Your 20s can be a weird and wonderful time; life begins to move at a different pace from when you were a teenager. A lot more is expected from you, be it from work, family life or committed relationships. But there’s also the hope of prosperity. Your adult life is just beginning, which means you are laying the foundation for your future, so it’s up to you to choose your path and enjoy the experiences that come with it.
From juggling the pressures of building a career, your life and finding “the one”, it can all get a bit overwhelming at times. Luckily, movies happen to be the perfect distraction from a quarter-life crisis, as plenty of films capture the struggling reality of entering adulthood and the dreaded responsibility that comes with it.
Arguably, there is no specific movie genre for people in their 20s, some things depend on an individual basis and personal preference. But there is a cohort of unique movies that touch on feelings, experiences and aspirations, that those in their 20’s may relate to.
Without further ado, here are the must-see movies for people in their 20s:
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind tells the story of a couple who decides to erase their memories of each other after their relationship goes awry. Only in the process of erasing each other, do they realise how important they were to one another.
This movie is something people in their 20s can relate to, as you begin to navigate new relationships, the roller-coaster of love teaches us that pain is okay and it’s better to have loved and lost than to never have loved at all.
Lost in Translation, an ageing actor befriends a young college graduate while in Japan. While exploring Tokyo together, they confide in one another about their problems, as the movie director Sofia Coppola juxtaposes a midlife crisis with a quarter-life crisis to cross-examine the themes of purpose and friendship.
Reality Bites is a romantic drama about four friends who live together after graduating college, as the movie portrays the romantic complications and career struggles people in their 20s face. Something a lot of people can relate to.
Nothing quite sums up the aimlessness and confusion of post-collegiate life like The Graduate. Most college graduates would start to begin their careers or prep for postgraduate courses, but Benjamin Braddock (Dustin Hoffman) has other things on his mind, as he finds himself torn between loving an older woman or her daughter.
The Devil Wears Prada tells a tale as old as time. Fresh-faced college graduate enters into the world of journalism with big aspirations of becoming a writer, only to find out, that it’s not that simple and you’ll have to work your way to the top, stepping on people along the way. The Devil Wears Prada explores the struggles of being a young and vulnerable employee who’s eager to prove their worth.
500 Days of Summer is a rare example of a rom-com that isn’t actually a rom-com. It connects with viewers as they navigate the aftereffects and emotions of a failed relationship and how they push away their expectations of other people in order to face reality.
The Social Network, the ultimate cautionary tale about the price of ambition and betrayal, as the story tells the conception of Facebook and everyone Mark Zuckerberg screwed over to create his success.