After graduating from the Judd Apatow school of stoner comedy, Jonah Hill has gone onto work under some of the biggest filmmakers in the business. Now he has transitioned behind the camera to write and direct coming-of-age drama Mid90s. Set across a summer in Los Angeles, the plot centres around thirteen-year-old Stevie (Sunny Suljic) who is taken in by a tightknit but troubled skater group as he struggles to find his place in cultural society.
As an actress, Greta Gerwig is known for her quirky roles in indie movies, rising through the improvisational mumblecore movement and riding the crest of the hipster wave for the flat-white generation. Having co-written on several projects that she has appeared in, she has moved behind the camera to write and direct Lady Bird, a coming-of-age comedy drama set in Sacramento, California. The plot follows attention-seeking teenager Christine ‘Lady Bird’ McPherson (Saoirse Ronan) who is in her final year of high-school. Whilst clashing with her strong-willed mother Marion (Laurie Metcalf), she navigates her way through the trials and tribulations of bad boyfriends, prom pressure, and deciding what she wants to do with the rest of her life.
Casey Affleck has quietly avoided the mainstream throughout most of his career, but has consistently delivered excellent yet underrated turns that seem to slip under the radar. This is set to change thanks to family drama Manchester by the Sea, the latest feature from writer and director Kenneth Lonergan. Taking its name from the small scenic Massachusetts town in which it is set, the story follows lowly and lonely janitor Lee Chandler (Affleck) who is forced to return to his roots when his brother Joe (Kyle Chandler) passes away. As the legal guardian of nephew Patrick (Lucas Hedges), he offers his help and support whilst he wrestles with personal demons from his past that come back to haunt him.
Cinema Perspective 