that it won an Oscar Academy Award for best screenplay in 2005 and Kate Winslet was also nominated for Best Actress for her performance. It also has a 92% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, winning two BAFTA awards out of a total of six nominations. Now, if that is not a sign to watch it, I don’t know what is.
2. The Perks of Being a Wallflower (2012)
A dramatic teen romance.
I’ve chosen The Perks of Being a Wallflower as my next recommendation because of its incredibly accurate representation of the lives of young adults. This movie was directed and written by Stephen Chbosky, who was also the author of the book. Speaking as someone who has both watched the movie and read the book, I must say that both adaptations are stunning. They truly capture the essence of teen life in college perfectly, even the more negative sides – for example, what it feels like to be an introvert and have anxiety and depression.
Summary
Charlie (Logan Lerman), a 15-year-old introvert, enters high school and is nervous about his new life. He soon befriends two seniors (Emma Watson and Ezra Miller), who help guide him through teen life and try to provide comfort and security for him as he learns to cope with the loss of his friend and his tumultuous past.
Honest Review
Honestly, this film has my heart. Logan Lerman’s incredible performances all throughout moved me and changed my perspective on life. I will forever be recommending this movie to people in our age group as it captures that anxious coming-of-age feeling correctly. The feeling of growing up and maturing as you begin your life as an independent individual is so authentic and Stephen Chbosky has somehow managed to encapsulate that into a screenplay and a novel. It won three Teen Choice awards out of a total of five nominations; it also won a People’s Choice award…not to mention that its rating on Rotten Tomatoes is 85%. Would you watch or read this? Because if I could read or watch this for the first time again I so definitely would.
3. Pan’s Labyrinth (2006)
Fantasy.
This film was released in 2006 and directed by Guillermo del Toro, a renowned Mexican filmmaker who also wrote the screenplay. He based it upon the ancient Greek myth of Cronus who is embodied by the Pale Man.
Summary
It takes place in Spain in the summer of 1944, and this was during the early Francoist period (Franco was the Dictator of the country from 1939 to 1975) and follows Ofelia whose widowed mother marries a sadistic military officer named Vidal, leading them to move to his home in the countryside where she discovers a mythical world and its creatures waiting for her in the garden’s labyrinth.
Throughout the film, Ofelia meets an array of significant characters which includes Mercedes, Vidal’s housekeeper who is caring and helpful towards Ofelia. Another is the Faun, the ancient creature who has been waiting for Ofelia to visit, he is kind towards her, but he does show a harsher side later in the plot.
Honest Review
Pan’s Labyrinth won many awards including three Oscars for Best Achievement in Cinematography, Art Direction and Makeup. It also achieved a BAFTA Award for Best Foreign Film and at the Cannes Film Festival, it had a standing ovation of 22 minutes which has been the longest of all time and remains unbeaten.
In my opinion, this will always be one of my favourite films because of the beautiful cinematography and how compelling the story is, exploring the themes of Fantasy vs Reality through Ofelia’s imagination and the magical soundtrack that takes your breath away every time you rewatch.
