Top 8 Must See Movies At BFI London Film Festival 2015

by Helen Earnshaw | 21 September 2015

The BFI London Film Festival is one of the most prestigious and there's just over a fortnight to go until some of the biggest acting and directing talent swing into town.

Suffragette

Once again, the festival has brought together an exciting and eclectic mix of movies; some feature big Hollywood superstars, while other celebrate the directorial debuts of emerging talents.

We take a look at some of the London Film festival movies that we are most excited about and that you cannot afford to miss. Which moves are you looking forward to the most?

- Suffragette

Suffragette is set to be one of the British movies not to miss this autumn and it will have the honour of opening the 2015 BFI London Film Festival. Suffragette is a movie that has been talked about all year and is already being tipped as a possible awards contender.

Suffragette sees Sarah Gavron back in the director's chair for what will be her third time at the festival. We last saw Gavron at the helm with documentary Village at the End of the World but this will be her first live action film since she made her debut with Brick Lane back in 2007.

We are going to see a whole host of movies boasting impressive cast lists during the festival, and Suffragette is just one of them. Carey Mulligan is set to lead the cast as a Suffragette footsoldier, while Helen Bonham Carter and Meryl Streep star as Edith Ellyn and Emmeline Pankhurst. The trio are joined on the cast list by Ben Whishaw, Brendan Gleeson, Romola Garai, Anne-Marie Duff and Samuel West.

This is an impressive line-up that has been brought together to tell and important story... the rise of the Suffragettes and their fight for the right to vote. Follow these largely working women who had seen peaceful protest achieve nothing. Radicalised and turning to violence as the only route to change, they were willing to lose everything in their fight for equality - their jobs, their homes, their children and their lives.

Suffragette is not only one of the must see films of the festival, but it is also one of the must see movies of the year. It is already surrounded in rather loud Oscar talk and is set to get this festival off with a mighty bang. Suffragette is released on 12th October in the UK.

- High-Rise

Ben Wheatley has brought us movies such as Kill List and Sightseers during his career and now he is back with his latest film High-Rise.

High-Rise is set to screen as part of the Gala section of the festival and is an adaptation of the novel by J.G. Ballard. Amy Jump, who has worked with Wheatley on Kill List, Sightseers, and A Field In England, has adapted the book into a screenplay.

We haven't seen much of Tom Hiddleston on the big screen so far this year, but High-Rise is set to be one of the projects that we are going to see him in. The actor will take on the central role of Dr Robert Laing and is joined on the cast list by Jeremy Irons, Sienna Miller, Luke Evans, Elisabeth Moss, and James Purefoy.

1975. Two miles west of London, Dr. Laing moves into his new apartment seeking soulless anonymity, only to find that the building's residents have no intention of leaving him alone. Resigned to the complex social dynamics unfolding around him, Laing bites the bullet and becomes neighbourly.

As he struggles to establish his position, Laing's good manners and sanity disintegrate along with the building. The lights go out and the elevators fail but the party goes on. People are the problem. Booze is the currency. Sex is the panacea.

High-Rise is being screen at a few different festivals this autumn but there is still no official UK release date - fingers crossed it will be this side of Christmas.

- Brooklyn

Brooklyn is a movie that has been whipping up a storm all year and could be another to watch out for as the awards season gets underway.

Brooklyn is an adaptation of the novel of the same name by Colm Toibin and has been adapted for the big screen by Nick Hornby. This is the first screenplay for Hornby since the success of Wild earlier this year.

Brooklyn is set to be the fifth feature film for director John Crowley and is his first movie since Closed Circuit back in 2013 - I was a huge fan of his earlier film Is Anybody There? It is great to see him back at the helm and making a splash with a new film.

Saoirse Ronan is set to take on the central role of Eillis Lacey as she continues to show off her versatility as an actress. She leads a great cast as Domhnall Gleeson, Michael Zegen, Emory Cohen, Julie Walters, and Jim Broadbent are just some of the great names that are on board.

Set in the early 1950s, Brooklyn is the story of a young woman, Eilis (Ronan) who moves from small town Ireland to Brooklyn, NY where, unlike home, she has the opportunity for work and for a future - and love, in the shape of Italian-American Tony (Cohen).

When a family tragedy brings her back to Ireland, she finds herself absorbed into her old community, but now with eligible Jim (Gleeson) courting her. As she repeatedly postpones her return to America, Eilis finds herself confronting a terrible dilemma - a heart-breaking choice between two men and two countries.

Brooklyn premiered at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year and has had the critics raving ever since it debuted. Many tip the movie to be in the mix for the Best Picture Oscar come the start of next year. The movie will be released into UK cinemas at the beginning of November.

- Beasts of No Nation

Beasts of No Nation is a movie that has already screened at film festivals in Venice and Toronto and now, it is set to screen as part of the Official Competition part of the BFI London Film Festival.

Beasts of No Nation is the latest film project from Netflix and is set to be released on the channel in October. The movie marks the return of Cary Fukunaga to the director's chair and is an adaptation of the novel of the same name by Uzodinma Iweala.

Beasts of No Nation brings to life the gripping tale of Agu, a child soldier torn from his family to fight in the civil war of an African country. Newcomer Abraham Attah gives a stunning portrayal of Agu, while Elba dominates the screen in the role of Commandant, a warlord who takes in Agu and instructs him in the ways of war.

Elba's performance is already winning over the critics and I cannot wait to see the British actor in action in what is another gritty role. Elba has seen his star rocket in the last couple of years and he has tackled a wide range of different roles and characters in that time.

The Official Competition category is a tough one this year but Beasts of No Nation is one of the most high-profile films in that section of the festival this year.

- The Witch

The Witch is one of the films on everyone's lips since it screened at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year. The movie is already being tipped as a 'must see' horror film and the trailer - which was released last month - really does send a shiver down your spine.

The Witch sees Robert Eggers make his feature film directorial debut and the film will screen in the First Feature Competition section of the festival. As well as being in the director's chair, Eggers has also penned the screenplay.

Anya Taylor-Joy is set to take on the central role of Thomasin in what is the biggest film role of her career to date. The actress is best known for her role as Cassandra in TV series Atlantis and she is definitely a talent to watch out for over the next few years. Taylor-Joy is joined on the cast list by Ralph Ineson, Kate Dickie, Harvey Scrimshaw, Lucas Dawson, Ellie Grainger, and Julian Richings.

The Witch follows a Christian family in 1930s New England, who struggle to survive on the edge of the wilderness in a remote cabin. The family were kicked out of a plantation due to William's outspoken views on the lack of religious principles in the settlement. When one of their five children goes missing and their plants fail, paranoia sets in and the family begin turning on one another. The deterioration of the family unit allows evil to creep in and start to destroy them.

The horror genre has been a bit lacking over the last couple of years, but The Witch really looks set to be the movie that could well change all of that. I have to admit, the horror genre is not one of my favourites but The Witch is one of the films that I am looking forward to. However, it looks like we are going to have to wait until next year before the film hits the big screen.

- Green Room

Jeremy Saulnier was behind one of the most talked about movies of 2014 when he wrote and directed crime thriller Blue Ruin... he is set to make his highly anticipated return with Green Room. Once again, Saulnier is on directing and writing duties and I cannot wait to see what he delivers this time around.

The horror/thriller will follow a young punk rock band who find themselves trapped in a secluded venue after stumbling on a horrific act or violence.

Macon Blair - who starred in Blue Ruin - has teamed up with Saulnier once again, while Patrick Stewart, Imogen Poots, Alia Shawkat, Anton Yelchin, Mark Webber, and Joe Cole are all also on the cast list.

Green Room screened as part of the Directors' Fortnight at the Cannes Film Festival and will now be part of the Cult section during the London Film Festival. The early reviews for Green Room are incredibly promising and it looks like Saulnier has delivered another tense and unmissable drama.

Saulnier is definitely a director to keep an eye on over the next couple of years as he is a filmmaker who is well and truly on the up. Green Room is one of the London Film Festival movies that I am looking forward to the most.

- Grandma

Grandma is another film that lit up the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year and now it is set to play as part of the Laugh section of the festival in London.

Grandma marks the return of Paul Weitz to directing and writing duties, while it is the first lead role for actress Lily Tomlin in twenty seven years. However, Tomlin did work with Weitz on his 2013 film Admission.

It is great to see Tomlin back in a major central role - she plays Elle Reid in the film - and her performance has already been winning over the critics so far this year. Tomlin is joined on the cast list by Julia Garner, Marcia Gay Harden, Judy Greer, Laverne Cox, and Sam Elliott.

Tomlin stars as Elle who has just gotten through breaking up with her girlfriend when Elle's granddaughter Sage unexpectedly shows up needing $600 bucks before sundown. Temporarily broke, Grandma Elle and Sage spend the day trying to get their hands on the cash as their unannounced visits to old friends and flames end up rattling skeletons and digging up secrets.

We have already been treated to one or two road movies so far this year, but Grandma really is promising to be one that's not to be missed. The movie will be hitting the big screen here in the UK in December.

- Steve Jobs

We already know that Michael Fassbender is one of the most talented actors working at the moment and he has two films that could put him in the Oscar mix next year... one of them is new biopic Steve Jobs.

Steve Jobs sees Fassbender take on the central role as he teams up with director Danny Boyle for the first time. Aaron Sorkin is also on board having penned the screenplay.

Kate Winslet is on board as Joanna Hoffman, former marketing chief of Macintosh. Steve Wozniak, who co-founded Apple, is played by Seth Rogen, and Jeff Daniels stars as former Apple CEO John Sculley. Katherine Waterston, Michael Stuhlbarg, Sarah Snook, and John Ortiz complete the line-up. It really is one of the best cast lists of the autumn.

Set backstage at three iconic product launches and ending in 1998 with the unveiling of the iMac, Steve Jobs takes us behind the scenes of the digital revolution to paint an intimate portrait of the brilliant man at its epicenter.

Steve Jobs will be the movie that will close the BFI London Film Festival as it receives its European Premiere. This will also be the third Danny Boyle movie to have the honour of closing the festival... following in the footsteps of Slumdog Millionaire and 127 Hours.