A24 Gems

A24 have a wide variety of hidden gems in their catalogue, today I'm going to list my favourite five and tell you why you need to watch them.

1. Waves (2019)

Waves is an emotional, beautiful and intense story of a suburban African-American family led by a strict but well-intentioned Father as they navigate love, forgiveness and coming together. The movie itself is compositionally amazing, the cinematography shows South Florida in a truly beautiful way and together with the soundtrack, we are given an all-round perfectly composed motion picture. The plot changes its tone quite abruptly but it shows the audience how life can sometimes take turns we don't intend it to. The cast of Waves tie the whole story together exquisitely, with heartbreaking performances from prolific actors; Taylor Russel and Kelvin Harrison Jr, we are shown a raw and intense side to cinema that the average Hollywood family film doesn't show us.

2. The Florida Project (2017)

The best word to describe The Florida Project is vibrant. Set on a project on the verge of the imagined utopia of Disney World, this film shines a light on the power of childhood imagination, following the precocious and mischievous daughter of Halley, a working woman, this film shows how nothing can stand in the way of their fearless exploration of their unique surroundings and their constant way of finding happiness in all sorts of situations. The cast performed amazingly all-round showing a wide array of different ideologies on the mother's situation. The colour pallet of this film is what truly stands out about it, the vibrant tones of pink and blue creating a glorious bubblegum-like atmosphere for these characters to go about their lives in.

3. The Lobster (2016)

I always like to make people go into this film blind, with no idea of what might happen, and for that reason, I won't tell you much. This film is directed by one of my all-time favourite directors, Yorgos Lanthimos, his quirky way of angling and compositing his shots makes every film of his completely unique to him. If you've ever watched any of his other films; Dogtooth, The Killing of a Sacred Deer, or The Favourite, then you might know what I mean. Colin Farrel also gives a great performance in this, although he spends it completely deadpan (as per the director's request) he's still able to convey so much emotion with purely his eyes. This films definitely worth a watch, trust me on that.

4. Swiss Army Man (2016)

An uplifting and weird comedy for everyone and anyone to enjoy. Starring Paul Dano alongside Daniel Radcliffe, this quirky adventure movie puts a new twist on the concept of the undead. Starting from a very low point for Paul Dano's character, we see this washed-up corpse portrayed by Daniel Radcliffe slowly come back to life, giving Dano's character a reason to live. This film is everything a relaxing family film should be and more. I highly recommend you watch it with other people, it's one for everyone.

5. Good Time (2017)

Best till last. Directed by the Safdie brothers, this thriller is one of the main reasons for Robert Pattison's glorious comeback to your screens, and thank god for it. His performance mixed with the Safdie brothers intense storytelling techniques combines for an edge-of-your-seat rollercoaster ride, one where you have no idea where it's going. The narrative is enough to keep you interested but vacuous enough for you not to have any clue how it will end. The Safdie brothers went on to make Uncut Gems after this cinematic triumph and I really do hope they keep on giving us this top tier cinema because I personally can't get enough. Watch it.