Films To Note

For this fortnight's Films To Note, I thought I would share with you some films close to my heart. As a film student and a fingers crossed future screenwriter, I have a lot of favourite directors and screenwriters who I aspire to be like so I am going to share with you six (I couldn't settle on just five) films from my favourite film makers.

1. The Virgin Suicides (1999)

A film by Sofia Coppola
Sofia Coppola is the woman I tell everyone I want to be like. Her films are beautiful, they explore all the right themes in a dreamy daze and her characters are so well written. The Virgin Suicides is also one of my favourite books so this film had a lot to live up to. I have watched it countless times and will watch it countless more. It tells the story of the Lisbon girls and one summer where things all went wrong from the eyes of the neighbourhood boys that loved them from afar. Hazy American Suburbia with the right tone of isolation for a perfect movie.

2. The Darjeeling Limited (2007)

A film by Wes Anderson
Wes Anderson is someone whose films can always make me laugh. I'm never going to be a comedic writer so I envy his talent but love his films all the same. The Darjeeling Limited chronicles the journey of three brothers across India to visit their estranged mother after their father's death. It has all the classic Anderson kooky characters, played by a few of his favourites (Owen Wilson, Jason Schwartzman, Anjelica Huston) and Bill Murray gets a part as always. He weaves a hilarious, moving and tragic story of mistrust, brotherhood and the meaning of family.

3. Se7en (1995)

A film by David Fincher
David Fincher indulges my slightly more thriller side and he always pulls off the tension with flair. Se7en is the chilling story of a serial killer who commits a murder for each of the seven deadly sins. An unlikely partnership of detectives must track him down before the ultimate shocking twist at the end. Tense, dark and captivating until the last moment.

4. Memento (2000)

A film by Christopher Nolan
Christopher Nolan is another master of tension, unravelling his stories with layers and layers of twists (recently showcased in Inception). Memento is the completely crazy and misordered story of a man with amnesia trying to hunt down his wife's murderer. It's told backwards, each time handing you another piece of the puzzle before the big reveal at the end that throws the whole film into a different light. Raising questions of revenge, humanity and forgiveness, Memento always leaves my jaw hanging.

5. American Beauty (1999)
A film written by Alan Ball
Alan Ball is one of my favourite dark writers, I watched all five seasons of Six Feet Under last summer and I have never felt so invested in a family of characters before. I cry every time I watch the finale. His films are just as good. American Beauty is a dark exploration of the American dream through a family with a trio of extremely messed up characters. Our protagonist, played by Kevin Spacey, spirals through his mid life crisis as his family and neighbours crash and burn around him. Brilliantly written with unsettling moments and a step away from your conventional happy ending.

6. Requiem For A Dream (2000)
A film by Darren Aronofsky
Aronofsky recently gained acclaim from all corners for Black Swan, which I loved, and is the master of the unhappy endings. Requiem for a Dream explores the lives of a group of Coney Island residents who scrape by and slowly spiral out of control when their drug addictions become too much. A supremely dark and bleak film with scenes that I wouldn't recommend watching with your parents that leaves me gasping every time. Aronofsky wanders through the seasons with them, chronicling their self-destruction in the gritty way he does best.

all images from imdb.com. click names for link to imdb page.