Thursday Movie Picks: Characters Making a New Start

At some point in our life, we all wish to make a new, fresh start. Maybe it's something as silly as a new year resolution, or something more serious, but I do know for sure that it's never easy. In movies, however, is a whole different story. It is so much easier, right? They decide to do something and accomplish that. Well, not always. Anyway, that's the theme for this week's Thursday Movie Picks, the weekly series hosted by Wandering Through the Shelves, and without further ado, here are my picks

Bridget Jones's Diary (2001)

This is a bit more on the silly side and it follows a 32-year-old woman, Bridget Jones (Renée Zellweger), who is determined to improve herself aka stop drinking smoking, losing weight and find Mr. Right. And of course none of the three will be easy to achieve, especially the latter as Bridget is torn between her charming, womanizer boss Daniel (Hugh Grant), and the rude and arrogant Mark (Colin Firth). It's a corny and clichéd click flick but Renée Zellweger makes it so funny and enjoyable. And I'm team Mark, just in case you're wondering.

Ingrid Goes West (2017)

Ingrid (Aubrey Plaza) has a mental breakdown when she finds that an unrequited friend of hers didn't invite her to her wedding. Released from the hospital, she learns about Taylor Sloane (Elizabeth Olsen), an Instagram influencer whose life appears to be perfect, and, with the inheritance from her late mother, Ingrid moves to Los Angeles with one goal, befriend Taylor. It doesn't go exactly as Ingrid planned to but I guess that's what happens when you pretend to be someone else. Anyway, this was such a pleasant surprise. It's funny and kinda sad at some point, and it explores our obsession with social media pretty well. 

Martha Marcy May Marlene (2011)

After escaping from a cult, Martha (Elizabeth Olsen) calls her sister (Sarah Paulson) who picks her up and takes her to the lake house where she's staying with her husband (Hugh Dancy). She tries to start over but the cult fucked her up pretty bad and her past haunts her. It's pretty intense and quite disturbing, but it manages to show how hard it is to go back to normality after living in an entirely different world for some time. Olsen's performance is great.