7 Of The Best Films Set In The 20th Century
We have an immense fascination with the past, so much so that we can’t seem to let it go. With past trends in fashion, music, and film making unexpected comebacks, it seems like the past is always following close behind. With social media and easy access to entertainment, it sometimes feels like multiple past trends are coming back all at once. We’re so used to everything around us that current trends often seem boring, so it’s no surprise that films set in a different time period offer great forms of escapism. Especially when they focus on the glam and nostalgic aesthetics of the time. Of course, you're more likely to get a more realistic portrayal of these decades in films that were made then, but that doesn’t change the fact that we can’t help but cringe at older films. With newer films, we can get all the stylish glory of the past without having to push our way through the dated forms of filmmaking we left behind.
The Great Gatsby
The Gatsby Gatsby brings the novel that immortalised an era to the screen. Over the top and bordering on camp, the film will take you on a breathless trip through the daily lives of the booming 20s' most elite. The inhuman amounts of luxury will likely burn your eyes, and the sudden explosions of choreography might induce a seizure. Nonetheless, the outfits, art deco, and the hustle and bustle will make you dream of a life of luxury during the swinging Jazz Age. As well as being eye-candy for those sensitive to nostalgia, The Great Gatsby stays relatively true to the novel by briefly exploring the flipside of relentless consumerism. Regardless, it can be said that its vibrant style and lack of substance conveys the characters’ inflated values.
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LA Confidential
LA Confidential is a brilliant homage to the film noir genre. Set in 1950s Los Angeles, three detectives investigate multiple homicides, and in doing so uncover a trail foul with corruption that leads to their department. The film has all the best elements of the film noir genre - glamour, gangsters, femme fatales, troubled detectives, and an insane plot twist. It’ll make you want to dress up in a trench coat and fedora, and walk down the dark and smoky streets of downtown LA, contemplating your deepest regrets with a cigarette in your mouth. If you feel like you’d cringe too much watching old, black-and-white detective films but still love the atmosphere, LA Confidential would be the way to go. It’s rich with the film noir atmosphere, but also with character, suspense, and great acting.
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Once Upon A Time In Hollywood
Quentin Tarantino’s latest film will take you on a nostalgia trip through 1960s era Los Angeles. So buckle up, since much of the film features Brad Pitt driving the streets of LA in a Cadillac. Aesthetically, Once Upon A Time In Hollywood is brimming with the swinging fashion, music, and cultures of 60s Americana. By redesigning certain streets of LA, the film crew created a time machine that soaked the story in Old Hollywood glamour. More than that, the film reminisces on the end of Hollywood’s golden age. The film's perspective puts you in the shoes of a washed out actor and his stuntman as they try to survive the changing landscape of Hollywood. Played by Margot Robbie, the film respectfully brings back legendary actress Sharon Tate to mark the peak and fall of the golden era.
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The Nice Guys
With his giant aviators, pornstache, and colourful batwing shirts, Ryan Gosling embodies what could only be seen as cool during the 70s in The Nice Guys. It’s clear that much of the film parodies parts of the 70s, but that only gives its style a funkier twist. As well as being a glitter bomb of 70s aesthetics, Ryan Gosling and Russel Crowe are a hilarious comedic duo as two completely different private detectives working together.
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The Wolf Of Wall Street
Once again, Leonardo DiCaprio leads as a ridiculously wealthy New Yorker of the past. The Wolf Of Wall Street luxuriates in its 80s setting, with big hair, mass consumerism, and copious amounts of cocaine. In fact, the only thing more reoccuring in the film than cocaine is swearing. The film tells the true story of Jordan Belfort, and how he cheated his way up to the top as a Wall Street broker. There’s not a particular abundance of synth music as with other films set in the 80s, but the film offers an entertaining look into the luxurious life of an 80s millionaire.
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I, Tonya
The 80s and 90s are back in style (probably because of Stranger Things), with oversized blazers, shiny leather, and mom-jeans making a comeback in fashion and synth music lighting up mainstream pop. So what would be a better time to enjoy the multi-award-winning I, Tonya? The film tells the true story of the 1994 assault on Nancy Karrigan, offering Tonya Harding's perspective and her troubled upbringing. Although a dark story, I, Tonya doesn’t shy away from having an 80s/early-90s themed blast laced with pitch black comedy, as frizzy bangs, uncomfortable amounts of denim, and a soundtrack smashed with 80s hits will take you back to your favourite decade.
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Lady Bird
Many of the films on this list push their nostalgic style to the brink, but Lady Bird doesn’t play that game, and instead gives a realistic portrayal of the time it's set in. As a story personal to director Greta Gerwig, she wanted the film to resemble a memory to capture growing up in the early 2000s. Insistent on avoiding in-your-face film grain, the cinematographers filmed with an Arri Alexa Mini, a digital camera that produces electronic grain. Slightly saturated and with a subtle resemblance to an old, stained photograph, this technique worked beautifully at conveying a memory without using cliche gimmicks.
