by Riley Cook
A24, a groundbreaking film company, has emerged as a formidable force in the entertainment industry over the past decade. Founded in 2012, this independent film distributor and production company has become renowned for its unique approach to filmmaking and storytelling.
A24 has been at the forefront of producing and distributing critically acclaimed and culturally impactful films, garnering numerous awards and nominations in the process. With a commitment to innovative storytelling and a keen eye for emerging talent, A24 has left an indelible mark on the world of cinema, redefining the landscape of independent film production and distribution.
Today, we're diving into some of our favorite A24 films, from mediocre to Oscar winner!
10. "UNDER THE SKIN"
An alien entity inhabits the earthly form of a young woman who combs the roads and streets of Scotland in search of human prey she came to plunder. She seduces her isolated and forsaken male victims into another worldly dimension where they are stripped and consumed. However, existence in all its complexity begins to change the alien visitor. She begins to discover herself as human, with tragic and terrifying consequences.
09. "X/PEARL"
Set in 1979, adult movie actors and a small film crew arrive at a farmhouse occupied by an elderly couple in the desolate Texas countryside to film an adult movie. As the day shifts to night, the visitors slowly realize that they are not safe and are being targeted by a nearby enemy.
PEARL
Trapped on her family's isolated farm, Pearl must tend to her ailing father under the bitter and overbearing watch of her devout mother. Yearning for a glamorous life like she's seen in the movies, Pearl finds her ambitions, temptations, and repressions all colliding in this origin story of X's iconic villain.
08. "THE LOBSTER"
A love story is set in a dystopian near future where single people are arrested and transferred to a creepy hotel. There, they are obliged to find a matching mate in 45 days. If they fail, they are transformed into an animal and released into the woods.
Related articles: The 8 Greatest 'Sex and the City' Episodes of All Time
Related articles: Halle Bailey: From Stages to Movie Sets! 'The Color Purple' Reimagined
07. "UNCUT GEMS"
Howard Ratner (Adam Sandler) is a once-successful New York gems dealer whose gambling addiction has left his family and career in shambles, leaving him hundreds of thousands in debt. Always looking for the next big bet, Howard thinks he has finally hit it big when he discovers a rare uncut Opal from Ethiopia, with a very interested high-profile buyer. But the closer Howard gets to finally winning big, the more he is forced to realize that he can't keep running from the consequences of his actions.
06. "ROOM"
"Room" tells the extraordinary story of Jack, a spirited 5-year-old who is cared for by his loving and devoted mother. Like any good mother, Ma dedicates herself to keeping Jack happy and safe, nurturing him with warmth and love, and doing typical things like playing games and telling stories. Their life, however, is anything but typical—they are trapped, confined to a 10-by-10-foot space that Ma has euphemistically named "Room."
Ma has created a whole universe for Jack within "Room," and she will stop at nothing to ensure that, even in this treacherous environment, Jack is able to live a complete and fulfilling life. But as Jack's curiosity about their situation grows, and Ma's resilience reaches its breaking point, they enact a risky plan to escape, ultimately bringing them face-to-face with what may turn out to be the scariest thing yet: the real world.
05. "MIDSOMMAR"
Dani (Florence Pugh) and Christian (Jack Reynor) are a young American couple with a relationship on the brink of falling apart. But after a family tragedy keeps them together, Christian invites a grieving Dani to join him and his friends on a trip to a once-in-a-lifetime midsummer festival in a remote Swedish village.
What begins as a carefree summer holiday in the North European land of eternal sunlight takes a sinister turn when the insular villagers invite their guests to partake in festivities that render the pastoral paradise increasingly unnerving and viscerally disturbing.
04. "LADY BIRD"
Christine "Lady Bird" McPherson (Saoirse Ronan) is a high school senior from the "wrong side of the tracks." She longs for adventure, sophistication, and opportunity but finds little of that in her Sacramento Catholic high school. Her senior year improves as she finds her first romance, participates in the school play, and, most importantly, applies for college.
03. "THE WITCH"
New England, 1630: William and Katherine try to lead a devout Christian life, homesteading on the edge of an impassable wilderness, with five children. When their newborn son mysteriously vanishes and their crops fail, the family begins to turn on one another. "The Witch" is a chilling portrait of a family unraveling within their own sins, leaving them prey to an inconceivable evil.
02. "HEREDITARY"
When her mentally ill mother passes away, Annie (Toni Collette), her husband (Gabriel Byrne), son (Alex Wolff), and daughter (Milly Shapiro) all mourn her loss. The family turns to different means to handle their grief, including Annie and her daughter both flirting with the supernatural. They each begin to have disturbing, otherworldly experiences linked to the sinister secrets and emotional trauma that have been passed down through the generations of their family.
01. "MOONLIGHT"
Three time periods - young adolescence, mid-teen, and young adulthood - in the life of Black-American Chiron are presented. When he was a child, Chiron lived with his single, crack-addict mother, Paula, in a crime-ridden neighborhood in Miami. Chiron was a shy, withdrawn child, largely due to his small size and neglect by his mother, who was more concerned about getting her fixes and satisfying her carnal needs than taking care of him.
Because of these issues, Chiron was bullied, enduring hurtful slurs he didn't fully understand. Besides his same-aged Cuban-American friend, Kevin, Chiron received what little guidance he had in life from a neighborhood drug dealer named Juan, who could see that he was neglected, and Juan's caring girlfriend, Teresa, whose home acted as a sanctuary away from the bullies and Paula's abuse.
With this childhood as a foundation, Chiron might have a predetermined path in life, one that would only be magnified in terms of its problems when he reached his difficult teen years, when peer pressure affected what he and many of his peers did, unless he followed Juan's advice to truly make his own decisions for himself.
Image Credit: © 1990-2023 by IMDb.com, Inc.