Midas’ Top Films for Self-Isolation

Midas is here to help you get your culture fix whilst self-isolating!

We will be suggesting our favourite culture cures for isolation in a series of blogs – whether it is books, podcasts, TV shows, virtual museum tours and more. Check out the team’s top fiction books, podcasts and virtual museum/art gallery tours for self-isolation.

Easter is nearly here, so we have picked a few of our favourite films to transport you far away from your sofa this bank holiday weekend. Here are our Top Films for Self-Isolation…

Bridget Jones’s Diary (2001)

In my opinion, isolation is not the time for gritty movies about the hardship of war, or deep examinations of the human psyche. What the end of days calls for is copious amounts of wine and at least one makeover montage set to a 90s pop soundtrack. For this reason, the isolation movie of choice surely has to be Bridget Jones’s Diary, the perfect film for those looking to escape into a world where back to back weekday nights out and a flat above Borough Market seem perfectly feasible. Follow Bridget’s journey and remember all the things waiting for you after this is all over: dinners with friends, wandering around London, Craig David as backing music, and an agonising choice between Hugh Grant and Colin Firth. That last one might just be me. – Ben McCluskey, Senior Account Executive

The Upside (2019)

This is a remake of the French film The Intouchables. Based on a true story the movie follows the unexpected friendship between Philip, a Park Avenue billionaire left paralysed following a paragliding accident and convicted felon Dell recently out of prison and in need of employment. They form an unlikely bond when Dell becomes Philip’s carer, bridging their differences and gaining invaluable wisdom in the process, and giving each man a renewed sense of passion and all of life’s possibilities.

It is a feel-good story for our times given that the central character is in his own state of lockdown, only being able to move his head, and speak, after the accident. It’s funny, touching, heart-warming, and very well acted- and very good with a juicy red wine. – Steven Williams, Joint-CEO

Call Me By Your Name (2017)

I love a book-to-film adaption and this is one of my all-time favourites. Call Me By Your Name (based on André Aciman’s novel) is the most gorgeous film for escaping quarantine – it transforms you to the Italian countryside packed with blue skies, idyllic countryside and a thirst for peaches (spoiler). Set in the summer of the early 1980s, Elio (a beautiful Timothée Chalamet speaking Italian, French and English) and his parents host Oliver (a hunky Armie Hammer in very short shorts), an American grad student invited to spend six weeks to help Elio’s dad with research. A love story unfolds between Elio and Oliver and, let’s just say, be well prepared to feel ALL the emotions. The chemistry is irresistible, truly. The film is slow but by no means dull – expect to be blown away by terrific performances (Chalamet was robbed of his Oscar), stunning cinematography and a soundtrack so good, you’ll be searching on Spotify immediately after the credits (Sufjan Stevens’ Mystery of Love and Psychedelic Furs’ Love My Way particular highlights).

Disclaimer, this may start an unhealthy obsession with Timothée Chalamet. Welcome to Chalamania… – Ashley Baugh, Account Director

Far from the Madding Crowd (2015)

Far from the Madding Crowd, Thomas Vinterberg’s 2015 film adaptation of Thomas Hardy’s classic 1874 novel starring Carey Mulligan as the impetuous Bathsheba Everdene and Matthias Schoenaerts as the stoic Gabriel Oak, is my absolute must watch for the weeks of isolation that stretch ahead.

The cinematography is absolutely stunning, all of Hardy’s novels were set in Dorset, and Vinterberg’s film is stuffed full of stunning Dorset vistas, misty dewy mornings, and deep summer sunsets that are a balm to the soul in these trouble times. The film also focuses on the life of farmers and shepherds taking us back to a simpler, bucolic life, a million miles away from 24 hour news and social media addiction. Finally Matthias Schoenaerts portrays the troubled shepherd Gabriel Oak with a quiet stillness, that matches the gentle calm pace of this glorious film.

If being stuck at home is driving you mad, this film will transport you to the great outdoors. – Tory Lyne-Pirkis, Director

Thelma and Louise (1991)

Thelma and Louise is one of my favourite movies of all time. If you’ve ever dreamt of embarking on an American road trip with your best friend, then this is the movie for you! (Minus the murder part, of course.) When two friends, Thelma, a homemaker, and Louise, a waitress, leave for a weekend fishing trip, a man they meet at a bar tries to rape Thelma until Louise shoots him dead. Watch as two ordinary women become clumsy, amateurish outlaws in a chaotic, intense and hilarious adventure across America to escape the scene of the crime. The movie also stars Brad Pitt as a minor character in one of his first major film roles. – Amber Choudhary, Account Executive

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