Looking for some drama? (The good kind, obviously)
If you find yourself at a loose end and you're looking for a decent drama to watch, Amazon Prime Video has a decent selection of both classics and more recent fare.
Here's a selection of movies we'd recommend if you're in the mood for something a little bit dramatic...
'Whiplash'
JK Simmons rightfully won Best Supporting Actor for his role as the tyrannical and maniacal jazz teacher, but credit where it's due, Miles Teller manages to hold his own against him and gives a very nuanced performance. Damien Chazelle really drives at what pushes someone beyond, and where it comes from, and the music is - as you'd expect - pitch perfect. If you still haven't watched 'Whiplash', this is your chance. Get on it.
'The Social Network'
Odds are you probably came to this article via Facebook, and David Fincher's slick drama that covers its early days and the backroom machinations that made it into what it was hasn't lost any of its lustre. If anything, 'The Social Network' has only become more relevant as the years go on, with Jason Eisenberg's detached portrayal of Zuckerberg going some way to understanding how distanced he is from humanity itself.
'The Place Beyond The Pines'
Although this was released around the same time as 'Drive' and got lost in that mid-aughts wave of stylish crime movies, 'The Place Beyond The Pines' is much closer to a family drama. Ryan Gosling plays a stunt bike racer who moonlights as a bank robber and hopes to provide for his child in whatever way he can. Bradley Cooper plays an ambitious local police officer who crosses paths with him, while Emile Hirsch plays Gosling's grown-up son who struggles to reconnect with his father years later. While it may veer into soapy sentimentality, it's still an affecting drama and one of Gosling's best performances.
'The Journey'
Colm Meaney and Timothy Spall play Martin McGuinness and Ian Paisley in this fictionalised story about how the two leaders came to set aside their differences over the course of a car journey. Both Meaney and Spall could have easily allowed their portrayals to descend into parody, but there's a real sense of commitment by both of them that gets this over any initial scepticism. Not only that, the script by Colin Bateman blends together both the real-life drama of the Northern Ireland Peace Process and the human connection between what would grow to become two unlikely friends.
'Captain Fantastic'
Viggo Mortensen leads this ensemble family drama about an eccentric father who leads his children on a journey back to "civilisation" after keeping them isolated for a number of years. Mortensen and his band of child actors - including upcomers like George Mackay and Annalise Basso - guide the story through to its heartwrenching conclusion with grace and charm. That Mortensen was nominated for numerous awards, including Best Actor at the Oscars, should come as no surprise after watching this.
'The Truman Show'
Though Jim Carrey was primarily known for outsized comedies like 'The Mask', 'Dumb & Dumber' and 'Ace Ventura' during the '90s, his crowning achievement of the decade is undoubtedly 'The Truman Show'. If ever there was a movie that was prescient then and continues to be so now, it's this. Delving into themes as wildly disparate as capitalism, philosophy, reality television, and all of it anchored with Carrey giving it his all, 'The Truman Show' is a deeply felt story about fear, life, reality, fantasy, and television.
'Awakenings'
Like Jim Carrey, Robin Williams made a number of forays into dramatic roles throughout his comedic zenith. 'Awakenings', which paired him with Robert DeNiro, is one of his best. Williams plays a kindly neurologist who works with catatonic patients in a New York hospital in the late '60s, hoping that a new treatment can help alleviate their condition. Robert DeNiro's character, who has been catatonic for a number of decades, comes back to life and begins to chafe against not only the hospital, but his body's limitations. Penny Marshall's direction gives it a gentle grace, and you can't help but be taken by how uplifting it all is.
'Foxcatcher'
From something sweet and soulful to something dark and sinister, 'Foxcatcher' is a grim thriller-drama about obsession and control. Based on the true story of John du Pont and Team Foxcatcher, a barely recognisable Steve Carrell plays the disturbed billionaire du Pont, while Channing Tatum's hulking presence belies a performance that is vulnerable and diminished. Bennett Miller, who previously directed 'Moneyball', captures the bleakness and the manipulation of the situation, not to mention giving space to the performers to explore it all too.