If you are an indie film fan, 2015 has been a great year as there have been some terrific movies from this genre hit the big screen.
Slow West
We are set to be treated to a couple more gems this week as both Mississippi Grind and Paper Planes are released and have been winning over the critics. Mississippi Grind marks the return of Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck to the director's chair, while Robert Connolly is at the helm of Paper Planes.
We take a look back at 2015 and pick out some of the best films that the independent genre has had to offer - and there really have been plenty of wonderful movies to choose from.
- Slow West
Michael Fassbender is one of the best and most in-demand actors working in Hollywood today and he returned to the big screen in the summer with Western Slow West, which saw him star alongside Kodi Smit-McPhee and Ben Mendelsohn.
Fassbender took on the role of Silas Selleck, who guide a young Scottish man across America in pursuit of the woman that he loved. Slow West marked the feature film directorial debut of John Maclean as the filmmaker reunited with Fassbender; the pair had worked together on short films Man on a Motorcycle and Pitch Black Heist.
We don't see a Western on the big screen too often but Slow West really was the best films in this genre that I have seen for some to and it was an impressive debut for Maclean - I really cannot wait to see what he does going forward.
Of course, there are familiar Western elements such as eccentric characters and gunfights and yet MacLean has deliberately slowed the pace and given the film a melancholic undertone - he has also made this familiar elements feel fresh and new. I like the fact that MacLean has put his own stamp on this familiar genre and given us something a little different to what we are expecting.
Slow West is a movie that brutal, raw, and yet with dark humour undertones that work incredibly well. We are use to seeing sweeping landscapes in Westerns and Slow West is no different. It is just a truly beautiful looking movie and the cinematography really does become a character in itself.
Fassbender delivers a wonderful performance - a character that you never 100% trust. This is a role and a genre that truly fits this actor well and he has a wonderful rapport with Smith-McPhee. Slow West is one of the best adventures in the Old America that we have seen for some time and one of best feature film directorial debuts of the year.
- Love Is Strange
I have to admit, I didn't know what to expect when I sat down to watch Love Is Strange back in February, what I got was a touching and poignant love story with John Lithgow and Alfred Molina deliver top notch performances.
Directed by Ira Sachs, - this is this first film since Keep the Lights On - Love Is Strange follows the newly married Ben and George who are forced to live apart while they sell their home and look for a cheaper place to live.
Love Is Strange is a movie about love and devotion and you won't see it depicted more beautifully in any movie this year. While Molina and Lithgow both deliver wonderful performances, Sachs is a director that well and truly understands relationships and knows how to capture them on film.
This is not a movie that is laden with false sentiment, along with Lithgow and Molina, Sachs has captured something that is realistic and true and it really will touch the heart of everyone who watches it.
Love Is Strange is a movie that will make you laugh, make you cry, and truly inspire you as it is one of the best love stories to hit the big screen this year. Forget your fake Hollywood romantic comedies, if you want a romance movie to enjoy, make sure you watch Love Is Strange.
Love Is Strange premiered at the Sundance Film Festival back in 2014 and while it did win over the critics, it did deserve to be a much bigger hit than it was.
- Ex Machina
It was back in January when Ex Machina hit the big screen and it was tipped as one of the early 'must-see' films of 2015... needless to say, it did not disappoint and has been one of the best science fiction films of the year.
Ex Machina was another cracking directorial debut as Alex Garland made the leap into filmmaking for the first time; he was best known for penning the screenplays for the likes of Sunshine, Never Let Me Go, and Dredd.
Ex Machina is an incredibly thought-provoking film that will leave you with many questions and ideas when the credits roll. From start to finish, Ex Machina is a smart movie that never underestimates the intelligence of the audience and yet, Garland does not forget to entertain at the same time.
Oscar Isaac, Domhnall Gleeson, and Alicia Vikander all deliver wonderful performances and the conversations back and forth between the two humans and their creation is truly hypnotic.
Not only is Ex Machina an intelligent movie that is also a wonderful thriller, it is a stunning looking movie. The special effects are truly top draw and they give this film a slick and polished feel - it also shows that you don't need a $100 million budget to achieve this great look as Ex Machina was made for a rather modest $15 million.
I think that Garland has a very exciting directing career ahead of him and I hope he sticks with these intelligent themes and ideas as he moves forward.
- Me and Earl and the Dying Girl
Me and Earl and the Dying Girl has been whipping up on a storm on the festival circuit ever since it premiered at the Sundance Film Festival at the beginning of the year. It was one of the September movies that I was looking forward to the most and it didn't fail to totally charm.
Me and Earl and the Dying Girl is an adaptation of the book of the same name by Jesse Andrews and saw Alfonso Gomez-Rejon return to the director's chair for the first time since his feature debut The Town That Dreaded Sundown.
Starring Thomas Mann and Olivia Cooke in the central roles of Greig and Rachel, the movie follows Greig, an awkward high school senior whose mom forces him to spend time with Rachel, who has just been diagnosed with cancer.
What I love about Me and Earl and the Dying Girl is that this is not your typical and average teen/high school movie. Director Alfonso Gomez-Rejon has delivered a movie that has something to say about loss and, at times, that message is incredibly powerful and poignant.
It is this main theme of loss and that of unconventional friendship that really does set it apart from any other movie in this genre so far this year. However, this is not a movie that is all doom and gloom - far from it - Me and Earl and the Dying Girl is a movie that is charming and funny and there's something about it that is just so full of life.
The central performances from Mann and Cooke will warm your heart and break it at the same time as they find that perfect balance between charm, humour, and totally moving - the duo really does have a bright future ahead of them.
- 45 Years
Another movie that had critics raving on the festival circuit was 45 Years, which sees Charlotte Rampling team up with Tom Courtenay. The movie is based on the short story In Another Country by David Constantine and saw Andrew Haigh return to the director's chair for the first time since Weekend.
Kate and Geoff Mercer have been married for forty five years and are about to celebrate their anniversary with a party. A week before their anniversary a letter arrives for Geoff informing him that the body of his first love has been discovered, frozen in the Swiss Alps. Will there be a marriage left to celebrate when their anniversary arrives?
Rampling and Courtenay are two of the finest actors and they both deliver stunning performances in 45 Years. They have already won the Silver Bear for Best Actress and Best Actor and they could find themselves in the Oscar mix come the beginning of next year.
The both deliver very moving performances and tragic performances as their forty five year marriage starts to unravel. Courtenay plays a man who becomes haunted by the past and a love that he lost many years ago. He retreats from the present and tries to go back and relive the times that he had with this first love. Would this man's life have been totally different had this tragedy not occurred?
I have always been a huge fan of Rampling and she gives a towering performance as Geoff's husband Kate. At first, Kate tries to be a support for Geoff as he is given this shocking news. However, support soon turns to jealousy of a long-dead love rival and doubt about their marriage and relationship soon start to creep in.
45 Years is a wonderful character study of not only two people, but it is also a nuanced story about marriage. This is also a ghost story and we can become haunted by the past and choices that we made.
- Mr Holmes
I am a huge fan of Ian McKellen and he took on the role of Sherlock Holmes earlier this year in Mr Holmes, which explore the super sleuth in a way that we had never seen him before. Mr Holmes was one of the summer movies that I was looking forward to as McKellen reunited with director Bill Condon.
Now and old man, Sherlock Holmes is trying to recall events of thirty years ago and his final and unsolved case... the cast that led to his retirement.
Mr Holmes is a wonderful new take on the character that we all know so well and McKellen is wonderful in the role - he was really born to take on this part.
Mr Holmes is touching and intimate look at the famous detective. McKellen plays a reflective Holmes and a Holmes that has regrets - this leads to the movie being so much more emotional than any other that contains this iconic character.
McKellen just bring a gravitas, a depth, and many layers to this character, as well as making him more human than ever before. We see Holmes as nothing more than just a man, where time has caught up him just like it does with everyone else.
There are great supporting performances from the likes of Milo Parker and Laura Linney, but Mr Holmes is a movie that well and truly belongs to McKellen. Earlier in the year there was a lot of talk about McKellen being in the Best Actor Oscar mix for his work and I really hope that he is not forgotten when the nominations are announced.
Mississippi Grind & Paper Planes are out now.
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