The best thing for me to do when I'm down, is watch a movie. Everyone who knows me [should] know I'm a film fanatic and I don't think a week goes by where I've not watched a movie, meaning I've watched a lot.
I don't have a particular genre that I prefer to watch- I'm kind of an open minded person when it comes to films, so I'll watch pretty much anything. However, there are movies that I always go back to when I'm felling under the whether, and these movies truly do resonate with me, so I thought I'll share a few.
Disclaimer 1: some of these movies are actually quite deep. But not like super depressing.
Disclaimer 2: this is going to seem like a long post, but it isn't. I promise.
Disclaimer 3: I'm really, really bad at describing.
1. Submarine (2011)
Maybe it's because I have a soft spot for Richard Ayoade, the director of this film. Or because the soundtrack was written and sung by Alex Turner, the lead singer in my favourite band, Arctic Monkeys. Either way, when I watched this movie the first time, I was immediately in love.
Submarine is about a 15 year old boy, Oliver Tate, who's got quite a lot things running around in his mind, particularly a girl in his school, Jordana. With his 16th birthday around the corner, he hopes to woo her and loose his virginity. Meanwhile, he wants to hold his family together, which is proving to be quite difficult since his father is depressed and his mother is frustrated.
It's not a depressing movie at all- in fact it is undoubtedly a comedy (in a cynical and sarcastic way). But it's completely relatable to young adults, which is why it's such a cult classic. It makes you think of just the simple pressures of family, school and yourself. What I loved the most about it was how the characters where so imperfect that it just made me feel a little better about myself.
2. The Art of Getting By (2011)
The reason I was drawn to this movie originally was because of Freddie Highmore. We all know him right? The once-oh-so-little child star that played Charlie in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Jared in the Spiderwick Chronicles, and my personal favourite Arthur in Arthur in the invisible!
Anyway, this movie is about a senior, George Zinavoy, with a indifferent attitude to life, who instead of focusing on school, prefers to draw and read philosophy book. Unfortunately, this endangered his chances of graduating. And then he meets Sally, and falls in love with her. But everything just get's a bit complicated from there.
So why should you watch this? Well, there's a bit a George in all of us. Lacking motivation, not knowing where and what we are doing with life and being afraid to get into something different. What I learnt from this movie? Change is good. Don't wait or mope around waiting to die just because we all are at some point. Do something.
3. It's Kind of a Funny Story (2010)
This is probably the funniest one out of all the movies. It's weird because what the topics that come up in this movie aren't funny (I mean, the movie is set in a mental health clinic!), but I think the comedy was important because it makes it easier to talk about these topics, since they are so taboo. It's kind of a funny story tells the story of a stressed out 16 year old, Craig, who checks himself into a mental health clinic after contemplating suicide. Unfortunately, the youth wing is closed, so he has to spend his five days in the adult wing. This is where he meets Bobby, an adult who claims to only be there on vacation and Noelle, a girl who is there because she self-harms. So why do I like this movie; Craig is stressed out about the 'simplest' but really hardest things that being a teenager demands yet it has a negative effect on him- hence why he contemplated suicide. His friends, his crush, his parents, the application for summer school and so much more are weighing on him. It's a simple film, really easy to watch, and in a way it teaches you how to cope with all the drama that is around you.
4. The Perks of Being a Wallflower (2012)
I'm sure that everyone knows what this story is about by now, as it was quite a hit when the movie came out. There was a time period where all I ever saw on my dashboard (on Tumblr) were quotes 'We are infinite' or 'we accept the love we think we deserve', and pictures of people 'reading' the book etc etc - that's how you know the movie has really made it. Point is, this movie (It is also a book, but I am focusing on the movie seen as this is what the post is about) was a hit because it was important, relevant and very original. The movie revolves around a boy, Charlie, who begins his freshman year, and starts to send letter to an anonymous person anonymously, where he talk about his experiences in and out of high school, with his two new friends, Sam and Patrick. Charlie is a representation of the people that most people don't think twice about, or as the book/movie says 'A Wallflower' - someone who sees things, keep quiet about them and understand', or in actual definition 'A shy or excluded person at a dance or party'. I think this movie is indeed for everyone - specifically young adolescents, because there's a character for everyone watching. It explores the life of a shy and introverted boy that puts himself out there.
5. Her (2013)
Her is probably more targeted to adults compare to the other movies that I've recommended.
I had been putting off watching this movie for so long because I thought it was going to be really cheesy and cringy. I don't really know where that idea came from- I didn't even watch the trailer! Eventually, last year, I forced myself to watch it, and by the end of the movie, I declared it one of my top 10 favourite movies of all time. At first, I fell in love with the cinematography of the movie. It is an absolutely, aesthetically beautiful movie- the way it was filmed, the colours palette that concentrates the movie- I don't think I have ever seen such a beautiful movie. But apart from the aesthetic features of the movie, the actual storyline was both unique and pertinent. It is about a man, Theodore, who is left heartbroken after his marriage crumbles. He becomes fascinated with a new operating system (who can develop into it's own entity), and starts a relationship with his operating system, 'Samantha', Eventually their relationship turn into love.
It is an eccentric storyline as it is slightly futuristic (because the operating system that can basically be a person), however the themes in the movie- love, loneliness, friendship- are completely realistic.
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This was quite the post, and it took me quite a while to write especially because I'm so bad at describing things ( I'm learning I promise) but I really felt like sharing since I love movies so much, and there might be someone out there that's down and hasn't watched these movies and could somehow benefit from this.
I'll see you soon
Leslie x
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