4 Best Movies to Watch by Emily Mitchell

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1. Women Talking, 2022

Not much happens in Women Talking, but what it lacks in action it more than makes up for in message. As the wronged women of an insular Christian colony decide whether they should leave or stay in their community, valuable points on each side are raised and debated fiercely. Are the men at fault or is there a bigger problem at hand? Is it sacrilegious to refuse forgiveness? Will leaving really solve anything?

The women of this ultraconservative and anti-modern community may not know how to read or write, but years of toiling away on land, family, and faith have made them wise beyond their years, which makes their discussion all the more captivating and powerful. Relevant themes, coupled with director Sarah Polley’s poetic shots and the cast’s all-around stellar performances, make Women Talking a uniquely compelling and timeless watch.

Genre: Crime, Drama

Actor: August Winter, Ben Whishaw, Caroline Gillis, Claire Foy, Eli Ham, Emily Mitchell, Frances McDormand, Jessie Buckley, Judith Ivey, Kate Hallett, Kira Guloien, Liv McNeil, Lochlan Ray Miller, Marcus Craig, Michelle McLeod, Nathaniel McParland, Rooney Mara, Shannon Widdis, Shayla Brown, Sheila McCarthy, Vivien Endicott Douglas, Will Bowes

Director: Sarah Polley

Rating: PG-13

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2. Priscilla, 2023

	
There are a striking number of similarities between Priscilla and director Sofia Coppola’s earlier offering, Marie Antoinette: both revolve around 14-year-old girls hand-picked to be partners to more powerful men in long-unconsummated relationships, and both girls are emotionally cut adrift and forced to live in gilded cages. But where Coppola’s Barbie-pink historical biopic is punkily anachronistic and riotous, Priscilla is a far more muted affair. There are no wild parties at Graceland as there were at Versailles; instead, Priscilla’s emotional isolation, thousands of miles away from her family, is made disconcertingly clear in shots of the infatuated teenager (played by Cailee Spaeny) anxiously ruminating alone in endless lavish rooms while the decade-older King (Jacob Elordi) plays away. Elvis’ emotional manipulation of Priscilla is conveyed subtly but inescapably — and the full sickening, insidious effect comes to the fore thanks to Spaeny’s astonishing performance. Based on Priscilla Presley’s own memoir, this is a bubble-bursting biopic, and it’s so compelling and painfully immersive that we never feel, even for a moment, like we’re watching the B side — instead, Spaeny and Coppola convincingly assert that this was the real story all along.Genre: Drama, Romance
Actor: Alanis Peart, Ari Cohen, Cailee Spaeny, Conni Miu, Dagmara Domińczyk, Dan Abramovici, Dan Beirne, Deanna Jarvis, E. Fegan DeCordova, Emily Mitchell, Gwynne Phillips, Jacob Elordi, Jorja Cadence, Josette Halpert, Kamilla Kowal, Kelaiah Guiel, Kelly Penner, Luke Humphrey, Lynne Griffin, Mary Kelly, Olivia Barrett, R Austin Ball, Rodrigo Fernandez-Stoll, Sarah Dodd, Stephanie Moore, Stephanie Moran, Tim Dowler-Coltman, Tim Post
Director:  Sofia Coppola
Rating: R

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3. The Apprentice, 2024

	
The Apprentice is as much about Roy Cohn as it is about the titular mentee, a very green Donald Trump. It’s Cohn who teaches Trump the dirty tricks and the power moves, and it’s he who instills in him his everlasting entitlement. It’s also Cohn who arguably steals the show. As expected, Strong disappears into his character and is at once terrifying and pathetic, but always arresting. Stan is less effective as Trump, but his more subtle turn as the real estate mogul still works, especially when set against Cohn’s more hardened and vulnerable persona. The film is powered by these two; without them, it moves like any old tale about greed, power, and betrayal. It doesn’t shy away from Trump’s known grotesqueries, but it also could’ve benefited from leaning into them more, a la Wolf of Wall Street. As it stands, The Apprentice is familiar fare elevated by the engaging performances of two of Hollywood’s best-working character actors.Genre: Drama, History
Actor: Ben Sullivan, Catherine McNally, Charlie Carrick, Chloe Madison, Clare Coulter, Craig Burnatowski, Duane Keogh, Edie Inksetter, Emily Mitchell, Emma Elle Paterson, Frank Moore, Ian D. Clark, James Downing, Jason Blicker, Jeremy Strong, Joe Pingue, Maria Bakalova, Mark Rendall, Martin Donovan, Michael Gordin Shore, Mishka Thébaud, Moni Ogunsuyi, Patch Darragh, Randy Thomas, Richard Nixon, Ron Lea, Ronald Reagan, Russell Yuen, Samantha Espie, Sebastian Stan, Stuart Hughes, Tom Barnett
Director: Ali Abbasi
Rating: R

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4. Ordinary Angels, 2024

	
You’d need to have a lot of trust in people and in movies to like this one. Ordinary Angels is the true story of how a community came together to help a five-year-old in need of a liver at a time when her father was barely making ends meet, having just recently lost his wife to cancer. The film benefits from restraint; it’s not overly sentimental, despite its tragic premise, and has a great and grounded pair of leads in Swank and Ritchson. It’s old-fashioned too and recalls the Oscar-bait sort of films that used to fly in the ‘90s and early aughts—Swank herself is dressed like Julia Roberts in Erin Brockovich. The only drawbacks of the film, really, are its unexplained motivations. Why is Sharon sacrificing so much time, energy, and money for this family? The film trusts that, because they happened in real life, her efforts need no expounding. But that leaves us feeling confused. There are also religious (Christian) references that might feel too heavy-handed for some viewers. But otherwise, the film is inspiring if occasionally cloying.Genre: Drama
Actor: Alan Ritchson, Amy Acker, Darcy Fehr, David Brown, Dempsey Bryk, Drew Powell, Emily Mitchell, Erik Athavale, Gabriel Daniels, Hilary Swank, Nancy Sorel, Nancy Travis, Ryan Allen, Skywalker Hughes, Stephanie Sy, Tamala Jones
Director: Jon Gunn
Rating: PG

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