Top 10 Biographical Films You Need to Watch

Given that we’re entering that time of year where the films vying for awards season attention start to be released, I thought I’d look back at some of the top biographical films that have had some award attention from yesteryear. Now these films are all pretty damn incredible and it’d be difficult for me to order these in terms of quality. So instead, in no particular order, here we go!

 

10. The Revenant

For the incredible cinematography alone, this film captured my imagination. But also, you know, the brutality of it. It makes for an engaging watch to say the least. Then there are the performances of Tom Hardy and DiCaprio. Outstanding stuff. It was a long one, and I know some people prefer shorter films or films that burn much faster than this one. But I dug the heck out of it.

 

9. My Week With Marilyn

This is actually the first time that I saw Eddie Redmayne in anything. And it was a very good first impression. Then he went on to bigger and even better things. I’d argue that this was the film that caught him the interest of producers though. Great film. Again, fantastic performances by the cast, especially Dominic Cooper and (of course) Michelle Williams as the lady herself. Emma watson was just… there. Can’t say I’m a particular fan of her acting. Still – great film.

 

8. Steve Jobs

Hooked from the first trailer, I’m always up for seeing a film more focused on snappy dialogue and the characters every once in a while. Fortunately, Aaron Sorkin appears to excel at this. And I’m always up for Seth Rogen do more dramatic work. He’s very good at it and I wish he’d do more. Also whenever Kate Winslet pops up in anything, I’m inclined to seek it out immediately. How good is the above trailer too?

 

7. The Theory of Everything

Eddie Redmayne knocked this one out of the park. A lovely story about a great man, there’s not much to say about this one that hasn’t been said already. Rightly deserving of the awards it received. After he’s completed his work on the ‘Fantastic Beasts’ trilogy, I very much look forward to seeing what role he’ll take on next.

 

6. The Pursuit of Happyness

Heartbreaking and touching, The Pursuit of Happyness contains what I believe to be Will Smith’s finest performance to date. A beautiful story about a father trying to gain a better life for his son. This one doesn’t just pull at your heartstrings, it rips them off and then replaces them. Eventually. Will Smith hasn’t done a film quite as good as this in a very long time. Since this film in fact. I’m sincerely hoping Collateral Beauty (another potential Oscar Bait candidate this year) changes that.

 

5. 127 Hours

Danny Boyle’s films are always incredibly interesting, if nothing else. But he’s directed some truly great films over the last ten years. Slumdog Millionaire, Steve Jobs and this, 127 Hours. James Franco has never been more engaging than he was here (he was also really good in True Story, but I may be in the minority for liking that film). Shot with Danny Boyle’s usually energy and the other pretty brutal film (ohh yes, that arm cutting scene never gets old) on this list, 127 Hours is never as dull as Aron’s penknife.

 

4. Saving Mr Banks

My love affair with Tom Hanks has lasted all my life (so far). Ever since he voiced Woody in Toy Story. He’s a living legend. But I shouldn’t gush over him alone. Emma Thompson and Colin Farrell also give incredible performances in this film. The story of P.L Travers, or Helen Gough is tragic. And it makes for a damned good film. Seeing the (although partially fictionalised) pre-production on Mary Poppins is huge amounts of fun if you’ve seen the film (who hasn’t?). This one also pulls on the heartstrings. Lots of lovely lines in the film too. Like it was for Walt Disney, the revelation that Mary Poppins didn’t come to save the children was a surprise to me too. I was only a child when I last watched Mary Poppins after all.

 

3. The Social Network

Who knew a film about the founding of Facebook would be this good? Easily one of my favourite films of all time. It’s how snappy it all is. The dialogue, the cuts, it’s one extremely slick film. And Andrew Garfield was absolutely fantastic. I may be in the minority here, but I’m extremely glad that he’s free of the Spider-Man franchise so that he can go ahead and tackle more interesting roles. Like this year’s ‘Hacksaw Ridge’. And maybe Martin Scorsese’s ‘Silence’. If they choose to release that this year.

 

2. The Aviator

The other one that Leonardo DiCaprio should have received his Academy Award for. But he had to wait. For so long. So long. In any case, his performance in The Aviator is perhaps even better than his performance in The Revenant. Howard Hughes seems like he was a very interesting individual and it was a whole lot of fun to see DiCaprio descend into madness. Also Cate Blanchett was fantastic as Katharine Hepburn, but was her accent really that pronounced? It’s a scary accent. If I had to listen to that accent for an extended amount of time, I too would go mad.

 

1. A Beautiful Mind

One of the last decent films that Russell Crowe did for a very long time (alongside Master and Commander), which is kinda sad. Because when Russell Crowe gets a good part to play, he nails it. This is without a doubt his crowning achievement. An incredible performance completely unlike anything that he’d done before, or anything that he’s done since. An incredibly smart screenplay, again, with some outstanding directing and acting. Paul Bettany’s character gets me every time. Every damn time.