Inspirational and Heartrending Films to Watch This April

Spring is in the air, and so are great movies. Start April with inspiring dramas, rousing musicals, and an Oscar®-winning performance.

In the mood for an award-winning drama? | Hamnet

Chloé Zhao’s Hamnet was nominated for eight Academy Awards®, winning Best Actress for Jessie Buckley. “Buckley is nothing less than magical. Her ability to tap into the raw anger, frustration and fear alongside elation and relief is a sight to behold,” writes The Wrap. Adapted from Maggie O’Farrell’s novel, Hamnet imagines the life of a young Will Shakespeare (Paul Mescal) and his wife, Agnes (Jessie Buckley), from romance and family life to a tragedy that ultimately inspires the production of Hamlet at the Globe Theater in 1600. Screen Rant writes, “With an aching heart, lush visuals, and magnetic acting, Hamnet is undoubtedly one of the best movies of the year and will continue to resonate with audiences for years to come.”

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In the mood for a delightful comedy? | Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris

In Anthony Fabian’s Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris, Lesley Manville plays a London charwoman who gets a second chance at life when she decides to travel to Paris to buy an original Dior gown for herself. With a talented supporting cast that includes Isabelle Huppert, Lucas Bravo, and Alba Baptista, the film, writes Salon, “is as irresistible as the Dior dress Mrs. Harris covets.” But even more, the film shines with the humanity of its heroine. Screen Daily writes, “Lit from within by the sunny disposition of its main character, Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris is a lovely, modest ode to kindness, anchored by Lesley Manville’s considered performance as a housekeeper who is tired of feeling invisible.”

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In the mood for a musical romp? | The High Note

Set in LA’s vibrant music scene, Nisha Ganatra’s The High Note follows the trajectories of two women for whom music is everything. Grace Davis (Tracee Ellis Ross) is a superstar who fears she has lost her inspiration. Maggie (Dakota Johnson), Davis’ personal assistant, wants to amp up her own career as a music producer. As their careers collide, the two women learn how deeply their lives are connected by music and a mutual appreciation for each other. With a soundtrack of classic R&B tunes and original songs performed by Ross, the film, writes the Observer, “is both a comic lark and a profoundly transporting cinema experience.”

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In the mood for an inspiring drama? | Land

Robin Wright stars and directs Land, a moving story about Edee Holzer (Wright), a woman who rebounds from an unfathomable trauma by finding herself in the isolation and beauty of the Rocky Mountains. Shot in stunning surroundings where, Film Stage writes, every fifth shot “will take your breath away.” But as Holzer deals with stray bears, blizzards, and a disarmingly friendly neighbor, the human drama remains center stage as “Wright the filmmaker wrings out one of Wright the actor’s career-best performances,” writes Film Stage.

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In the mood for a powerful real-life story? | Song Sung Blue

Writer-director Craig Brewer’s Song Sung Blue remembers the real-life story of Mike and Claire Sardina (Hugh Jackman and Kate Hudson). The couple fell in love in the late ‘80s after teaming up for a Neil Diamond tribute band called Lightning and Thunder. Weathering both tragedy and triumph, the pair never lose their belief in each other, nor their joy for Diamond’s music. IndieWire writes, “Jackman and Hudson pour everything they have into their characters, and Song Sung Blue is at its most infectious when we’re watching this couple bask in the dorky pleasures of singing Neil Diamond songs loudly enough to drown out the painful realities of life.”

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