SinceA24’sfoundation in 2012, the production company has produced and/or distributed over 150 films. Today, it’s a crucial piece of the Hollywood ecosystem, bolstering careers and championing trendsetting directors to take risks with filmmaking. The studio has also made plenty of headlines with its successes. It is no mean feat to go so quickly from an up-and-coming company to being the force behind as many asseven Best Picture Oscar nomineesin just over a dozen years.
As A24’s highest-grossing movies prove, the company’s films aren’t just critically successful but also typically do well commercially. A24 becomes more impressive every year, producing and distributing some of the most inventive movies in recent years.The best A24 moviescan be characterized by genre-bending andexperimenting withfilmmaking techniquesto tell unique stories full of brilliant performances. Some of the greatest acting of the last decade can be found in A24 movies, with these specific ones standing out amongst the rest.
Under the Silver Lake
Cast
Written and directed by David Robert Mitchell, Under the Silver Lake is a mystery comedy-drama released in 2018. A thirty-something conspiracy theorist’s life experiences a shake-up when his new neighbor becomes a brief love interest, only to disappear, leaving behind a mystery that dives deeply into a dangerous conspiracy.
Anchored by a lead strong performance from Andrew Garfield, David Robert Mitchell’s absurdist LA neo-noir comedy follows the weird misadventures of Sam as he becomes obsessed with finding a missing woman.Andrew Garfield brings a brooding energy to the distraught and lost Sam. It’s an engaging twist on the noir archtype, filtered through modern perspectives.
Under The Silver Lake Explained: What Happens In The Ending Of The Andrew Garfield Movie
Under the Silver Lake explained: here’s everything to know about the surreal, creepy, neo-noir starring Andrew Garfield and Riley Keough.
The potentially frustrating character is given a genuine touch by Garfield. It’s an important aspect of the performance, which makes the character endearing. The film’s exploration of masculinity is fraught with metaphors, andif not for Garfield’s sincerely aloof performance, the symbolism would feel silly.
Midsommar
Ari Aster’s Midsommar follows a group of American college students who travel to a friend’s isolated rural hometown in Sweden to experience their renowned midsummer festival. What starts out as idyllic quickly becomes a disconcertingly violent pagan ritual, with the friends engaged in a ruthless competition that will test more than just their friendship. Florence Pugh stars alongside Jack Reynor, Will Poulter, and William Jackson Harper.
Ari Aster has made a name for himself as a horror director, with threeA24 horror moviesto boot. His sophomore feature follows Dani, played by Florence Pugh, during her time at a Swedish midsummer festival she’s forced to attend by her boyfriend and his friends. Dani is emotionally fragile,still coping with the freak accidental deathof her whole family.
Pugh expertly blends this wounded vulnerabilitywith Dani’s responses to the harrowing events she has to witness and participate in. It’s a tragic performance that steadily builds to a more complex character than she initally appeared. It’s an impressive performance that helped establish Pugh as a star.
Room
Based on the best-selling novel by Emma Donoghue, Room stars Brie Larson and Jacob Tremblay as Joy and Jack Newsome, a mother and son held captive by a madman in a one-room shed in his back yard. Born in “Room”, Jack has never experienced anything else, but when the opportunity presents itself to escape, he must brave the outside world to save his and his mother’s life.
The first A24 film to win an Academy Award for acting,Roomis an endearing mother-daughter survivalist drama that follows Ma, played by Brie Larson, and her son, played by Jacob Tremblay. The plot centers around them as they attempt to escape captivity. Larson’s layered and compelling performance won her an Academy Award for Best Leading Actress.
It shows Larson’s ability to depict complex characters dealing with trauma and heavy emotional baggage. While the story is mostly told from the son’s perspective, it provides Larson with a stage to show off her skills as an actress. It’s a beautifully tragic performance, and one that highlights her skills as an actor.
American Honey
American Honey (2016) follows a teenage girl, Star, as she joins a traveling magazine sales crew across the American Midwest. Directed by Andrea Arnold, the film explores themes of youth, freedom, and the search for identity. Starring Sasha Lane, Shia LaBeouf, and Riley Keough, American Honey offers a raw and immersive look into the lives of marginalized youth chasing the American dream.
Andrea Arnold’s Magnum Opus,American Honeyis an epic story that follows Star, played by Sasha Lane, on her journey with a group who have a hedonistic lifestyle.It paints a bleak picture of youth culture, embodied by Lane’s performance. The film depicts how they have been abandoned by society and the government in a reality where they have little hope of surviving beyond a certain age or ever finding satisfaction in a job.
Lane’s performance is perfectly calibrated, likable yet prickly. Lane embodies Star’s loss of innocence with small cues in her body language that gradually develop into the climactic exhalation. It’s a stunning performance that relies on subtle elements to really stand out.
Lady Bird
Acting as Greta Gerwig’s directorial debut, Lady Bird stars Saoirse Ronan as Christine “Lady Bird” McPherson, a high school senior who dreams of leaving what she sees as a miserable existence in Sacramento, California, and going to college on the East Coast. Lady Bird’s dreams clash with the overbearing wishes of her mother Marion, played by Laurie Metcalf. As Lady Bird faces the social and emotional challenges of her final year of high school, her relationship with her mother becomes more and more strained the harder she attempts to break free.
Saoirse Ronan became an overnight sensation and a household name among cinephiles after the release of Greta’s first movie as a director in almost a decade. Playing the titular character ofLady Bird,Ronan perfectly embodies the youthful angst of her characterand holds her own opposite veteran actress Laurie Metcalf.
Saoirse Ronan is the second youngest person to accrue four Academy Award nominations.
Explosive emotionality and quiet softness both coexist in Ronan’s Lady Bird.The actress seamlessly captures the volatile nature of the character’s mental state at any given point in the movie. AlongsideLittle Women,Lady Birdis one ofthe best movies Saoirse Ronan has starred in.
The Tragedy of Macbeth
The Tragedy of Macbeth is a cinematic adaptation of William Shakespeare’s classic play, following Macbeth, the Thane of Glamis, who is driven by prophecy and ambition. Influenced by his wife, he murders King Duncan to seize the throne of Scotland, setting off a chain of power struggles and guilt.
The first movie made by Joel Coen since his brother and he split away from being a directing duo,The Tragedy of Macbeth, isa haunting recreation of the stage play about the titular character.With elaborate set-pieces, a high-contrast black-and-white color scheme, and a haunting score, it stays highly faithful to the source material.
The Tragedy Of Macbeth
Macbeth
While Frances McDormand makes her mark as the iconic Lady Macbeth,Denzel Washington steals the showas the titular character. His talent is on full display as he delivers Shakespearan dialogue like a true thespian. It’s one of the actor’s most quietly imprssive performances, which is especially impressive given his resume of award-nominated performances.
Pearl
Pearl, a prequel to the film X, follows the story of a young woman named Pearl residing on a secluded farm during the early 20th century. Directed by Ti West, this psychological horror explores Pearl’s descent into madness, delving into her troubled psyche and the haunting circumstances that surround her. Starring Mia Goth, the film provides a chilling backdrop and a character study of ambition and isolation gone awry.
While Mia Goth has been on the horror scene for8 years sinceA Cure for Wellness, Goth really made waves with her performance in Ti West’sX. Her best performance is in theXprequelPearl, where she plays as the titular character. This is the performance thatelevated Goth in the horror genre, and with good reason.
Pearl’s descent into murderous instability as she struggles to break through the unforgiving industry is brought to lifewith frightening passion by Goth. The composure with which she portrays Pearl’s murderous instincts makes Mia Goth’s performance an instant horror movie classic. It’s a highlight of theXtrilogy, even when compared to her strong performances inXandMaXXXine.
The Killing of a Sacred Deer
The Killing of a Sacred Deer is a horror-thriller film that follows a cardiovascular surgeon named Dr. Stephen Murphy and his family living a seemingly perfect life. When Dr. Murphy happens upon a teen named Martin, he seeks to help him by acting as a mentor. However, Martin harbors sinister intentions and knows a secret truth about Dr. Murphy that threatens to upend the meticulously crafted life he lives.
In true Yorgos Lanthimos fashion,The Killing of a Sacred Deerexplores a horrifying moral dilemma — what should be a fitting punishment for negligent medical practice? Barry Keoghan plays Martin Lang, the son of a man who lost his life on the operating table because his surgeon was under the influence during the procedure and botched up the operation.Keoghan brings a deceptively ferocious quality to Lang.
Only Keoghan could make viewers feel primal fearjust by aggressively eating pasta, a testament to his growing presence on the big screen.
Keoghan has significantly less screen time than both Colin Farrell and Nicole Kidman, but holds his own. It’s a quietly important who character who leaves a lasting impression on the film. Only Keoghan could make viewers feel primal fearjust by aggressively eating pasta, a testament to his growing presence on the big screen.
Everything Everywhere All at Once
In Everything Everywhere All at Once, a middle-aged laundromat owner (Michelle Yeoh) is distracted from her financial and family issues by a multiversal crisis. With just her husband (Ke Huy Quan) to support her through the confusion, she must contend with her overbearing traditional father (James Hong), a pencil-pushing auditor (Jamie Lee Curtis), and her emotionally-distant daughter (Stephanie Hsu).
The Daniels' surrealist family sci-fi dramaEverything Everywhere All At Onceis one ofthe best martial arts adventure movies, as well as a great emotional story. The film follows Evelyn Wang, a woman who suddenly discovers that she can access a multiverse worth of versions of herself and must tap into the capabilities of her various selves to protect herself and her family from a multiversal threat.Yeoh brings her expertise in martial arts and her dramatic talent to the role of Evelyn.
Yeoh blends comical body language with skillfully choreographed and executed stunt work to embody the emotional turmoil that Evelyn experiences. The actress also explores different worlds from a humanist perspective. Yeoh’s vast talent makes her one of the only performers who could bring Evelyn to life.
Uncut Gems
A crime thriller from Josh and Benny Safdie, Uncut Gems follows New York jeweler Howard Ratner (Adam Sandler) as his gambling addiction forces him to associate with increasingly dangerous individuals. After receiving an incredibly rare black opal, Howard believes he can finally free himself of his mounting debts, but not without engaging in one final high-stakes balancing act while fending off violent loan sharks.
The Safdie brothers, in their second film under the A24 banner, provided Adam Sandler with the stage to showcase his dramatic chops for the first time in almost two decades since Paul Thomas Anderson’sPunch Drunk Love.Sandler shine in the role of the New York jeweler whose life unravelsover the course of the film in almost spectacular fashion.
The anxiety created by the movie is beautifully embodied by Sandler in his career-best performance.
The anxiety created by the movie is beautifully embodied by Sandler in his career-best performance. Sandler’s performance as Howie builds on the energetic elements of his previous performances and filters them through a compelling grounded perspective. Sandler’s performance earned him a well-deserved Golden Globe nomination, and remains a highlight of his career.
