Movie culture more often than not centers itself around the baseline joke of the quintessential ‘film-bro’ character of the community. He is the ‘brother from another mother’ to the pretentious music guy who calls himself a “subjective critic” while worshipping Anthony Fantano and looking to Pitchfork’s album ratings for approval.
We have all seen the clip of Fiona Apple bored to death as she listens to Quentin Tarantino describe his career as a “climb to Mt. Everest,” kissing his own ass as she sits and stares at him gloating about his success.
This article was originally inspired by the clip of Timothée Chalamet divulging into Kylie Jenner’s surprise screening of “Interstellar” that she set up as a birthday gift for him, since it is one of his favorite films. A quote-tweet was vocal about the question we are always asking ourselves — Why do all men love “Interstellar” so much? Here are some movies to throw back in film bros’ faces if you’re ever in that same situation (we’re sure you will be at some point in your life) — men mansplaining the meaning of an obscure art-deco French film is a canon event.
The Bling Ring
It would be amiss to not mention any Sofia Coppola films on this list because her work is at the heart of any cinephile girl. The coolest girl you know has the minimalistic pink-covered Sofia Coppola archive book, and “The Virgin Suicides” is in her top 4 on Letterboxd. When I hear about Sofia Coppola, I am instantly transported to 2021 Pinterest where “Girlbloggers” reigned.
“The Bling Ring,” starring Emma Watson and Taissa Farmiga, follows a group of friends who live in Calabasas, California. Wealth (or at least portraying the image of it), fame, partying and reputation are the only things that matter to them, and the troupe begins leading petty theft crime escapades by robbing celebrities’ homes. Among the celebrities that they steal from are Paris Hilton, Orlando Bloom, Lindsay Lohan and Megan Fox. The film is a love-letter to valley-girl socialite celebrity culture in the mid 2010s, stacked with designer fashion to ogle over. The film is inspired by the real crimes of Alexis Neiers and her friends in 2009 where they really did burglarize the homes of the aforementioned celebrities.
Climax
“Climax” (2018) is an English-French A24 psychological thriller that follows a dance company partying in an abandoned school as they get to know each other and showcase their personal dance styles in dance-offs. The night is soured and pivots swiftly into a fever-dream of paranoia, sex and death when the main character Selva realizes that everyone at the party is experiencing the same some sort of uncomfortable psychological phenomenon. It begins to be apparent that someone has spiked the sangria punch bowl that everyone has been drinking with LSD, and the movie becomes a modern but abstract spin on the classic “whodunit” trope. The movie is controversial for its long and grueling scenes depicting the reality of the “climax” of the character’s trips featuring unorthodox camera angles and dance montages void of any character dialogue.
The Love Witch
“The Love Witch” is a beautiful study of female love, desire and passion. The 2016 film follows the titular “love witch” on her escapades as she seduces helpless men and hexes them into loving her. Elaine’s use of dark sex-magic backfires on her when the spells slowly push the men she seduces to total madness. The film has always been infamous in Lana Del Rey’s fan culture because of the aesthetic ties that it has to Del Rey’s 2015 album “Honeymoon.” For a long time, one could not scroll their feed and come across an edit to Del Rey’s music without seeing the clip of Elaine smoking in her cherry-red convertible. The main character’s man-eating practices make “The Love Witch” a quintessential cool-girl film.
Possession
“Possession” (1981) is another female-centered psychological horror classic that is beloved by many movie-watchers. The film is surreal at times and follows married couple Anna and Mark as they deal with the tumultuous ups and downs of married life. Though the viewer does not understand why, Anna acts as an unreliable narrator as we watch her fall into madness, demanding a divorce and resorting to physical violence. The film questions the “possession” of true love, and what it means to be a woman scorned.
Spring Breakers
“Spring Breakers” is a 2012 film directed by Harmony Korine — one of the film bros’ favorite directors to larp about. It stars Selena Gomez and Vanessa Hudgens as their group of friends embark on a spring break trip to Florida. Being caught up in petty theft, the girls get a taste for deviance that sends them down the spiral of drugs, booze, guns and partying. James Franco plays a gangster that they seduce, rob and take advantage of, and we are sure that you’ve seen the photos of Gomez and Hudgens wearing neon bikinis and ski masks all over your Pinterest recommended before. Gomez’s infamous picture wearing the “Blowjob Queen” shirt is from this movie. One of its most iconic scenes is where the girls hold Franco’s character at gunpoint, demanding that he serenades them with a beautiful rendition of Britney Spears “Everytime.”
The Piano Teacher
“The Piano Teacher” from 2001 is a classic cinephile-girl movie. It follows main character Erika, an uptight and cold piano teacher as she divulges into a lustful sadomasochistic relationship with one of her piano students. It is a cautionary tale of what happens when sexuality is repressed, told through the lens of female sexuality.
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