Fall Movie Preview: The 30 Indies You Must See

10. The Perks of Being a Wallflower (September 21)

Director: Stephen Chbosky
Cast: Emma Watson, Ezra Miller, Logan Lerman, Dylan McDermott, Paul Rudd
Distributor: Summit Entertainment

Why is it a "Must See"? Stephen Chobsky's novel "The Perks of Being a Wallflower" became something of a "Catcher In The Rye" for the Millennial generation when it was published back in 1999. Over a decade later, Chobsky has written and directed the book's cinematic adaptation himself, which is premiering in Toronto followed shortly by a September release. Following teenagers Charlie (Logan Lerman), Sam (Emma Watson) and Patrick (Ezra Miller), "Perks" is sure be on top of many a twentysomething's fall to-see list. And early word suggests with good reason.

Check out the trailer below.

11. Silver Linings Playbook (November 21)

Director: David O. Russell
Cast: Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence, Robert De Niro, Jacki Weaver, Chris Tucker, Julia Stiles
Distributor: The Weinstein Company

Why is it a "Must See"? The Weinstein Company's other big film this fall has been overshadowed a bit by "Django" and "The Master" but definitely deserves some anticipation itself.

Based on Matthew Quick's darkly comedic novel, the David O. Russell-directed film stars Bradley Cooper in a juicy role as a man who moves back in with his parents (Robert DeNiro and Jacki Weaver) after being released from a mental institution. Co-starring Jennifer Lawrence as a love interest with some mental problems of her own, "Silver Linings Playbook" also debuted footage at Cannes at the same time as "Django" and "Master," and the response was similarly positive.

Check out the trailer below:

12. Seven Psychopaths (October 12)

Director: Martin McDonagh
Cast: Woody Harrelson, Colin Farrell, Christopher Walken, Sam Rockwell, Abbie Cornish, Olga Kurylenko, Gabourey Sidibe, Tom Waits, Kevin Corrigan
Distributor: CBS Films

Why is it a "Must See"? "One Shih Tzu.. Seven Psychopaths." That's the tagline for Martin McDonagh's follow-up to "In Bruges," a black comedy featuring a truly killer cast. McDonagh's "Bruges" star Colin Farrell headlines as a struggling screenwriter who inadvertently becomes entangled in the Los Angeles criminal underworld after his oddball friends (Sam Rockwell and Christopher Walken) kidnap a beloved Shih Tzu belonging to an insane gangster (Woody Harrelson).

Check out the trailer below:

13. Anna Karenina (November 16) & 14. Wuthering Heights (October 5)

Directors: Joe Wright ("Anna") and Andrea Arnold ("Heights")
Casts: Keira Knightley, Aaron Johnson, Jude Law, Matthew Macfadyen, Kelly Macdonald, Emily Watson, Olivia Williams, Holliday Grainger ("Anna"); Kaya Scodelario, Oliver Milburn, Nicola Burley, James Howson, Paul Hilton ("Heights")
Distributors: Focus Features ("Anna") and Oscilloscope Laboratories ("Heights")

Why Are They "Must Sees"? Two literary classics from the mid-1800s are getting brand new cinematic takes (each have been adapted for film a good dozen or so times already) with Joe Wright's "Anna Karenina" and Andrea Arnold's "Wuthering Heights." Leo Tolstoy's "Anna" (last adapted in 1997 by Bernard Rose) comes to life again via a re-teaming of Wright and Keira Knightley (their third film together). Charlotte Bronte's 1847 novel, meanwhile, gets a new take via Arnold and a cast of mostly unknowns (it most recently adapted prior as a miniseries starring Tom Hardy and Charlotte Riley in 2009).

Check out the trailers below:

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TAGS: Lists, The Master, Django Unchained, How to Survive a Plague, The Sessions, Hyde Park on Hudson, Amour, Silver Linings Playbook

9 Comments

| Reply
td97bt | August 29, 2012 8:34 AMReply

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Me | August 29, 2012 3:09 AMReply

Dont forget On The Road and Noah Baumbachs black and white film with Gretat Gerwig.
Nadir F. | August 29, 2012 12:13 AMReply

OK - enough about indie-film race relations for a moment. Can anyone explain the ridiculous music on the Wuthering Heights trailer? Definitely a white boy edit.
Proj | September 4, 2012 4:17 PM

I think that music is a result of the pop-up ad, but I couldn't shut it off. The actual trailer has no music and it's quite effective.
JUNE | August 28, 2012 2:12 PMReply

Is this is order? Please say no.
frida n. | August 28, 2012 1:07 PMReply

Your press for movies of color is pathetic. Your editorial leadership is lily white and horrible. Shadow and Act makes you feel like you have a pass. But this site is trash when it comes to it's press for anybody that does not look like you. You have not one Latino or Asian or Native or Middle Eastern or African film here. You have two Black American ones relegated to 28 and 30 that you write about like an afterthought. You make no attempts to be inclusive to anything that is not in your lily white world. And. You have just been called on it. I'm certain this comment will be deleted. But you read it and you know it is true. Get a life.
Crisp | August 29, 2012 1:58 PM

I hope too that this list is not in order. The colored people's films being at the end of the list says a lot about what the author values and feels is "better." Indiewire is kind of like the Republican convention of the independent film universe. Everyday they tell us "others" WE BUILT IT, so the rest of you can stay out. You report on the obscure non-ethnic festivals and conferences but I can count on one hand the number of articles about our Latino festivals or those of other colored people.
Daniel | August 28, 2012 9:54 PM

Two things: "Middle of Nowhere" isnt Ava DuVernay's directorial debut. That was "I Will Follow" released through AFFRM a few years ago. The other more interesting issue is Frida N's comment about there being two Black American films on the list. Does the fact that "The Paperboy" is directed by Lee Daniels, a black man, make it a black film? Interesting...
Peter Knegt | August 28, 2012 3:25 PM

Frida,

Of course we won't delete it. But I must ask you - Do you have any suggestions for the types of films you note that have distribution this Fall? There sadly and simply are very few quality Latino or Asian or Native or Middle Eastern or African films that have US distribution and are coming out this fall. I agree it's largely a lily white world. But as far as I'm concerned, Indiewire simply just lives in. We try and be as inclusive as possible, but we can't correct the sad state that is minority representation in cinema ourselves.

Fall Movie Preview: The 30 Indies You Must See

10. The Perks of Being a Wallflower (September 21)