Much is made of countries and their cultures. From fundamental societal concepts like religion, family, and political beliefs, to cuisine, socializing, traditions, and humor, many things make up the idea of culture. As the beauty of immigration and migration sends the world into greater multi-diversity, different cultures blend to form these wonderful hybrids, celebrating all that is similar and different. Though, the one culture that will always either be cherished or hated by countries as a collective is that of the said nation’s drinking culture.
The regions that make up the Mediterranean are known for drinking slowly, for enjoyment, and indulging in apéritifs and digestifs, with class and sophistication; the Irish are famous for their vast consumption of Guinness and liberality around alcohol; the Americans for their supposed lightweight tolerance; and the Brits for their excessive binge-drinking, and propensity to end their night in a gutter somewhere…
There are many movies that feature moments of alcohol abuse, and alcoholism, yet these are the best movies that have drinking at their very heart. So pour a cold one and enjoy some of the best drinking movies ever made…
10/10 The Angels’ Share
Ken Loach is loved for his on-screen demonstrations of everyday, working-class British life, and 2012’s The Angels’ Share is no different. It is a comedy crime drama about a young Scotsman who goes on a mission to get his life back on track after escaping prison time by the skin of his teeth. Following a visit to a whiskey distillery, his life undergoes a rapid turnaround.
9/10 Rocketman
Taron Egerton is spellbinding as Elton John, in Dexter Fletcher’s film Rocketman. This biopic traverses the turbulent life of the singer and musician, and we are given an in-depth insight into the singer’s well-documented struggle with alcohol and drug abuse throughout. Rocketman separates the man from the legend and humanizes a person many are accustomed to reading about in the tabloid press.
8/10 Days of Wine and Roses
Days of Wine and Roses was adapted from the 1958 teleplay of the same name. It is the story of Joe Clay, an alcoholic PR executive who meets Kirsten Arnesen, a teetotal secretary who is averse to drinking alcohol before Joe indoctrinates her impressionable mind via drinking socially. Soon, the pair are embroiled in full-on alcoholism.
7/10 A Star Is Born (1954)
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In this remake of the 1937 movie A Star Is Born, A-list actor Norman Maine (James Mason) and industry newcomer Esther Hoffmann (Judy Garland) inadvertently cross paths, and the pair begin a passionate relationship. Yet, as Esther’s acting career begins to skyrocket, and Norman’s alcohol-induced plummet sees him fall from grace, the pair are left at a devastating crossroads. This is a heartbreaking movie about a blossoming love decimated by two different trajectories.
6/10 The Hangover
Can you truly say you had a good night out without a hideous hangover and a deep sense of regret? Joker’s Todd Phillips was at the directorial wheel for 2009’s The Hangover. When a group of four men head to Vegas on a stag do/bachelor party, they are blissfully unaware that they are about to walk into the night-out from hell… or from legend. As the group frantically retraces last night’s steps, the drama and chaos unfold right in front of them. This is a hysterically amusing take on when a night-out is taken too far, and the anxiety-inducing process of figuring out what happened the morning after…
5/10 Leaving Las Vegas
Nicolas Cage delivers a typically emphatic performance in this hazy super-16mm romantic drama. Leaving Las Vegas is a love letter to alcoholic screenwriters and Vegas hookers. It details the story of Ben (Cage), a depressive alcoholic screenwriter who wants to end things, when he falls for a lady of the night, Sera (Elisabeth Shue). This is a movie based on utter profanity, but the deeply visceral nature of its protagonists shines a light on doomed love, and a desperation to do good.
4/10 Sideways
Sideways portrays an American road trip with a different, fruitier, more alcoholic flavor. The film that won the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay at the 2005 Oscars, Sideways is a comedy from The Hangover grapevine (four years before that movie made Bradley Cooper and Zach Galifianakis big stars), but with a little more in the way of sophistication and highbrow humor.
The film follows two middle-aged friends, as they undertake a week-long road trip through Californian wine country before Jack (Thomas Haden Church) gets married. Writer and director Alexander Payne does a phenomenal job of depicting a warm and pensive story that plays on fallen dreams, and the search for purpose in middle-aged manhood.
3/10 The World’s End
Edgar Wright brings us his take on the British pub crawl in the final installment of the loved Cornetto Trilogy. The World’s End tells the story of a group of five friends who reunite and head for their hometown of Newton Haven, where they seek to complete the famous “Golden Mile” pub crawl, after their failed attempt 20 years prior. However, when it comes to pass that the town and the future of mankind are under grave threat from android-replacements, they’re tasked with saving the world. The World’s End is a fun, hilarious, and original film, and while the screenplay doesn’t take itself too seriously, it offers an exploration into true friendship.
2/10 Crazy Heart
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Jeff Bridges took home the Academy Award for Best Actor for Scott Cooper’s screen adaptation of Thomas Cobb’s novel of the same name. Crazy Heart is a thoughtful, contemplative, and engaging piece of filmmaking. Bridges is Otis Blake, an alcoholic whose humble existence as a once-famous-now-has-been country singer has him touring the states, gigging at small venues.
Blake’s life changes when he strikes up a romantic relationship with Jean (Maggie Gyllenhaal), a music journalist. In a continuous battle with personal demons and his alcoholism, Blake must choose between a life of love, a life of alcohol abuse, and an inevitable premature death. Crazy Heart is a poignant lesson in the perils of alcoholism, and the impact it has on not just the abuser but also the lives of their loved ones.
1/10 Another Round
In Danish director Thomas Vinterberg’s Another Round, we are introduced to four teachers, all arguably in the midst of existential crises. In a bid to add meaning to their lives, and feasibly attempt to facilitate their drinking habits, they embark on a social experiment which involves maintaining a level of 0.05% BAC (blood alcohol content) which supposedly stimulates creativity and relaxation. As the four men gradually ramp up their alcoholic intake, Another Round begins to examine the wider effects on family life, personal relationships, and work.
Mads Mikkelsen is simply joyous as Martin, a downtrodden, apathetic history teacher who is desperate for a new lease on life. The film is a compelling watch that perfectly strikes the balance between an enjoyable alcoholic jollification, while simultaneously encapsulating the career and marriage-ending consequences of alcoholism.
