Biopics:The Best Film Genre of the 21st Century? |
Films discussed: Darkest Hour (2017), Vice (2018), The Founder (2016), Steve Jobs (2015), The Imitation Game (2014), Lincoln (2012), The Social Network (2010), Vision (2009), A Beautiful Mind (2001)
Some of the best-written, most-dramatic, and most-captivating films of the past few decades are films about actual people. These stories don't need caped crusaders because the flesh and blood characters in these roles accomplished amazing things within the confines of human reality. While the twenty-first century box office has been dominated by action films and superhero flicks, some of the best contributions have been biopics. Let's start with the caveats. How am I defining "biopic"? Here, a biopic is defined as a movie version of a biography. Just like a print biography, a movie biopic has as its subject a real-life person. And just like a book, where the content of the subject's life is set through the lens of the author, so is the portrayal of a life set through the lens of a director, a screen writer, or actors. What does that mean? It means, well, just like you shouldn't believe everything you read about a person, you shouldn't watch a movie about a person and accept it as the truth. Biopics, and their book cousins biographies, sometimes tell you as much about the creators of the material than the actual person. Now that we have some caveats out of the way, let's delve into some great films about real people. All of the films discussed here were born in the twenty first century. Many bemoan modern film for its reliance on (often distracting) computer graphics, one-dimensional characters, and the "lowest common denominator" pandering to teenage ticket buyers. However, the twenty-first century has produced a library of exceptional biopics. These stories focus on strong writing, good characters, and great performances. These are great movies that don't require car chases, explosions, objectified female characters, or over-the-top costume design to convey a story. The struggles here are about the direction of a computer company (Steve Jobs); the building of a business empire (The Founder); a brilliant scientist's battle with schizophrenia (A Beautiful Mind). These films introduce important historical figures to a wider audience that might not have otherwise received their due, including the accomplished medieval nun and scholar Hildegard von Bingen (Vision) or the computer scientist Alan Turing, breaker of the Nazi code (The Imitation Game). Such films can also humanize larger-than-life characters, including Winston Churchill (Darkest Hour) or Abraham Lincoln (Lincoln). The high quality of these productions has received accolades from critics. The table below illustrates their high marks. The "Tomatometer" is, of course, derived from Rotten Tomatoes. The films are arranged from highest rated to lowest rated.
| Title | Subject | Actor | Tomatometer |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Social Network | Mark Zuckerberg | Jesse Eisenberg | 95% |
| The Imitation Game | Alan Turing | Benedict Cumberbatch | 89% |
| Lincoln | Abraham Lincoln | Daniel Day-Lewis | 89% |
| Steve Jobs | Steve Jobs | Michael Fassbender | 86% |
| Darkest Hour | Winston Churchill | Gary Oldman | 84% |
| The Founder | Ray Kroc | Michael Keaton | 82% |
| Vision | Hildegard von Bingen | Barbara Sukowa | 81% |
| A Beautiful Mind | John Nash | Russell Crowe | 75% |
| Vice | Dick Cheney | Christian Bale | 66% |
If you notice, the general concensus is that these films range from very good to excellent. An exciting feature of this genre is that each film has a unique style. In a very visual sense, Daniel Day-Lewis "becomes" Lincoln, Christian Bale "becomes" Cheney, and Gary Oldman "becomes" Churchill. On the other hand, Michael Fassbender does not look like Steve Jobs visually; rather, he "becomes" Jobs by the force of the character's personality. Some of these characters are good guys and some are not so much. Oldman's Churchill is intense but principled and admirable, and Cumberbatch's Turing is the underappreciated genius that the audience is rooting for. On the other hand, Eisenberg's Zuckerberg comes off as opportunist; Fassbender's Jobs can be a jerk; Bale's Cheney is cold and calculating. Though these characters can be sometimes be good, bad, or downright ugly, all of the performances are good. Keaton excels as Ray Kroc, the man who--according to the film--checkmated the McDonald's brothers out of their own business. Sometimes we forget that Oldman is an actor, and we actually believe we are watching Churchill in the flesh. The transformation of Christian Bale into George W.'s vice president is nearly perfect. This genre brings surprises. One does not have to use or particularly like Facebook to be drawn into The Social Network. Vision, a German film, illustrates the life of the nun, scholar, and scientist Hildegard von Bingen, a fascinating portrait that will likely open new doors of examining the middle ages. The shocking revelation in A Beautiful Mind rivals any other surprise in a film, and it remains as important today for highlighting mental illness as it did during its premiere almost twenty years ago. The answer is: yes, there are many good films today. In fact, the twenty first century has produced some great biopics. Give one of these films a try. Updated July 2019 Back to the top of the page