There are times in life, whether it’s when you inch towards losing the ‘teen’ at the end of your age, or when your final year of university starts to creep in on you, where you begin to feel presented with the question, “What am I doing with my life?”
And it’s a natural and normal part of life to figure it out. There is a plethora of things one must mull over and navigate, whether it’s starting a career, writing a final essay, first loves, or first heartbreaks. Everyone’s going through it, but sometimes, we don’t talk about it enough. We question ourselves, look for words of encouragement but find none, and long to feel heard or seen. Sometimes it feels too late for us to have just started thinking about what to do. We’re afraid to admit it.
That’s where the art of film comes in. Whether it’s the intentional writing of a script, the cinematography, or even something as subtle as an actor’s expression, a film can feel like a glimpse into your own life, creating a sense of comfort and vulnerability. If you feel as such, here are five films for when you don’t know what you’re doing in life to remind you that you’re not alone— that it’s never too late to do what you want, when you want and how you want.
- About Time
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After 21-year-old Tim finds out that the men in his family can travel back and forth through time, he begins his journey through the trials and joys of life, with the option to do it all over again — regretting choices, fixing mistakes, and finding out what it means to live every day. About Time, that will teach you the meaning of taking life ‘one day at a time.’ By watching this film, you’ll learn to accept the imperfections of life, whether that be rain on your wedding day or having to feel the pain of life.
From his beautiful relationship with Mary, his bond with his father, and the mistakes and lessons learned, Tim begins to piece together how life is meant to be lived and what it takes to experience it.
- Good Will Hunting
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Good Will Hunting was written by best friends and Academy Award-winning actors Matt Damon and Ben Affleck. What started as a screenplay for a Harvard class became one of the most profound, moving, and touching films ever made.
Will Hunting, played by Damon, is a genius who works as a janitor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. When a professor discovers his talents, Will’s choices in where he could be in life expand. At the same time, he is sent to speak to a therapist, Sean Maguire, played by none other than the talented, moving actor Robin Williams. Damon and Williams’s scenes together make for a dynamic that will break and heal you at the same time.
This film, with its witty, moving dialogue, teaches you about life, love, trauma and letting go of your past to move forward to the future. There aren’t many movies that will pierce your head and your heart as much as this one does. It forces you to look at the barriers you may have in your life, the choices you can make, and why you make them.
- Lady Bird
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A film that opens with a young girl with pink hair who jumps out of a moving car after her mom calls her unrealistic and ungrateful, is a film that will linger far after it is finished. Lady Bird follows the turbulent and confusing life of Christine McPherson (played by Saoirse Ronan), who has changed her name to Lady Bird. She longs to attend college, make something of herself, and leave what she believes is the suffocating place of Sacramento.
Lady Bird addresses the wild, untameable urge to do more, the bonds we make and can break, and the beauty of rediscovering oneself.
- Treasure Planet
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This animated film is the definition of a hidden treasure. Released in 2002, when Disney was moving away from 2D animation, Treasure Planet became less acclaimed than other Disney films. However, it is a movie that will shake you to your core, make you laugh and cry, and show you the beauty of second chances.
Treasure Planet, a retelling of Robert Louis Stevenson’s classic novel Treasure Island, follows Jim Hawkins, a boy deemed a misfit and an outsider. When he is given a map that leads to the planet he was told about in storybooks, Jim embarks on an intergalactic journey where he discovers what he is made of and what one can achieve when he reaches for the stars.
- Cha Cha Real Smooth
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The charm of Cooper Raiff is palpable in this film about a 22-year-old who starts hosting parties where he meets a young mother and her autistic daughter. There’s too much to say about Cha Cha Real Smooth, despite its simplicity in its creation; love, heartbreak, not knowing who you are but finding out through difficult ways, deciding to stick to something and not knowing exactly what you’re doing but doing it anyway. Raiff’s performance is charming and bold, sad and real. He encompasses what it is to be 20 and unsure of what life will do to you.