Here are Cinephile Corner’s 10 recommendations for movies like Hedda:
Sanctuary
Sanctuary and its single location premise may feel light for a feature length film, but stellar performances by Margaret Qualley and Christopher Abbott, as well as tight direction by Zachary Wigon, helps the movie stay fresh and alive.
Challengers
Luca Guadagnino directs one of his best movies with Challengers, which pairs his interests in yearning, miscalculated protagonists to the competitive world of tennis. It’s exhilarating and wild, with three prophetic performances from Zendaya, Mike Faist, and Josh O’Connor that’ll challenge many of 2024’s best efforts.
Babygirl
25 years after co-starring in Eyes Wide Shut, Nicole Kidman revisits similar thematic territory in Halina Reijn’s Babygirl, another holiday-set exploration of lust, power, and dissatisfaction. In Babygirl, she plays Romy, a high-powered tech CEO whose meticulously crafted life seems perfect on the surface. With a doting husband, Jacob (Antonio Banderas), two well-adjusted children, and a dreamlike home, Romy appears to have it all. Yet, beneath this pristine façade, she is deeply unfulfilled, yearning for something—or someone—to awaken her buried fantasies.
Echo Valley
Echo Valley isn’t a disaster—it’s handsomely shot, capably acted, and carries the skeleton of a compelling story. But the execution is underwhelming. With muddled direction, an emotional arc that doesn’t fully connect, and a central relationship between Julianne Moore and Sydney Sweeney’s characters that is more implied than developed, this Apple TV+ release lands closer to forgettable than impactful. It’s a film with some standout moments, but not nearly enough of them.
Fair Play
Fair Play is a commendable directorial debut from Chloe Domont, a film that sizzles with tension and passion right from its Sundance origins early in 2023. With stellar performances, especially from Phoebe Dynevor and Alden Ehrenreich, the movie navigates the intricacies of love and power with finesse.
A Different Man
Although the story sometimes feels like it’s chasing its own tail, Aaron Schimberg deserves praise for his calculated setup, precise direction, and visual flair. A Different Man is not just intellectually stimulating, but it also offers a bright, grainy color palette and shot design that recalls old school B-movies. It’s schlocky in all the best ways while maintaining a serious script and story about valuing yourself and staying confident in your abilities.
Bound
It’s hard to argue the Wachowskis ever made a movie as defining and revelatory as The Matrix, but to offer a film as succinct as Bound right off the bat is a generational accomplishment, and easily one of the best movies of 1996.
Love Lies Bleeding
There’s really nothing like Love Lies Bleeding. I don’t necessarily subscribe to the blanket notion that they don’t make movies like they used to anymore – but I will say, Hollywood hasn’t consistently made films as erotic and thrilling like this since the 1980s and 90s. Rose Glass directs the dynamic duo of Katy O’Brian and Kristen Stewart.
Emily the Criminal
Emily the Criminal is a tense star vehicle for one of the industry’s biggest risers, the committed and ambitious Aubrey Plaza. The movie lives and dies by her performance, and she’s able to carry the weight of this thriller a majority of the time.
Eileen
Eileen is a movie about blurred and dangerous relationships, many of them fraught, and a few of them deadly. I didn’t find it nearly as rewarding as I see many others have on the internet, but there are a few stylistic and dramatic choices that make it worthwhile. Thomasin McKenzie and Anne Hathaway co-star.
