9 Movies To Binge-Watch When You’re Seething With Rage
From time to time, something will make you want to scream into the abyss and destroy things.
Perhaps you’re just constantly in that state for some reason. I couldn’t imagine why, considering how optimistic everyone is about humanity’s future right now. But hey, who am I to judge?
On that same note, you don’t necessarily need to feed your demons. Rather than unleashing a bloodcurdling scream and hurling your mug featuring Jane Austen quotes across the room, why not opt for some soothing cinematic therapy? Here are nine movies that will act as a balm for your weary, furious soul. Just please stop yelling at me.
The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014)
If you like Wes Anderson, then this movie is a perfect cure for your momentary ire. Allow Wes’s whimsy to massage your heart back into place. Let the vibrant color palette distract your eyes. Welcome Ralph Fiennes’ appealingly angular face into your living room. Also: tiny cakes. This movie is like ASMR.
If you don’t like Wes Anderson, then move on and please stop throwing things at me.
Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (1986)
There’s a reason why so many people watch this movie on their sick days. It practically begs you to take a breather, thumb your nose at responsibility, and live your life to the fullest. Staying angry is just a waste of time — time that could be spent making prank calls and stealing a Ferrari.
Spirited Away (2001)
You’ll quickly forget about your woes as you try to understand wtf is going on in this movie. And once you do, you’ll become immersed in a dreamy world of lost souls, fanciful creatures, and life-changing metaphors for young adulthood. The movie is wreathed in meditative magic.
Columbus (2017)
For a more pensive and challenging watch, consider this moving drama about two strangers who make a connection while (checks notes) marvelling at the architecture of Columbus, Indiana. (I have Googled this and can confirm that this is a thing people do.) Anyway, this movie is beautifully shot, providing the visual panacea you need during this dark time.
The Intouchables (2011)
Not to be confused with the Kevin Costner-starring Prohibition drama The Untouchables, this French le film maps the unconventional friendship between a wickedly wealthy quadriplegic and his sassy caregiver. It’s impossible to stay mad as you watch these two learn to carpe diem again.
Amélie (2001)
Why stop at one French film when you can watch them all? Just like this movie’s protagonist transforms her most mundane experiences into magical adventures, Amélie will transform your most violently exasperated thoughts into romantic sighs of contentment. It will also make you crave créme brûlée — a proven cure for rage.
Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009)
Whether you watch this movie sober or tripping balls like a friend of mine unwisely did (he was kicked out of the theater), you will erupt in a massive smile upon your first glimpse of this movie’s stop-motion animal characters. Soak in the dryly humorous script and autumnal color palette. George Clooney’s voice acting will calm your inner chaos even further.
The Half of It (2020)
Maybe you’re in dire need of a particularly queer salve for your soul. Enter: the queer coming-of-age tale The Half of It, which skips any pigeonholed melodrama to deliver a realistic and poetic ode to identity and longing. The amusing plot, about a queer Chinese teen who pines for the popular girl, is loosely based on Cyrano de Bergerac. If you’re a writer, you’ll love this movie extra hard!
(Have you stopped throwing things at me yet?)
Frances Ha (2012)
Remember when Greta Gerwig was just an actor and not the Oscar-nominated director of one of the most lucrative movies of all time? Honestly, that sentence alone might be enough to distract you from your interminable wrath. But as a bonus, the quirky indie dramedy Frances Ha will also embrace you with its easy charm and sharp sense of humor. Furthermore, Gerwig’s bumbling dancer is chaotic and relatable in a way that you’ll find instantly familiar just as soon as you put down that knife. OK. Are you done? Great! Now please watch one of these movies and calm TF down! Deep breaths, my friend. The world has not ended. Yet.
