3 Films That Shaped Who I Am

Films and TV shows can play such a huge part in our lives. They’re designed to play on our emotions and make us invested in the characters. As teenagers, I think we’re particularly susceptible to this so I wanted to talk about three movies that shaped who I am in some way or another.

American Beauty

American beauty is my favourite film of all time. I can’t exactly explain why, it’s just the first film, and one of very few since, that made me feel the feels in a certain way. The cinematography is so on point, I think rewatching it over the years is what made me consider working in film. I could talk about the characters for days, Leicester Burnham is obviously a favourite, his change in attitude to do what makes him happy, along with his witty one-liners make him hard not to love. This film is the reason I completely admire and respect Kevin Spacey.

The very first time I saw American Beauty I was about 11. I didn’t watch all of it but it was on TV and my mum was watching it. I remember being intrigued by it even then but after about ten minutes it got to the part with Mena Suvari in the bath of rose petals and I felt too awkward to stay in the room with my mum. It wasn’t until I was about 15 that I saw it all the way through. My friend’s parents had it on DVD so we watched it and I fell in love. She then bought me the DVD for my birthday and I’ve seen it countless times since.

The OC

The OC, whilst not a film, I had to mention. I watched it religiously as a teenager, I have all the episodes on DVD and have rewatched it a thousand times. When the final season was airing, I would download the new episodes to be up to date with America. I was so desperate to see the final episode that I got up at 5 am to download it and watch it before I went to school.

My teenage heart will forever belong to Seth Cohen. He gave me somewhat unrealistic expectations of the lengths teenage boys will go to, to declare their undying love for you (did anyone get a coffee cart moment in real life?) but I forgive him (and the writers) because my love for the show has helped me bond with other people so many times.

The OC was also an amazing place for hearing music that I hadn’t listened to before. The soundtracks are gold and the live shows that featured at the Bait Shop introduced me to bands like Modest Mouse and The Walkmen when they were quite little known in the UK.

Cruel Intentions

Cruel intentions may seem like an odd choice, and honestly, there are probably a dozen films I could’ve chosen for this third place but the dark and twisty nature of Cruel Intentions is something that always comes to mind when I think of my top films. I don’t remember when I first watched this, perhaps around age 16. But it combines several things that my teenage self-adored to watch. Rich people, manipulative games and sex. The ending was possibly one of the first times I cried at a film. I don’t think there’s an awful lot I can say about this film, it’s just one of the few that has stuck with me since I was a teenager.

Obviously, I’d recommend watching all of these if you haven’t already and they seem like your kind of thing. What are your favourite films or ones that have influenced you?