Since the beginning of A Glimpse Inside the Mind of Charles Swan III, by Roman Cappola, A24 has established itself as a big brand. It has put the films which are praised by open-minded and welcoming cinephiles and critics. It has made itself worthy of some of the best films in the cinema. Their films push the boundaries of what is possible in mainstream cinema, producing some of the best narratives in a decade dominated by superhero blockbusters. Below are some of the top films by A24 Productions.
1. Uncut Gems
Director(s)- Josh Safdie, Benny Safdie
Streaming Platform- Netflix
Howard Ratner, a gemstone dealer and gambling addict in New York City’s turbulent and corrupt diamond business. He owes money to practically everyone, including his brother-in-law Arno. Howard, a serial adulterer, incorrigible gambler, and all-around scam artist. He believes he’ll finally be able to get out of his bind when he gets his hands on a chunk of rare Ethiopian black opal, which will let him pay off his mounting debts. Kevin Garnett, a star player for the Boston Celtics, has already taken a shine to the valuable uncut stone. Is Ratner able to balance his family, a pair of thuggish collectors, his business, and his master plan before things spiral out of control?
2. The Lighthouse
Director- Robert Eggers
Streaming Platform- Netflix
Ephraim Winslow, a taciturn former lumberjack, and Thomas Wake, a grizzled lighthouse keeper, set foot on a remote and perennially grey islet off the coast of late-nineteenth-century New England as the foghorn’s waving shriek fills the air. The tight-lipped guys will have no one else for the company for the next four weeks of back-breaking work. The unfavorable surroundings, forced to endure irritating quirks, bottled-up resentment, and rising animosity. A fierce and never-ending squall maroons the pale beacon’s guardians in the already inhospitable volcanic rock, setting the way for a prolonged time of ferocious hunger, searing anguish, frantic isolation, and horrifying booze-addled visions. The uncanny grip of lunacy is tightening now.
3. The Witch
Director- Robert Eggers
Streaming Platform- Netflix
In mid-seventeenth-century New England, the tormented patriarch, William, and his Puritan family were expelled from the bosom of their righteous pilgrim community. As a result, they established a small cottage on the boundaries of a thick and dark forest. As the poor family attempts to settle into their new isolated property, calamity strikes when their infant kid vanishes into thin air. Then, followed by additional unforeseen and devastating calamities that befall the God-fearing farmers. Is this dire condition the product of a family on the verge of collapse? Or is Thomasin, William’s firstborn daughter, the source of all evil?
4. First Rreformed
Director- Paul Schrader
Streaming Platform- Hulu
Reverend Ernst Toller is an alone, middle-aged parish pastor. He works at a small Dutch Reform church in upstate New York approaching its 250th anniversary. The church, which was once a stop on the Underground Railroad, is today a tourist attraction with a diminishing population. It has been overshadowed by its nearby parent church, Abundant Life, which has state-of-the-art facilities and a 5,000-strong congregation. When a pregnant parishioner asks Reverend Toller to counsel her radical environmentalist husband, the clergyman is thrown into his own unhappy past. Also, similarly despondent future, until he finds redemption in a grandiose act of murder.
5. Midsommar
Director- Ari Aster
Streaming Platform- Amazon Prime
Dani and Christian are a young American couple whose marriage is on the verge of breaking apart. Christian invites a devastated Dani to accompany him and his pals on a journey to a once-in-a-lifetime midsummer celebration in a secluded Swedish village after a family tragedy binds them together. When the insular villagers urge their guests to engage in celebrations that make the pastoral paradise increasingly disconcerting and viscerally disturbing, what begins as a joyful summer vacation in the North European kingdom of eternal sunlight takes a terrible turn.
6. The Spectacular Now
Director- James Pondsoldt
Streaming Platform- Amazon Prime
Sutter Keely is a person who lives in the present. It’s an excellent location for him. He’s a charming and self-assured high school senior who is the life of the party, enjoys his job at a men’s apparel store, and has no plans for the future. He’s a growing alcoholic who can’t seem to get enough of his supersized, whiskey-laced thirst-quencher cup. Sutter, however, becomes inebriated after being abandoned by his fiancée and wakes up on a lawn with Aimee Finicky hanging over him. She’s the “good girl” who doesn’t have a boyfriend and likes science fiction. Sutter lives in the magnificent delusion of a fantastic now, while Aimee dreams of a future, yet they’re brought together in some way.
7. Lady Bird
Director- Great Gerwig
Streaming Platform- Netflix
In the year 2002, Christine “Lady Bird” McPherson was a senior in a Catholic high school in Sacramento, California. She aspires to attend a prominent university in “a culturally rich city.” Her mother informs her that Lady Bird is ungrateful for all she has because her family is struggling financially. Lady Bird and her best friend Julie Steffans enroll in their school’s theatrical department, where she meets Danny O’Neill. She and Danny begin dating, and she spends Thanksgiving with Danny’s wealthy family rather than her own, disappointing her mother. When Lady Bird catches Danny kissing a boy in a bathroom stall, their romance comes to an end.
8. Moonlight
Director- Barry Jenkins
Streaming Platform- Amazon Prime
The sensitive nine-year-old child, Chiron, or Little, is an easy target in 1980s Miami because of the way he walks. The terrified child, who has spent virtually his entire life escaping bullies, seeks safety in a run-down crack house, where Juan, the disposable drug dealer, takes him under his wing. Chiron, on the other hand, is doomed to live a predestined existence, stuck in a vicious circle of antitheses, in a world where everything can change at the sight of a knife or a pistol. But, as Little matures into an introverted sixteen-year-old teen struggling with his identity, only a tough exterior can protect him from the outside world. Three eras define a sensitive young adult Chiron who, above all, is still grappling with complex pent-up emotions after all these years.
9. Equals
Director- Drake Doremus
Streaming Platform- Amazon Prime
After a cataclysmic war, the survivors and their heirs have rebuilt themselves into what appears to be an idyllic, emotion-free utopia, designed to control the violent impulses that nearly destroyed them…no one exhibits individuality, everyone is equal and serves the collective good, and romantic couples, sex, and love itself no longer exist – procreation is now an in-office procedure selectively performed by purely artificial means. However, there is trouble in paradise: suicides are on the rise, and citizens are increasingly being diagnosed with the “incurable” illness of emotionality.
Overall, A24 is well worth keeping an eye on. Their films are artistic, their casts are well chosen, and the anticipation for future films will be high. If you enjoy watching independent films with a twist, there’s no doubt that you’ll come to love A24’s productions work. They’re definitely a production company to watch out for in the coming years.
