You can’t beat a thriller that oozes style and the might of a director expressing themselves, so here are ten for you to check out…
There’s making a film, and then there’s making a film with style. That style might come from the design, costumes, swagger of the cast, or from a director given the license to express themselves. It could also be a combination of all those elements, which can lift a standard thriller and turn it into something more.
From cult films to one-hit wonders, to the birth of greatness and more, there are plenty of sleek and stylish thrillers, but if you’re stuck for ideas, here are ten stylish thrillers you definitely need to see…
Diva
Let’s kick off with something oozing French cool and a film that still falls a little under the radar. It’s Diva, from director Jean-Jacques Beineix. He’s more widely known outside of France for having directed Betty Blue. Diva feels like a potent mixture of Hitchcock, Giallo, and Clouzot. It looks incredible, really popping thanks to the joys of modern restoration.
Beineix captures stunning frames loaded with eye-catching sets and locations and with an interesting blend of idiosyncratic characters. A postman who is obsessed with a world-famous opera singer is unwittingly dropped into a murder case that involves gangsters and corrupt officials, and he’s aided by a French-Vietnamese model and a super cool artist whose studio looks majestic. Many of the cast are recognisable stalwarts of French cinema, including Richard Bohringer and Dominique Pinon as a diminutive and deranged hitman who runs around looking like ex-Communard and Bronski Beat singer, Jimmy Somerville. The film keeps veering and twisting to largely great effect, and there are some effective set-pieces, not least a subway motorbike chase.
Bound
The Wachowskis preempted their major breakout success, The Matrix, with the sleek and controversial thriller Bound. Gina Gershon and Jennifer Tilly are both perfection, with sizzling chemistry, who begin an affair under the nose of Violet’s (Tilly) gangster husband, Caesar. Whilst the film’s initial success was born out of word of mouth (as much about the steamy lesbian sex scenes as anything else), once that initial fever died off, the film’s other assets began to be noted.
It’s a film that is incredibly stylish and impressively assured in its vision. Largely contained and shot on a modest budget, it still manages to feel grand with gliding movement and gorgeous cinematography.
Manhunter
Michael Mann’s version of Thomas Harris’ Red Dragon is far more of a showpiece for Mann’s stylish and meticulously detailed direction than it is a fiercely faithful adaptation. The great thing about Mann’s work in the 80s, particularly with the crime thrillers Thief and Manhunter, is that you had stunning photography with careful symmetry within the frames, as well as a keen attention to detail in the technical elements relating to safe cracking (in Thief) and forensics (in Manhunter). At the same time, Mann wasn’t afraid to throw caution to the wind and experiment with the camera and in the editing suite.
Manhunter is visually dazzling, psychologically intense, with great needle drops. William Petersen is great as Will Graham. Brian Cox is a grittier but calculating Lecter. However, the star turn comes from the absolutely chilling and enthralling performance from the late Tom Noonan. He’s skin-crawlingly invested in the role and, whilst terrifying, also gives Francis a level of complexity, bordering on sympathy.
The Game
In lesser hands, The Game would have fallen under the weight of a contrived plot that escaped the grasp of the director. The film takes wild turns and pulls twists that would normally push a film to farce under weak direction. Under a maestro like David Fincher? Well, the result isn’t necessarily one of his best, but still ranks as a highly stylish and enveloping mystery thriller, as Michael Douglas finds himself thrown into an unexpectedly deadly game.
It looks incredible because it’s a David Fincher film, and it builds its initial intrigue beautifully, from the point Nick (Douglas) sees his game begin. Somehow, too, even in the face of twists that boggle the mind, Fincher still manages to keep this one on its feet.
Body Double
Brian De Palma and stylish thrillers go hand in hand. The director’s iconic stylistic flourish makes his Hitchcock homages really pop. There’s something almost meta about Body Double, though, which feels at once a Hitchcock homage but also a wry send-up and subversion of the genre.
Craig Wasson is the struggling actor who becomes fascinated by a woman who lives opposite the home of a fellow actor whom he meets, befriends, and housesits for. Inevitably, Jake finds himself caught up in a murder plot. It’s got De Palma in full flow here, with a great soundtrack courtesy of Pino Donaggio and some stellar track choices (including Relax by Frankie Goes to Hollywood).
Pale Flower
Japanese Yakuza flicks are inherently stylish, but throw in stunning high-contrast, black-and-white photography and meticulous framing, and you can crank the style rating up even further. Masahiro Shinoda’s noir is a work of art, but it’s not just style without substance. Mariko Kaga is a woman who becomes fascinated and allured by the criminal underworld, whilst Ryo Ikebe is the recently released former Yakuza gang member trying to stay out of trouble, who is initially intrigued by Saeko.
Inevitably, shit goes sideways, and whilst it’s not a frenetic film filled with guns and swords, it builds up plenty of tension and a sense of impending trouble. It’s impeccably made.
Miller’s Crossing
It’s not just the Yakuza who make for stylish cinema. Take prohibition-era American gangsters and cultivate a unique and playful lexicon for your movie that imbues the film with plenty of style. Miller’s Crossing is a magnificent and enjoyably bold gangster film. The cast is great, with Gabriel Byrne as a cold and calculated gangster who feels like the straight man among a selection of broadly sketched gangster archetypes. Marcia Gay Harden is great as a commandingly acid-tongued moll, with great supporting roles here for Jon Polito, John Turturro and Albert Finney.
By the end of the film, you’ll want to give the high hat and shop at the same hat merchant as Tom Reagan (Byrne). It also feels like an underrated film in the stellar CV of the Coen brothers.
Deep Cover
Bill Duke’s magnum opus, Deep Cover, feeds on stylish visuals and a killer soundtrack. It’s also powered by Laurence Fishburne at the top of his game and Jeff Goldblum effectively slimy. As the title suggests, Fishburne’s cop has to go deep undercover, which brings with it its own moral and psychological challenges. His descent is quick, and the downward spiral accelerates out of his control.
Duke punctuates moments in the film with brutal violence that pulls no punches. It took Deep Cover time to really capture its fanbase, beginning with strong word of mouth, and it’s since benefited from renewed discovery, always helped when you become a (well-deserved) part of the Criterion collection.
Deep Red
Dario Argento took the mantle from Mario Bava and really kicked the Giallo into high gear. Deep Red remains the best of his works, equal parts murder mystery thriller and psychological horror. Argento’s bold and striking visuals pop with colour, and he’s dynamic in his use of camera movement. Argento doesn’t do anything by halves, from the violent payoffs to his overt homages (including a great reference to Hopper’s painting, Nighthawks).
The inimitable Argento style, right in the midst of his pomp, is only accentuated by Goblin’s iconic score, and the 70s attire adds a further layer.
Red Rock West
Nicolas Cage has been nothing if not eclectic, and he’s found himself in all manner of stylish films in different genres. As far as a hugely underseen film, you can look no further than John Dahl’s Coen-esque thriller, Red Rock West. There’s a touch of Double Indemnity in there, a dash of North by Northwest, and a pinch of Blood Simple.
Cage enters a town in nowheresville and gets mistaken for a hitman, finding himself embroiled in a marital murder plot and then becoming the target of said hitman. The simple error and every further decision that follows cause Michael to keep digging himself ever deeper. Cage is great and, in a rarity, plays it almost low-key in comparison to the showier co-star (in this case, Dennis Hopper).
What’s your favourite stylish thriller? Let us know on our social channels @FlickeringMyth…
Tom Jolliffe
