A24 and it’s Love for Chaos and Stress

A24 is an indie film and television studio based in New York City. This is the studio behind acclaimed projects such as Uncut Gems, Good Time, Moonlight, and Euphoria. A24 has always stood out in two genres, those being crime drama and psychological thriller. Examples of those being The Lighthouse, Ex Machina, Springbreakers, and the aforementioned film, Good Time. I always commend A24 and its willingness to try something different when it comes to filmmaking. Every project brings something new to the table in its own respective way.

When looking at a film in one of these genres it’s easy to get sucked into the story. I think it’s safe to say that A24 makes experiences. We’re going to be looking at two films from each genre. Those being Good Time and The Lighthouse.

Good Time, a crime drama, is directed by Safdie brothers. It stars Robert Pattinson and Ronald Bronstein as brothers. They try to rob a bank but when their plan takes a turn for the worse, the following night leaves Pattinson’s “Connie” trying to correct his mistakes. Good Time takes place in a single night. This gives the film an overwhelming and desperate feeling. The Safdie brothers do a good job of this by making the film’s events flow naturally. As the film progresses Connie gets more desperate to get himself out of the trouble he's caused. The film gets stressful as he takes more drastic measures to ensure that everything will be okay. He lies, steals, beats people up, and cheats his way throughout the night. Good Time is currently on Netflix and it is a good movie. It will keep you on the edge of your seat and wondering what happens next.

Next, we’re looking at The Lighthouse directed by Robert Eggers. Its stars Willem Dafoe and Robert Pattinson...again. The Lighthouse is great at conveying chaos. It’s about two lighthouse keepers who start to lose their sanity when a storm strands them on the island that they are stationed on. As the lighthouse keepers start to lose their minds the film takes a dark turn. This is apparent when our characters have hallucinations. The film uses very abstract visuals during these sequences which can be very intense. When it becomes harder to distinguish between what’s real and what isn’t, this is when it starts to feel chaotic. Our characters are on edge, paranoid, and on the brink of killing each other. The director, Robert Eggers, always has a way of slowly building tension that leads to a dramatic and often chilling payoff.