The film rumored to ruin Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman’s marriage, Eyes Wide Shut is a film you have to see. At least just once.
In famed director Stanley Kubrick’s final movie, you’ll see a collection of scenes demonstrating death, sex parties, and a nightmarish trek through New York. Dr. William Harford (Cruise) thinks everything is perfect until his wife, Alice (Kidman) confesses to having sexual fantasies of other men. Let’s face it, this is not what a husband wants to hear.
Disturbed by her admission, he goes out for the night to resolve his complicated feelings and encounters a secret side of New York run by sinister masked elites. After you finish this film, you’ll be just as confused about the state of dreams and nightmares as when you first started. As you will with many other movies of its kind.
1. Blue Velvet
Obsession takes hold of us at the slightest provocation. One moment you’re walking in a field, and the next you have in your hand a human ear. That’s the situation in which Jeffrey Beaumont (Kyle MacLachlan) finds himself in Blue Velvet.
Though he could let it go, Jeffrey lets this strange occurrence turn into an obsession. After investigating the circumstances of the ear, he discovers an underworld of criminals, who have kidnapped nightclub singer, Dorothy’s (Isabella Rossellini), child. Throw in Dennis Hopper screaming about Pabst Blue Ribbon, and you’ve got another eerie mystery worth of the genre. Blue Velvet is available to stream on Amazon Prime or Apple TV.
2. Gone Girl
David Fincher’s adaptation of the famous Gillian Flynn novel isn’t as mind-bending as Eyes Wide Shut, but it still is a noir story at its core. And a noir story about a fractured marriage at that. One day, Nick Dunne (Ben Affleck) arrives home to find his wife is missing.
He harbors feelings of relief since their marriage was on the rocks, but as detectives start to investigate further, it seems more and more likely that Nick is the culprit. The only problem: He’s innocent. Gone Girl dives into the dark realities of marriage and just exactly what one will do to make things work. Gone Girl is available to stream on Amazon Prime or Apple TV.
3. Saltburn
Upon its release in the winter of 2023, you couldn’t escape the word of mouth about Saltburn. This in part had to do with the notorious drain scene and comparisons to other disturbing movies of its kind. But even more unsettling were the characterizations of the characters.
When Oliver Quick (Barry Keoghan) first enrolls in Oxford in 2006, he is a social pariah. Unlike the other students, he doesn’t come from an affluent home. Feeling like an outcast, he soon develops an obsession with popular student, Felix (Jacob Elordi), and gets invited to stay at his estate over the summer. The next few months devolve into a debauched holiday, all with blood, sex, and murder. It may seem like Eyes Wide Shut-lite at first, but we dare you to finish this film in one sitting. Saltburn is available to stream on Amazon Prime or Apple TV.
4. Closer
Even without an overarching mystery or a neo-noir setting, Closer finds a way to make you want to stave off dating forever. Based on the play by Patrick Marber, the film follows a quartet of lovers all involved with infidelity.
While the four characters are in a constant game of musical chairs, none of them ever find happiness. Even as they strive for love, they can’t help but hurt and cheat on each other. The film is a wicked and unflinching look at the downside of relationships. Closer is available to stream on Amazon Prime or Apple TV.
5. Nocturnal Animals
Nocturnal Animals drives home the point of the fragility of relationships. While Susan (Amy Adams) seems to have all the success in the world, she isn’t happy. Her husband is having an affair, and ever since her ex-husband sent her his book, she can’t stop thinking about it. Edward (Jake Gyllenhaal) and Susan met in college, and even though they loved each other, Susan’s mother didn’t believe that Edward was ambitious enough to be successful.
In the present day, Susan reads his book and describes Edward’s writing as violent, drawing clear comparisons to their relationship. But it is a relic of time gone by. It is too late for reconciliation, and the book is just a reminder of her enduring loneliness. Nocturnal Animals is available to stream on Amazon Prime or Apple TV.
6. Mulholland Drive
David Lynch is the king of neo-noir and makes that clear with his magnum opus, Mulholland Drive. The movie is an odyssey across Los Angeles as an amnesiac, Rita (Laura Harring), tries to find clues to her identity.
She is joined by starry-eyed newcomer, Betty (Naomi Watts,) hoping to look for answers. But the more they discover, the more they wish they hadn’t. Mulholland Drive is a movie you’ll want to watch again and again as you struggle to understand the ending. As any good noir does. Mulholland Drive is available to stream on Amazon Prime or Apple TV.
7. The Killing of a Sacred Deer
A master of shock and awe, Yorgos Lanthimos does not miss. His 2017 film is slightly absurdist, but that does not diminish the simmering malice at the heart of the story. Steven (Colin Farrell) is a talented and charismatic doctor who seems to have everything together. That is until young Martin (Barry Keoghan) enters his life.
Soon, his family starts to become ill, and Steven learns that this is fire and brimstone justice for being complicit in Martin’s father’s death. Lanthimos weaves the banality of the suburbs with the tragic events of the film — all with Nicole Kidman’s exemplary performance as Steven’s wife, Anna. The Killing of a Sacred Deer is available to stream on Amazon Prime or Apple TV.
8. Magnolia
If you want to see Tom Cruise at his most reprehensible, Magnolia is the film for you. Paul Thomas Anderson’s absurd and fascinating work turns America’s favorite action star into an alpha male caricature before there was a name for the term.
Magnolia is a character drama where each character is connected to the next in a complex web — all in front of the backdrop of an Aimee Mann soundtrack. You see the good, the bad, and the extremely ugly as each character goes through their own arc. There is Cruise in the role of the misogynist motivational speaker. A cocaine-addicted daughter of a game show host. And, of course, the rain of frogs at the end. Magnolia is Anderson at his best and weirdest. Magnolia is available to stream on Amazon Prime or Apple TV.
9. Vertigo
Alfred Hitchcock will always be remembered as a master of the thriller, and while Psycho is his most famous work, Vertigo will always be his best. The 1958 film stars Jimmy Stewart and grapples with a man’s obsession with a woman, Madeleine (Kim Novak).
After being hired to follow a friend’s wife, Scottie (Stewart) falls in love with her only to see her jump from a bell tower. Or so he thinks. Unable to let go of his grief, he frequents her favorite places until he runs into a woman who looks strikingly like her. Through their interactions, Scottie discovers that the woman he knew never existed. Judy was in fact paid to impersonate her so her husband could get away with killing the real Madeleine. But the murder mystery is beside the point. Vertigo is available to stream on Amazon Prime or Apple TV.
10. Memento
The beginning of a string of nominated films for Christopher Nolan, Memento was where the filmmaker started to perfect his non-linear storytelling. The film is a modern noir that follows Leonard (Guy Pearce), a man who can’t form new memories. Haunted by his wife’s death, the only way he can go on is to try to find the man who killed her.
This situation is complicated by the fact that Leonard has to tattoo new information on his body since he can’t retain memories. Brilliantly, this makes Leonard the most unreliable narrator and puts the audience directly in his shoes. Memento is available to stream on Amazon Prime or Peacock.
11. Midsommar
Ari Aster’s Swedish vacation is a masterclass in toxic relationships. Not only does Midsommar depict the dissolution of a relationship but it does so against the scenery of a cult that delves into ritualistic sex practices. It may take place in the sunlight, but it is just as insidious as Stanley Kubrick’s New York adventure.
After Dani (Florence Pugh) endures a devastating family tragedy, she joins her boyfriend, Christian (Jack Reynor), on a trip overseas. Exposure to a Swedish commune puts added pressure on a dying relationship and pushes Dani to become her best self. Midsommar is available to stream on Apple TV or Hulu.
12. The Ninth Gate
An adaptation of the book, The Club Dumas, The Ninth Gate brings its protagonist down a Satanist path he never had any intention of traversing. A vintage book dealer by trade, Dean Corso (Johnny Depp) will do just about anything to make money. But when he gets his hand on a book, he gets more than he bargained for. This book is rumored to be written by Satan himself, and with Dean in possession of it, he finds himself dragged into a world of secret societies and Satanic rituals. The path to immortality never did run smoothly. The Ninth Gate is available to stream on Amazon Prime or Apple TV.
13. Deep Water
In a return to the erotic thriller decades after the genre fell out of fashion, Deep Water is another look at a fractured marriage. Vic (Ben Affleck) allows his wife, Melinda (Ana de Armas), to have extramarital affairs instead of getting a messy divorce. But when her lovers start to die off systematically, Vic can’t help but claim responsibility for the crimes. The film gravitates around one essential question: Did he do it? This is an integral part of the film has viewers guessing until the end. Deep Water is available to stream on Hulu.
14. Unfaithful
As the title suggests, Adrian Lyne’s 2002 film explores the subject of infidelity. Starring Richard Gere and Diane Lane as married couple Edward and Constance, Unfaithful suggests how easily cheating can arise. Though their relationship is loving, Connie explores an affair after a chance encounter with a mysterious man, Paul (Oliver Martinez).
What commences is a marriage drama between the three characters. But the most intriguing prospect of the film is the thesis at the center. If Connie had never met Paul, it likely would never have crossed her mind to violate the vows of her marriage. These concepts are uncomfortable to look at, but apparent in many thrillers of its kind. Unfaithful is available to stream on Amazon Prime or Apple TV.
15. American Psycho
American Psycho has little to do with the department of romance but does feature a character in the heart of New York coming to terms with his warped mind. Adapted from the controversial novel by Brett Easton Ellis, American Psycho stars Christian Bale in a role that put him on the map.
Patrick Bateman is a materialistic Wall Streeter obsessed with the finer things in life and what people think of him. These modern concerns become so extreme that Bateman goes over the edge, believing that he has turned into a serial killer. The film is satire at its best, demonstrating how absurd and shallow life can be. Even when you admit to heinous crimes, no one will believe you. American Psycho is available to stream on Peacock or Apple TV.
16. Deception
A classic story of Boy Meets Girl. Boy Loses Girl. Boy is pulled into a complicated plot of sex work and fraud. This is the situation that Jonathan McQuarry (Ewan McGregor) finds himself in after meeting Wyatt Bose (Hugh Jackman) at the law firm where they work.
After a phone switcheroo, Jonathan discovers the existence of an exclusive sex club where anonymity is key. Following several encounters, Jonathan falls for S (Michelle Williams) before she mysteriously goes missing. As with many of these stories, all is not what it appears, and Jonathan has to find out the truth about Wyatt’s identity to make sure that S stays alive. Deception is available to stream on Amazon Prime or Apple TV.
17. A Simple Favor
The Anna Kendrick vehicle explores the mysteries of the upper class, but this time from a female perspective. The Pitch Perfect actor plays Stephanie, a parenting vlogger who finds an unlikely friend in fellow mother, Emily (Blake Lively).
Emily has style and class, but something is not quite right with her. When she goes missing, Stephanie is motivated to investigate. Of course, she finds more than she bargained for when she discovers the details about Emily’s past. Equal parts noir and absurdity, A Simple Favor is not what you expect with a delightful twist ending. A Simple Favor is available to stream on Amazon Prime or Apple TV.
18. Blue Valentine
If you want to see a film depicting the start of a relationship to the bitter end, look no further than Blue Valentine. Starring Ryan Gosling and Michelle Wiliams as the lovers in question, the film is almost a nihilistic view of love. Taking place over years of their relationship, the film charts the demise of Dean (Gosling) and Cindy’s (Williams) relationship in excruciating detail. The performances are astounding, the subject material harrowing, and it will make you question the point of matrimony. Blue Valentine is available to stream on Hulu or Amazon Prime.
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