Some movies take a while to reach their audience, but they can become cult classics years after their release. It’s often hard to predict which movies will receive this treatment, since it depends on how groups of people interact with them, and how certain movies spark fierce admiration and conversation for years. The last decade has produced a few potential candidates.
Certain criteria must be met for a movie to be considered a cult classic. Of course, it can’t be a big mainstream hit, since it needs to only appeal to a select group of people. This is why manybox office bombs wind up as cult classicsyears later. The idea is that cult classics are movies which were misunderstood or otherwise underappreciated at the time of release.
Terry Gilliam’s movies generally haven’t been as popular in the 21st century, and his biggest hits after the Monty Python years are stillBrazil, The Adventures of Baron Munchausenand12 Monkeys.However,The Man Who Killed Don Quixotedeserves a lot more attention. While it was originally notorious for its troubled production, the finished product is just as interesting, showing that the lengthy wait was worthwhile.
Two documentaries were made about Gilliam’s journey to finally completeThe Man Who Killed Don Quixote,2002’sLost in La Manchaand 2019’sHe Dreams of Giants.
The Man Who Killed Don Quixotestarts off as a comedic farce, like many of Gilliam’s movies, as a filmmaker discovers that a man he once directed as Don Quixote has lived the rest of his life believing that he truly is the fabled adventurer. Eventually, this comedy gives way to a bizarre, dreamlike spectacle in which reality and fantasy smash one another to pieces.It’s a movie like no other, and it just needs to find the right audience.
Most ofWes Anderson’s moviesappeal to his own fans, but only a couple breach containment and find mainstream success.The French Dispatchisn’tThe Grand Budapest HotelorThe Royal Tenenbaums.It’s a more peculiar, esoteric work that is most affecting to those who have been tracking Anderson’s career for a while.In some ways,The French Dispatchis his most personal movie yet.
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The French Dispatchis a love letter to the glory days of literary magazines and investigative journalism periodicals, but it’s also a broader exploration of storytelling. Each of the stories takes on a different style, because each of the writers has their own unique voice. This is Anderson’s way of toying with the form, experimenting within his own artistic confines to deconstruct the idea that form and function can’t mix.
WhenMonkey Manfirst came out, it was dismissed by some as just anotherJohn Wickclone. While it’s true that there are some aesthetic similarities - especially in the protagonist’s sharp black suit and the punchy style of the fight scenes -Monkey Manalso has an original streak. It has a much more pointed political message thanJohn Wick,making it a different kind of revenge thriller entirely.
WhenMonkey Manfirst came out, it was dismissed by some as just anotherJohn Wickclone.
Monkey Manis a cut above the wave of similar action movies which have come out in the last decade, partly because of Dev Patel’s genuine skill as a martial artist, and partly because its interpretation of Indian mythology and politics gives it a clear identity. Once some time passes, it could be appreciated without constant comparisons to other, lesser movies.Monkey Man’s endingleaves the door open for a sequel, but it also wraps up an exciting standalone story.
Dan Gilroy is most famous as the director ofNightcrawler.Velvet Buzzsawsees him team up with Jake Gyllenhaal once again, but it hasn’t achieved the same level of recognition. It’s a dark, unsettling story of exploitation and greed in the art world, delivering some unforgettable scenes in which paintings come to life to destroy those seeking to inflate their value to profit off of them.
Gyllenhaal’s performance as the eccentric art critic Morf Vandewalt shows the same underappreciated flair for comedy that he displays inOkja.His deadpan delivery contrasts nicely with the absurdity of the situation, fuelingVelvet Buzzsaw’s dark, satirical humor. It’s part-horror and part-comedy, andits intelligent philosophy can just as easily apply to other instances of art being wildly misinterpreted and mismanaged.
The 2010s produced a glut ofspace exploration movies, includingGravity, InterstellarandFirst Man.Ad Astracame at the tail end of this trend, and its poor performance at the box office suggests that audiences may have seen enough of outer space for a while. Another contributing factor could beAd Astra’s intentionally ponderous pace. It isn’t a swashbuckling thriller like other space movies, but it’s still hauntingly beautiful.
Essentially,Ad Astrais Joseph Conrad’sHeart of Darknessby way of Stanley Kubrick’s2001: A Space Odyssey,as an astronaut journeys into deep space to confront his father. Brad Pitt’s restrained, refined performance fits perfectly into James Gray’s world. The director has the confidence to let his spectacular scenery speak for itself, creating a new approach to outer space movies that recaptures a sense of awe and beauty.Ad Astra’s style isn’t for everyone, but it’s a patient, powerful epic.
The Killersurprised a lot of people when it first hit Netflix. It’s much slower than otherDavid Fincher movies, and it feels less intense and action-oriented. This explains why it never reached the kinds of audiences thatSe7en, Fight CluborZodiachave enjoyed, butThe Killeris still a fascinating, unorthodox crime thriller that displays Fincher’s mastery of the genre. It continues his career-long exploration of criminal psychology in a new way.
There’s an undercurrent of dark humor that runs throughoutThe Killer,as evidenced by the way the Killer uses sitcom characters as aliases, or the way that Michael Fassbender’s deadpan voiceover jars with the violence and chaos on screen.The Killermakes an extreme lifestyle look surprisingly mundane at times, which is darkly funny and terrifying all at once. It takes an experimental approach, so it might take a few years for it to get some more appreciation.
From the kitschy ’80s aesthetic to the over-the-top brutality of the kills,Cocaine Bearsets out to be an entertaining joyride for its audience. It never professes to be high art, but it’s hard to resistCocaine Bear’s goofy charms. One thing weighing the movie down is the inherent absurdity of its backstory and title, which makes it near impossible to surprise audiences. However,Cocaine Beardelivers on the promise of its premise.
It never professes to be high art, but it’s hard to resistCocaine Bear’s goofy charms.
Thetrue story behindCocaine Bearhas become a legend in Tennessee, butElizabeth Banks' comedy pastes a risible crime caper on top of the actual facts. In this way,Cocaine Bearmore accurately reflects the myth of the bear, as opposed to the mundane reality that the bear never killed anybody, and certainly didn’t chase down an ambulance at full pelt.Cocaine Beardeserves to be treated as a camp classic.
Now that Joel and Ethan Coen have made their own solo movies, it’s clear to see which brother brought what to their collaborative efforts. Joel was probably responsible for the intense drama, whileDrive-Away Dollsshows that much of the zany humor was Ethan’s doing. It may have suffered from contrasts to thebest Coen brothers movies, likeFargoandThe Big Lebowski,but it’s a different kind of crime comedy that still works well.
IfDrive-Away Dollscould ever be judged free from the burden of the Coens' exceptional crime capers, more people might come to love its charms.It’s a queer road trip movie designed to surprise and entertain its audience. Fun supporting performances from Matt Damon, Colman Domingo and Miley Cyrus certainly help, but Margaret Qualley is the star of the show as an erratic, self-confident schemer with a wonderfully overblown Texan accent that makes her sound like Sandy Cheeks.
