Here are Cinephile Corner’s 10 recommendations for movies like The Elephant Man:
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button introduces us to David Fincher in a seemingly softer, more empathetic guise. The movie is a sincere detour to the filmmaker’s career, one that is interesting to look back on years later. Brad Pitt delivers a performance that transcends technological constraints and unlikely subject matter.
Read our review of The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
About Schmidt
About Schmidt is a good film, one that sits comfortably in Alexander Payne’s filmography but doesn’t quite reach the heights of his later classics. For fans of Payne’s more nuanced works, it’s an important piece, but it doesn’t carry the same emotional punch or cultural impact as his more well-known projects.
Read our review of About Schmidt
Poor Things
At the heart of Poor Things is Emma Stone‘s exceptionally dedicated performance, making a compelling case for her second Oscar for Best Actress. Her willingness to embrace daring characters and collaborate with auteurs like Yorgos Lanthimos reinforces her status as one of the industry’s leading performers.
Read our review of Poor Things
Joker: Folie à Deux
Regardless of how you feel about Joker, Todd Phillips‘ blockbuster film was a striking reinvention of the superhero genre when it debuted in 2019. It was received with a level of reverence rarely granted to superhero films, winning the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival and becoming a major contender during awards season. What set Joker apart was its grounded, almost claustrophobic atmosphere, which felt far removed from the usual bombastic superhero fare. It was a character study, not a franchise entry, and it didn’t suggest a larger universe or an inevitable sequel. This sense of finality and self-containment made it feel like a singular, daring vision—one that didn’t need anything more, which is what makes Joker: Folie à Deux such an odd and ill-conceived idea.
Read our review of Joker: Folie à Deux
The Straight Story
Endlessly fascinating as a divergence from the usual style of David Lynch, The Straight Story is the acclaimed director at his friendliest. Made for Disney and sandwiched between Lost Highway and Mulholland Drive, this movie of a farmer just trying to see his brother is an uncomplicatedly intimate and sincere picture of family at its warmest.
Read our review of The Straight Story
The Boy and the Heron
Hayao Miyazaki creates worlds where grief dances with wonder, where loss paves the way for discovery, and imagination reigns supreme. His latest movie The Boy and the Heron continues those trends to great lengths; it’s a symphony of animation, storytelling, and profound emotions that transports you to a realm of breathtaking beauty and exploration.
Read our review of The Boy and the Heron
The Fabelmans
The Fabelmans, Steven Spielberg’s latest movie, effectively mines through his childhood to examine his love for film. A complex set of ideas mixed in a way only the master filmmaker could pull together.
Read our review of The Fabelmans
Eraserhead
Eraserhead is unlike anything you’ll ever see – both a testament to David Lynch’s early adoption of idiosyncratic, dreamlike imagery and his interest in turning the usual into the surreal. It’s no wonder the acclaimed director’s 1977 debut breakthrough still stands among the best first films ever made and a canonical entry in 1970s filmmaking; an era that saw decades of boundary-pushing auteurs establish themselves in the industry. While David Lynch‘s career arch wouldn’t take the form of a traditional blockbuster filmmaker, there was clearly enough in Eraserhead to hand him the car keys for whatever passion projects he decided to tackle in the future.
All of Us Strangers
Andrew Haigh’s All of Us Strangers emerges as one of the most quietly devastating and emotionally resonant films of 2023. From its opening scene, where Adam (Andrew Scott) and Harry (Paul Mescal) meet in the empty expanse of their apartment complex, the film invites viewers into a world filled with space, vibrant colors, and thoughtful design. Andrew Haigh, known for his work on films like Weekend and 45 Years, crafts a poignant narrative that explores the complexities of love, loss, and the haunting specter of the past. What transpires certainly stands as one of his best works yet as a director.
Read our review of All of Us Strangers
Memoir of a Snail
Family is inseparable. No matter how fractured and disjointed it can be at times, family is who you rely on to get you through the rough patches in life. Adam Elliot‘s 2024 animated movie Memoir of a Snail, in which a young girl Grace experiences nearly every form of trauma and loss imaginable, displays this in perhaps the clearest, most emotional gut punch you’ll see all year. It’s crafted with such a precise thumb on its own pulse in terms of tone and imagery that you’d be hard-pressed to find another director capable colliding this style with this material.