It’s the void between Halloween and Christmas, but here are 10 great movies set in November that you need to see…
You’re just getting over your Halloween candy waist expansion and the jingle of jingle bells is just around the corner too. Michael Myers has been packed away for another year and Mariah Carey and Michael Buble are warming up their festive vocal chords. Just remember though, there’s a whole month in between called November. Late autumn, as fallen leaves cover the pavements, you finally succumb to switching your heating on.
For Americans, there’s Thanksgiving of course and this has been used ample times in movies and TV as a backdrop. Last month people were binging on horror, next month they’ll be binging on Christmas movies but what about November? Well, we’ve got those aforementioned Thanksgiving movies but late autumn has also been used plenty of times as an atmospheric and contempletive setting for movies. Here are 10 great movies that are perfect for watching in November…
Rocky II
There are a few films in the franchise we could go for as Thanksgiving has featured a few times. However, let’s go for the often unfairly overlooked Rocky 2. It’s not as good as the first and it’s not as larger than life as the third and fourth instalment (nor as memorably bad as number five) but it’s still pretty great. In the aftermath of their showpiece fight in the original film, Creed’s reputation (despite winning on split decision) has taken a pounding. He wants a rematch and Rocky obliges, with the bout to take place on Thanksgiving.
We get to see the next stage of Rocky and Adrian’s relationship which moves to marriage and prospective parenthood but also how Rocky deals with being a minor celebrity. Stallone took the directorial reigns and the film has a really assured style, great montages and (as always) a brilliant end bout. It’s a little more about boxing here than before, minus much of the nuance but there’s still more than enough drama to keep Balboa a compelling, sincere and likeable character.
Prisoners
Denis Villeneuve’s major Hollywood breakout, Prisoners is a dark and gripping thriller set through late Autumn and running through Thanksgiving. A young girl and her friend go missing and the father of one (Hugh Jackman) becomes obsessive in his unerring search to find her, aided by a frustrated cop (Jake Gyllenhaal) who feels hamstrung by departmental procedure.
Stunningly lensed by Roger Deakins, Villeneuve creates perpetual tension, knowing just when to crank things up. Jackman gives his most powerful performance and Gyllenhaal is on top form. Prisoners at the time felt like a film we saw all too rarely that was all the rage at the end of the last century (and feels even rarer in the decade since). On top of that, it’s also a stunning example of the subgenre that is utterly gripping at times.
A Bittersweet Life
Bookended with two short philosophical koans, A Bittersweet Life starts with a musing on Spring, and ends with one about Late Autumn, both of which perfectly represent (in a number of ways) the beginning and destination of the protagonist through the movie. Kim Jee-woon was right in the midst of a peak run of incredible Korean cinema that was also being discovered in the West (in part thanks to the success of Park Chan-wook’s, Oldboy).
Jee-woon’s muse, Lee Byung-hun (about to return in season 2 of Squid Game) plays Sun-woo, a gangster and trusted subordinate of a ruthless leader who tasks him with keeping an eye on his young girlfriend. Sun-woo is usually stoic, precise and efficient in everything he does (especially kicking ass) but suffers a bout of existential crisis that causes him to make decisions that put him under threat from his boss and rival gangsters. Cue a stylishly shot, visceral and violent, neo-noir masterpiece and Byung-hun is incredible here, as is Shin Min-a who plays the young woman who opens his philosophical quandary. Jee-woon can occasionally get overlooked for the slightly more iconic Bong Joon-ho and Park Chan-wook, but overlook this guy’s choice cuts to your detriment.
Planes, Trains and Automobiles
If you only watch one film that perfectly represents November, it’s Planes, Trains and Automobiles. In fact, it should probably be law that this is viewed annually in late November. John Hughes’ goofy, irreverent but heartfelt comedy features Steve Martin and John Candy at the absolute top of their game.
Almost every character they interact with is memorable and the journey they both take to try and get home for Thanksgiving really does go through the stages beautifully, with the mismatched pair seemingly tied together (which becomes an entertaining point of frustration for Martin’s character). It’s a film I’ve watched countless times and one of the most infinitely repeatable movies ever made. An unquestionable delight.
She’s Gotta Have It
Spike Lee’s breakout indie hit, She’s Gotta Have It spans a stretch of time including Thanksgiving. Shot for a really low budget, Lee’s movie caused plenty of waves not least with its protagonist being a sexually liberated black woman with three lovers on the go at once. With great dialogue and a nice blend of comedy and drama, She’s Gotta Have It is a remarkably assured debut with Lee flying by the seat of his pants a little as auteurs tend to with such budgetary restraints.
The black-and-white photography looks great and may well have been a creative choice to help mask the budget but it’s certainly effective. Whilst some of the cast aren’t quite as honed as Lee would work with later in his career, they’re still sincere and engaging (particularly Tracy Camilla Johns).
Thanksgiving
Eli Roth’s career has attracted plenty of debate. I’ve never been the biggest fan, even going back to his breakout films, Cabin Fever and Hostel. After a string of critical batterings, Roth came out and surprised everyone with Thanksgiving, a wry, enjoyable and suitably gruesome slasher set as the title suggests with a villain donning a John Carver mask.
Roth pulls together a good cast including Patrick Dempsey and Gina Gershon in what is probably his most accessible and well-realised film.
Addams Family Values
The Addams family have graced films and TV for 60 years. The early 90s reboot with pitch-perfect casting also spawned sequels, cartoons, video games and much more. The first big-screen sequel of the Raul Julia and Anjelica Huston-headed family has become as much of a cult favourite as the first and includes a Thanksgiving setting too.
Uncle Fester is getting married but there’s one problem, his new wife might be a serial killer with plans to rinse him of his inheritance. Julia and Huston are superb as is Christina Ricci. Christopher Lloyd is also great as Fester and Joan Cusack revels as the villain. It’s fun dialled up to the max.
The Ice Storm
Sticking with Ricci and with an even more dysfunctional family, next up is The Ice Storm. Nothing says Thanksgiving like family discord. Thanksgiving goes awry for two families from a wealthy suburb who are delving into escapes from their routines with sex and drugs. An ice storm covers the area, causing tensions to boil over and secrets to spill.
Ang Lee’s deft direction and James Schamus’ enlightened and compelling script provide the perfect platform for a stellar cast to shine. A sultry Sigourney Weaver steals the show.
Late Autumn
Beautifully observed family drama is an art form and one of the masters was Yasujiro Ozu with films such as Tokyo Story. The themes remain timeless and travel beyond his native Japan.
Late Autumn sees a widow trying to find a suitor for her daughter, asking for help from her late husband’s three friends. As is the way with the cinema of Ozu, this is a quiet and considerate film with ruthlessly simple blocking that seems to effortlessly lure you into its quaint and charming clutches. Able to feel light and comforting but deep and meaningful, it’s another masterpiece in Ozu’s beautiful and nuanced canon.
Blood Rage
For those horror fans still weening themselves off the October onslaught, let’s go with another horror and this underrated gem, Blood Rage. Twins are separated in childhood when one of them kills a man and sets his twin up for the fall. After years in an asylum, the incarcerated twin escapes in time for Thanksgiving and a trail of deaths follows.
John Grissmer’s rough around the edges slasher is full of memorable moments which make up for the atypical lack of cinematic refinement many of this genre had. Mark Soper in a dual role is interesting to watch and engagingly flawed. Louise Lasser, probably the star name of the picture having been a TV staple the previous decade, cranks up an overwrought performance as the mother in denial that works well. If you like ever so slightly under-the-radar horror that’s actually decent, then give Blood Rage a whirl and pass the cranberry sauce while you’re at it.
What’s your favourite November/Thanksgiving set film? Let us know on our social channels @FlickeringMyth…