The 15 best Movies about Writers

The lives of writers are usually attractive enough to be reflected on the big screen. The vast majority of their biographies tend to include shocking episodes, involving drugs or scandals, or social transgressions that are as or more famous than their literary creations.

In today's article we present 15 films about writers that cannot be missing from your list if you are a lover of cinema and literature. And although many of them take certain liberties, each and every one will help you better understand the life and creative universe of the writer. Take note.

15 films about writers for lovers of film and literature

From the romantic poets of the 19th century (such as John Keats or Emily Dickinson) to the great novelists (Mary Shelley, Tolstoy or Colette). Below you will find a list of 15 film titles that collect the lives of several of the most recognized writers.

1. Finding Neverland (2004), by Marc Foster

The film, which received very good reviews and won the Oscar for best film, tells the story of James M. Barrie (1860-1937), the creator of Peter Pan

, and focuses on the process of inspiration for the work, its execution and its premiere. To do this, certain licenses are taken (on the other hand, common in the biopics), such as Barrie's relationship with the family that inspires the story. In real life, Sylvia, the mother, was not a widow when Barrie met her children, and the writer himself was married. His wife, by the way, left him, claiming that she preferred to spend time with her new family rather than with her.

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2. Cloak (2005), by Bennett Miller

Possibly the best performance of the sadly deceased Philip Seymour Hoffman (1967-2014), who took the best actor statuette for this film. The film revolves around the writer Truman Capote (1924-1984) and his interest in a crime that has been committed on a farm in Kansas, where the four members of the family have been murdered. The case inspires him to write his best-known work, In cold blood ("Cold-blooded").

3. Becoming Jane (2007), by Julian Jarrold

The film is inspired by the romantic comedies of the famous writer Jane Austen (1775-1817), but in this case it relates her own romance with the young Tom Lefroy, as independent and charismatic as she. Jarrold himself, director of the film, stated that the typical image that people had of Austen was that of a lonely “spinster” devoted to discretion and decorum. With this biopic, the director intended to show an unknown facet in the life of the writer, who, according to some testimonies, did know the intensity of love.

4. Mary Shelley (2017), by Haifaa al Mansour

The life of the famous author of Frankenstein and one of the greatest literary exponents of Romanticism is brought to the screen, taking as a basis her transgressive and determined character, which the writer probably inherited from her mother, the feminist and also writer Mary Wollstonecraft. The film, in addition to recreating the genesis of the novel, also reflects Mary's stormy relationship with her husband, the poet Percy Shelley.

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5. Tolkien (2019), by Dome Karukoski

He did not very fortunately pass the “examination” of the writer's family, who rejected the film. It was not a great box office success either, so this biopic of the creator of The Lord of the rings It passed without pain or glory on the movie screens. Despite this, it is a first and sincere attempt to approach the life and work of this author, without whose name the fantastic literature of the 20th century could not be understood.

6. The last station (2009), by Michel Hoffman

Towards the end of his life, Leo Tolstoy (1828-1910), the famous Russian writer, had very particular ideas about religion, society and the human being.. The film begins in Yasnaia Poliana, the estate where Tolstoy has always lived with his wife, Sofia, and which he has turned into a kind of spiritual retreat for himself and his followers. One of her disciples even suggests that she leave her possessions to her “brothers,” and that is something that Sofia cannot allow. Between the couple, who have always loved and supported each other unconditionally, a series of tensions arise that culminate in Tolstoy's escape, who ends up dying in a miserable train station.

7. Bright Star (2009), by Jane Campion

The main strength of the film is its impeccable presentation and its intimate atmosphere, very consistent with the character, John Keats (1795-1821), one of the greatest English romantic poets. The plot focuses on his love story with Fanny Brawne, and presents it with a simplicity full of sensuality and poetry. Bright Star marked the return through the front door of the director of the award-winning The piano (1993).

8. Les soeurs Brontë (1979), by André Téchiné

Perhaps they are the most famous writing sisters in history: Charlotte, Emily and Anne Brontë, all dedicated to literature despite the obvious restrictions they suffered as women. All of them published under a male pseudonym, and their works have crossed borders to become monuments of universal letters; just mention titles like Jane Eyre, Wuthering Heights either Agnes Gray. The film shows her life's adventures and her struggle to find a place in a man's world.

9. Miss Potter (2006), by Chris Noonan

Beatrix Potter (1866-1943) became famous at the beginning of the 20th century for her exquisite illustrated children's stories.. The film captures her vivid imagination and her need to tell stories, not understood by those closest to her. Chris Noonan, who had had a colossal success with his film Babe, the brave little pig, once again chose a theme taken from the children's sphere. The result is a tender and calm film (although with some ups and downs), which recreates the writer's fantasy world as best it can.

10. a quiet passion (2016), by Terence Davis

Cinthya Nixon's face is well known for playing one of the protagonists of the successful series Sex in New York. Here it completely changes register and dives into the skin of Emily Dickinson (1830-1886), the famous American poet. In appearance, her life was most unremarkable, as she barely left her home in Amherst; However, she began writing poems when she turned thirty, which later made her one of the most illustrious names in American and universal literature. The intimate and natural tone of the film matches perfectly with the personality and work of the author, whose poems were not published until after her death.

11. wilde (1997), by Brian Gilbert

There is no doubt that Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) is one of the most eccentric and fascinating literary personalities in history. Cynical and transgressive, but also an esthete and bon vivant, his work was very successful during his lifetime, although he was overshadowed by his homosexual condition, a truly controversial fact for the epoch. The best thing about the film is a superb Stephen Fry as Wilde (accompanied by a very young Jude Law in the role of his lover, Alfred Douglas).

12. total eclipse (1995), by Agnieszka Holland

The relationship between Arthur Rimbaud (1854-1891) and Paul Verlaine (1844-1896), two of the “damned” poets 19th century, played by two correct Leonardo di Caprio (Rimbaud) and David Thewlis (Verlaine). The criticism was not especially good, as it regretted the lack of attention to presenting the contributions of these poets to universal literature and that the film had been focused exclusively on their love relationship which, on the other hand, was a scandal for the time and was full of ups and downs, breakups and reconciliations (and attempted murder through).

13. Sylvia (2003), by Christine Jeffs

Well-crafted portrait of the American writer Sylvia Plath (1932-1963) and starring a correct Gwyneth Paltrow in the lead role. However, not everyone liked the film; Frieda Hugues, Plath's daughter, accused the producers of taking advantage of the tragic end of her mother (who, remember, committed suicide by placing her head in the oven, one cold morning in February 1963). Sylvia suffered from severe mental imbalances, which served as inspiration for her superb and dark novel. The bell jar (The Bell Jar).

14. Quills (2000), by Philip Kaufman

The last years of the controversial Marquis de Sade (1740-1814), author of almost pornographic works (or without almost) that represent the culmination of 18th century erotic literature. Imprisoned in the Charenton asylum, the Marquis establishes a close friendship with the laundress, Madeleine, whom he obviously tries to seduce. The most notable thing about the film is the superb performance of Geoffrey Rush in the role of Sade, which earned him a nomination for best actor at the Oscars.

15. colette (2018), by Wash Westmoreland

The controversial life of this French writer, author of works that caused a stir in her time, such as Claudia either Gigi. The film, starring a wonderful Keira Knightley in the lead role, focuses especially on the love life of Colette, both in her relationship with her husband (who, initially, signed her works) and with her female lovers later.