Definition November 2024 - Web

BIOPICS OPINION

OUR STRANGE ADDICTION:

WORDS Katie Kasperson

The numbers speak for themselves: biographical films are commercially – and often critically – successful. But what’s left for those who crave something brand new?

A Beautiful Mind . Lincoln . The Wolf of Wall Street . I, Tonya . Each of these films, well-executed or not, paints a portrait of a famous figure who actually existed in history. Otherwise known as biopics, these based-on-a- true-story movies have been on the rise, so much so that it feels like studio execs are simply drawing names from a hat. We – and by we, I mean Hollywood – have a strange addiction to churning out stories about exceptional individuals who often met exceptionally unfortunate ends. We’ve traded in the documentary for a fictionalised version of events that generally either overlooks a person’s flaws altogether (as in Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis ) or cashes in on their suffering (as in Andrew Dominik’s Blonde ). In 2024 so far, we’ve had Back to Black (Amy Winehouse), One Love (Bob Marley) and Shirley (Shirley Chisholm) hit cinemas or streamers, with Maria (Maria Callas) and The Apprentice (Donald Trump) currently enjoying the festival circuit and A Complete Unknown (Bob Dylan) slated for a Christmas release. We’ve also had casting announcements for upcoming projects – such as Harris Dickinson, Paul Mescal, Barry Keoghan and Charlie Rowe

as the four Beatles (for Sam Mendes’ four separate biopics!), Selena Gomez as Linda Ronstadt and Tom Holland as Fred Astaire. What’s the deal with all the biographicals, and why are studios so keen to make them? They perform well at the box office, as preexisting familiarity with the subject matter means less ad spend and better sales. Although Christopher Nolan has opposed calling it such, Oppenheimer is arguably a biopic about ‘the father of the atomic bomb’ and raked in $975.5 million in global earnings, surpassing Bohemian

Rhapsody , which grossed $910.8 million. Other big commercial successes include American Sniper ($547.6m), The Greatest Showman ($435m), The King’s Speech ($472m) and Schindler’s List ($322m). Biopics also do well in awards season. Every film I just listed was nominated for at least one Oscar, with Cillian Murphy and Rami Malek winning best actor for their respective portrayals of J Robert Oppenheimer and Freddie Mercury. Other recent winners include Will Smith as Richard Williams ( King Richard ), Gary Oldman as Winston Churchill ( Darkest Hour ) and Eddie Redmayne as Stephen Hawking ( The Theory of Everything ), plus Renée Zellweger as Judy Garland ( Judy ) and Meryl Streep as Margaret Thatcher ( The Iron Lady ). We’ve seen our fair share of duds, too – not every biopic can have Spielberg or Scorsese at the helm. But no matter the quality, word on the street is audiences are gradually growing bored, not only of biopics but also sequels, prequels, spin-offs and anything else canonical or objectively unoriginal. Yes, they’re an easy sell and often crowd-pleasing, but the film buffs among us are begging for stories yet untold.

CHEERS TO THAT The Wolf of Wall Street was one of the most critically acclaimed biopics of the century, but are there just too many?

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