Telling a story is always a challenge, but trying to tell someone else's life story presents a different task altogether. This is what makes biopics a great genre of movies: they allow you to step into the shoes of someone you've never even met and see how they lived their life.
With the release of the new Michael Jackson biopic this week, titled "Michael," and the recent news surrounding the four Beatles biopics in production, it is now the perfect time to recommend some great biopic movies.
Oppenheimer
The most recent Christopher Nolan movie came out in 2023. This movie focuses on the story of J. Robert Oppenheimer, played by Cillian Murphy, the man who led the creation of the atomic bomb. The movie explores how developing the most dangerous weapon in the world affects the world and Oppenheimer himself.
The movie was beloved by critics and took home many awards, including the Academy Awards for Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor, Best Director and more.
Oppenheimer excels because of the brilliant acting of Cillian Murphy. He does a phenomenal job of showing the anxiety and guilt Oppenheimer is racked with throughout the movie. Oppenheimer's visuals are beautiful and epic, and when combined with Ludwig Göransson's original score, create a true feeling of power.
It trended online because of it releasing the same day as Barbie, which caused the phenomenon of Barbenheimer. The trend led to Oppenheimer becoming the highest-grossing original movie in Christopher Nolan's catalogue, grossing $975 million at the box office.
Bohemian Rhapsody
This biopic displays the life of the music icon Freddie Mercury and the creation of Queen. Rami Malek took home the Oscar for Best Actor with his performance of Freddie Mercury.
The movie explores how the band began and then exploded into popularity. Freddy is discovering his sexuality, and tensions in the band are growing. This causes Freddie to split from the band, but he ultimately reunites with them to do their famous Live Aid performance.
The music is handled especially well, with the work being split between Rami Malek, vocals from queen songs and Marc Martel. While it may not be the most accurate movie about Queen, it is able to portray how important they are to the world.
Malcolm X
In 1992, Spike Lee and Denzel Washington took on the challenge of turning Malcolm X’s life into a movie. They based their movie on "The Autobiography of Malcolm X" by Alex Haley.
In the over three-hour runtime, the plot covers important moments in the life of Malcolm X. Going from his imprisonment, to converting to Islam, his marriage to Betty X and his assassination.
The movie connects Malcolm X’s life to contemporary problems that are still prevalent in the world. It portrays the evolution of Malcom X’s beliefs over the span of his life from a criminal to a devoted Muslim, and how those experiences shaped his beliefs on civil rights and racial unity.
The Wolf of Wall Street
This Martin Scorsese film dramatizes the life of Jordan Belfort as he goes from a lowly stockbroker to starting his own business, Stratton Oakmont. Leonardo DiCaprio masterfully shows how greed changes Jordan Belfort as his success leads him to live a life of excess. This life leads to the FBI investigating Stratton Oakmont for fraud and Jordan Belfort becoming one of the most famous financial criminals.
The Wolf of Wall Street is an absolute wild ride with some of the funniest scenes in any Scorsese film. The comedy is highlighted by how the movie is still able to address its serious topics of fraud and substance abuse via the downfall of Belfort.
The film was controversial upon release due to its heavy use of profanity, drugs, and explicit content. Even with this controversy, it received critical acclaim and grossed over $400 million in the box office.
Moneyball
Based on the book "Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game," the movie depicts how Billy Beane turned the Oakland Athletics around while popularizing sabermetrics. After the Athletics lose some of their best players to wealthier teams, Beane is forced to reassemble his team on a tiny budget.
Beane felt scorned by traditional baseball methods after his own playing career didn’t pan out. This leads him to accept the teachings of sabermetrics and acquire players abandoned by other teams.
Moneyball was a box office success and received multiple Academy Award nominations. Though it was criticized for leaving out major parts of the 2002 Athletics story, such as MVP winner Miguel Tejada and Cy Young Award winner Barry Zito.
A Complete Unknown
Starring Timothée Chalamet as the legendary singer and songwriter Bob Dylan, this film shows the journey his career took. Starting with his arrival in New York City as an unknown talent trying to meet his Idol, Woody Guthrie.
Over the course of the movie, we see him evolve as a musician from local folk scene standout to the voice of a folk movement. This leads to him receiving heavy backlash as he switches to playing electrical guitar, as fans believe he is betraying the movement.
The film does a wonderful job of displaying how the personal tensions in Dylan’s life interweave with his issues with the world and the folk scene. It also shows how Dylan feels like he isn’t truly free as an artist to do what he wants.