It can be hard to find in these days: a golden age for the blockbuster or the prestige picture, if not exactly an artist-friendly era. But there are gems out there, still buried in an ocean of junk.
Here are five underrated movies you should add to your watchlist.
In a Violent Nature
Perhaps the most transgressively fun horror experiment of the recent season was Chris Nash’s frighteningly compelling little found footage film, which premiered at Sundance this year. Mishmashing Wild West tropes with elevated horror (along the lines of Savini’s Friday the 13th), and seasoning it with serious amounts of hardcore, just-for-fun porno. Track Johnny as he trashes his fellow campers through Canada’s great outdoors.
The Last King of Scotland
Giles Foden’s 1998 novel The Last King of Scotland tells the story of the Ugandan dictator Idi Amin from the viewpoint of his Scottish personal physician, with a mesmerising central performance from Forest Whitaker capturing Amin’s full range of ‘shock and awe’ effects on people close to him. Kevin Macdonald forms a perfect drama. James McAvoy gives a wonderful performance as Nicholas, who is reasonably innocuous and friendly enough in his role of the nice doctor who has come to Uganda… but is also trapped by his circumstances.
Blindspotting
Blindspotting, a lyrical love letter to Oakland written, directed, starred in and even scored by Daveed Diggs and Rafael Casal (it was released theatrically – and now airs as a television series – on STARZ). That’s not to say that the science fiction thriller Arrival, which bombed at the box office this past weekend, doesn’ time horizon, if you it the kind of attention
The Hate U Give
In her powerhouse role, Stenberg proves it doesn’t have to be magic or romance: young adult fiction can be about something else. The film grapples urgently with a current issue, while also offering a rangy, entertaining coming-of-age experience. And it speaks to its potential audience in ways that they can understand. Starr lives in Garden Heights, a poor inner-city neighbourhood where local gang violence is a way of life, and where police brutality is sadly commonplace. She attends Williamson Prep, an affluent private school on the other side of the border, for high school.
The Shape of Water
Guillermo del Toro’s romance-fantasy about a silent woman and a merman, in which each frame is filled with his love for the material, is another example. Truly a masterpiece of an understated and touching drama from the director of Sicario and Hell or High Water. Lake Bell is perfect as a voice coach trying to make her mark despite her movie famous father. You need to see this movie. No really, go on, it’s a must-watch – and now it’s on Netflix – so do it.
The Old Man & the Sea
The sea-story in The Old Man and the Sea is fun and marvellous, a great ride to share with the old man on his skiff on an improbable odyssey through nature to redemption. But it is also a man-versus-nature fable that shows us how to soldier on when the going gets tough.
This 2016 Western is worth yoThe Shape of Water
And rather than having any clear-cut definition, underrated can assume many different forms. It could involve box-office performance or critical response: some films might receive unduly harsh reviews on initial release while others are just too unloved to find an audience. Guillermo del Toro’s film stars Sally Hawkins as a mute janitor who falls for the best body she’s ever seen: an aquatic creature. So. Beautiful. So. Moving. So. Fun! Trust me, it’s worth the watch!
Tomb Raider
Deciding what is and is not ‘underrated’ is inevitably subjective – however, viewed through the lens of ‘Films that don’t get enough love’, such a determination is more typically agreed upon. Lara Croft completes the hero’s odyssey – her own, this time – to become (finally) the person she was always intended to be. Embark on a mission to crack tombs, climb frozen peaks and sniff out the parallel plots of death-cultists with empathy and you’ll find there are more likeable qualities to this underdog.
The Girl in the Spider’s Web
Lisbeth Salander: Rogue Nation never quite functions as a story in its own right, but it’s also a chilling example of how quickly characters’ special elements can be scrubbed away to meet the demands of the media corporation. Renner elevates this slow-burn, brutal drama about a soldier on a Native American reservation to soaring heights, and his talents have simply not been recognised worldwide.
The Shape of Water
Despite receiving positive reviews and making back more than enough at the box office to warrant wide distribution, much of this film’s comment on the inherent bullying nature of those with money and power over those without was missed. Terry Gilliam’s first directorial effort since Brazil and Twelve Monkeys (1984) is a hypnotic alien fable about lust — an experience you won’t soon shake! Totally engrossing!
About Author
