Film
Cymbeline
Michael Almereyda's 2014 Cymbeline transplants Shakespeare's baroque revenge tragedy into a contemporary world of corrupt cops, outlaw bikers, and drug empires. It's ambitious and visually striking, anchored by strong performances from Harris and Johnson. This is for viewers willing to meet high-wire theatrical ambition halfway, who don't need everything spelled out, and who trust their own eye.
If you liked this
The Tempest2010
Julie Taymor's lush film adaptation of Shakespeare's final play proves ambitious staging can deepen rather than obscure the text. Magical, visually ravishing, and entirely credible as cinema, not just recorded theatre.
But It moves at its own pace, which is neither brisk nor conventional. Some find Taymor's visual choices overwhelming rather than illuminating.

Macbeth2015
Justin Kurzel's brutal, contemporary Macbeth captures that same collision between Shakespearean intensity and modern crime-world aesthetics. Michael Fassbender is riveting; the atmosphere is suffocating.
But It's relentlessly grim and visually dark to the point where you'll sometimes struggle to see faces. There's no lightness anywhere.

Harakiri1962
Masaki Kobayashi's masterpiece about ritual suicide and systemic cruelty uses deliberate artifice—stark compositions, theatrical blocking—to make emotional devastation feel inevitable. Pure cinema made from restraint.
But It's formally challenging, slow-building, and emotionally punishing. The subject matter is genuinely difficult. Subtitles required.

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The wildcard
Something you would not have found on your own.
The Witch2016
Both refuse contemporary naturalism in favor of heightened, theatrical registers. Both are ambitious enough to fail spectacularly, and both succeed anyway. Both trust audiences to meet them on their own ground.
Robert Eggers' debut is formally radical: 1600s New England witchcraft horror told in period dialogue and compositions that feel like Bruegel paintings made flesh. It shares Cymbeline's conviction that artifice can deepen horror.
But The period language takes work. The film is genuinely scary but doesn't offer catharsis or relief. It's absolutely humorless.

More like this (8)
A Prophet2009
Jacques Audiard's film about a young man's rise in prison has that same propulsive darkness mixed with sudden grace. It's gripping and formally inventive without ever showing off.
But It's a long film that doesn't rush its plot. Violence is sudden and unapologetic. Some find the pacing frustrating.

Locke2014
Tom Hardy, alone in a car for 85 minutes, having phone conversations that reshape his entire life. It sounds impossible; it's magnetic. Proof that you need neither spectacle nor support to hold attention.
But It's literally one man in a car. If that concept doesn't intrigue you, no amount of craft will change your mind. Some find it claustrophobic rather than compelling.

Enemy2014
Denis Villeneuve's psychological thriller starring Jake Gyllenhaal as two men who might be the same person. Formally daring, deeply unsettling, and it trusts you to sit with ambiguity.
But The ending deliberately refuses clarity. If you want resolution and answers, this will frustrate you. The tone is oppressively tense.

First Reformed2018
Paul Schrader's film about a pastor wrestling with faith and despair is austere, intellectually rigorous, and emotionally devastating. Ethan Hawke is extraordinary in a role that demands everything.
But It's bleak and abstract and deeply concerned with theology. Some find it punishing rather than profound. Very slow in places.

Under the Skin2014
Jonathan Glazel's film is more mood and texture than plot. Scarlett Johansson in a film that operates almost entirely through atmosphere, image, and unsettling suggestion. Genuinely singular.
But Plot is minimal. Dialogue is sparse. If you need narrative momentum and conventional story structure, this will feel like a slog.

Only Lovers Left Alive2013
Jim Jarmusch's vampire film is less genre exercise than meditation on artistic devotion, decay, and companionship. Tom Hiddleston and Tilda Swinton are perfectly calibrated; it's deadpan and oddly moving.
But It's slow, digressive, and more interested in mood than conflict. The plot is skeletal. Some see it as elegant; others find it precious and empty.

Branded2012
Both are visually aggressive modernizations of classical source material using genre and crime as container. Both prioritize how something looks over whether it makes immediate sense. Both have rough edges that prove they meant it.
Sergei Bondarchuk's Russian sci-fi film about a marketing executive haunted by advertising imagery uses visual surrealism and graphic design as storytelling language. Deeply strange, visually hypnotic, utterly committed to its own logic.
But It's wildly uneven, sometimes baffling, sometimes pretentious. The narrative is fractured. It's a genuine cult artifact, which means a lot of viewers will find it baffling or annoying.

The Master2012
Both are interested in power, manipulation, and the theatre of control. Both feature corrupted father-son relationships expressed through intricate performance. Both demand formal sophistication from their audience and offer no apologies for it.
Paul Thomas Anderson's film about a man returning from war and falling under the spell of a charismatic cult leader plays like baroque chamber opera. It's about performance, manipulation, and the hunger to believe. Lancaster Dodd is unforgettable.
But It's long, digressive, and emotionally abstract. The relationship between the men is deliberately obscure. You have to sit with discomfort rather than finding resolution. Requires patience and second viewing.

People
Cast
Ed HarrisCymbeline
Dakota JohnsonImogen
Milla JovovichQueen
Ethan HawkeIachimo
Penn BadgleyPosthumus
Anton YelchinCloten
Bill PullmanSicilius Leonatus
John LeguizamoPisanio
Spencer Treat ClarkGuiderius
Peter GeretyDr. Cornelius
Kevin CorriganThe Hangman
Vondie Curtis-HallCaius Lucius
Directing
- Michael AlmereydaDirector
- Amy LynnFirst Assistant Director
- Zairi MalcolmScript Supervisor
Writing
- Michael AlmereydaScreenplay
- William ShakespeareTheatre Play
Production
- Jodi AngstreichCasting
- Laura RosenthalCasting
- Maribeth FoxCasting
- Kim OstroyCasting Assistant
- Grant WilfleyExtras Casting
- Elijah CornellExtras Casting Assistant
- Anthony KatagasProducer
- Michael BenaroyaProducer
Recommended by
As You Like It, National Theatre Live: All's Well That Ends Well, Branagh Theatre Live: The Winter's Tale, The Tempest, The Winter's Tale, Othello, As You Like It