This weeks theme is ‘Moody & Brooding.’
Think Bronte, Daphne du Maurier, and high emotions! Every aspect of these films are designed to make you feel a certain way and I find that sometimes these kinds of films can be the most inspiring for my designs. Enjoy!
Jane Eyre (2011)
As an Bronte enthusiast I couldn’t make this list without a Bronte entry. One of my favourite films (and books) of all time is Jane Eyre. I’ve watched many adaptations of Jane Eyre but I love this one in particular as I think Michael Fassbender (Mr Rochester) and Mia Wasikowska (Jane Eyre) have kept their character’s development true to the book. There is a heavy and dark atmosphere even in light moments which gives you a foreboding that all is not as it seems at Thornfield Hall. It was also filmed at one of my favourite country houses Haddon Hall.
Lady Bird (2017)
Painfully hilarious & painfully beautiful, Lady Bird is a modern take on the classic coming of age drama- think angsty teens, copious quantities of hair dye and young ‘love’. But the film also offers a complex perspective on Mother-daughter relationships, abandonment, the anxiety of separation and re-discovering your love of a place through shared experience.Vertiginous highs & lows aplenty, the film explores the space in relationships that is, by degrees, dark yet hilarious and cruel yet tender. Saoirse Ronan is (of course) masterful in her portrayal of the artistically inclined Lady Bird and we love that this is a female directed film about the female experience- we’ll have none of the male gaze here thanks!
Moonlight (2017)
Moonlight exudes power and soul in equal measure. It is dark & brooding but also heartwarming and tender, not to mention heart-breaking! In 3 distinct chapters or acts, Moonlight traces the life of Chiron through all its painful & distinguishing manifestations. Whilst evidently much more than a gay-awakening film, this central theme allows for the exploration into the vulnerability of being. A magnetic story told with mesmerisingly inspired cinematography. Moonlight = cinematic poetry that we looooove!
The Green Mile (1999)
This is a film I hadn’t watched until recently. The premise of the film, prison officers working on death row in the 1930s, didn’t really draw me in and sounded downright depressing! Buuuut we all know what they say about not judging a book by it’s cover, so here I am eating my words- whilst melancholy, undoubtedly, it is also one of the most intriguing, thought-provoking films I have ever seen. After watching this film you won’t be surprised to hear it drew it’s inspiration from a Stephen King novel. The slow start builds tension and anticipation for the odd events and twists in the story that keep you gripped right till the end, which is (frustratingly?)ambiguous and open to interpretation. Also Tom Hanks stars, so do you need any other reason to watch?
Rebecca (1940)
Rebecca is classic Hitchcock and Du Maurier all rolled into one. If you love a good mystery then this is the one for you. Who is Rebecca? Is she alive or is she the menacing presence haunting her former home? This film is steeped in suspense and midway through you’ll find yourself empathising with (and even emulating!) the anxiety and stress the new Mrs De Winter feels. Lawrence Olivier is the epitome of dark, mysterious and brooding as Mr Maxim De Winter.
My Cousin Rachel (2017)
Another Du Maurier adaptation and in classic Du Maurier style again we find ourselves embedded in an uneasy ‘romance’, unable to ascertain what is actually going on beneath the surface. Uncertainty pervades the film- who is scheming against who, who is the villain and who is the victim? A tale of infatuation, guilt, fear and haunting doubt, it showcases a struggle of power and wealth- and significantly- how a women would be perceived, by the male characters, if she strived for both.
