Keeping on with this end of year post, we next address the world of Theatrical Independent films and the ones that stuck out to this reviewer the most for 2015. As anyone who I’ve spoken to at all over the course of this year or has been following my reviews, it is more than evident that my overall leanings are in the direction of indie cinema. And this stems of the ongoing realization that the need for well-crafted storytelling, characters, acting, and connection in viewing a film has most consistently fallen within the indie realm.
Now, as with any genre or style, there are plenty of hits and misses within this arena, too. But, I will stick with my notion that indie cinema overall is finding a new life, even amongst the mainstream movie going public, and that is encouraging. For there are some amazing efforts being put out there in theaters which very much deserve the spotlight, even above much of the mainstream fluff. Those may make a lot of money and entertain us, which I obviously love as well, but I think it’s time more people give indie film a try and perhaps experience the same level of surprise I did several years ago when taking in my very first projects of this category.
Enough chatter, onward with this list of my Top Theatrical Independent films! Onward, McDuff!
Top 10 OVERALL Films
- “Still Alice”
- “Woman In Gold”
- “The Water Diviner”
- “Far From The Madding Crowd”
- “Love & Mercy”
- “Mr. Holmes”
- “Pawn Sacrifice”
- “Spotlight”
- “Brooklyn”
- “Room”
- “Red Army”
- “The Wrecking Crew”
- “The Wolfpack”
- “The Salt Of The Earth”
- “An Honest Liar”
- “Song One”
- “Old Fashioned”
- “Like Sunday, Like Rain”
- “Man From Reno”
- “Walking With The Enemy”
- “Me, Earl, & The Dying Girl”
- “99 Homes”
- “Miss You Already”
- “The Letters”
- “Macbeth”
- “Old Fashioned”
- “Do You Believe?”
- “Desert Dancer”
- “Where Hope Grows”
- “Woodlawn”
- “The Letters”
- “Danny Collins”
- “While We’re Young”
- “Good Kill”
- “The Last Five Years”
- “Clouds of Sils Maria”
- “I’ll See You In My Dreams”
- “Suffragette”
- “Accidental Love”
- “Child 44”
- “Barely Lethal”
- “A Little Chaos”
- “Captive”
- “Youth”
- “Don Verdean”
- “Goodnight, Mommy”
Top Honorable Mentions
- “’71”
- “Freetown”
- “True Story”
- “The Stanford Prison Experiment”
- “The Keeping Room”
- “Truth”
- “Trumbo”