Snuggle Up With These Cozy Fall Films
By: Ashley Olivieri
What gets you into the fall mood? A hearty soup recipe? A shopping spree of sweaters and beanies from your favorite store? For me, it’s a cozy and comforting movie at home after a busy day of classes, maximized especially by lighting an autumn-scented candle and having a warm-toned lamp dimly lighting up the room. The option of experiencing this cozy movie night while a thunderstorm roars outside is recommended, but not required.
“What makes a movie cozy?” you might ask. Maybe you’ve never felt the feeling of coziness or comfort from a movie, or maybe, coziness is solely a physical experience that you don’t believe a movie can replicate. In my opinion, with comfort comes a sense of coziness, and luckily for you, I’ve compiled a list of my three favorite comforting movies to debunk all doubts!
For me, the feelings of coziness and comfort can be emulated in a movie through various factors: the season the movie takes place in, the easygoingness of the plot, the vibes of nostalgia and safety, and especially, the wardrobe and cinematography. The following three movies are my favorite representations of coziness in cinema that are sure to prepare you for the cooler days ahead.
“Juno” (2007)
“Juno” follows the life of a 16-year-old girl named Juno who discovers she has become pregnant by her best friend, Bleeker. The emotional comedy depicts Juno’s process in deciding how to go about her pregnancy. Will she raise the baby herself? Will she put it up for adoption? Those details are what I’ll leave for you to find out. What I will go into detail about, though, is how well “Juno” nails the feeling of 2000s nostalgia. While the event of teen pregnancy may not be relatable for everyone, the memory of a cozy childhood bedroom and the scent of fall in the air is. The movie is divided into four sections based on the four seasons, starting with fall. The set design during all four seasons, but especially fall, give an immense sense of comfort and nostalgia, one you’d only understand after seeing the movie for yourself. Even Juno’s cluttered and personalized bedroom is a wonderful representation of the cozy 2000s childhood we all know and miss.
The warm cinematography during the fall segment mixed with the 2000s wardrobe we can all probably see our childhood selves in, create the perfect representation of how we experienced fall as kids. Even though Juno is not a seasonal movie, its lighthearted plot and youthful soundtrack make you feel immersed in each season you watch Juno experience. I watched this movie for the first time in the summer, and it had me feeling like it was October by the end of the movie. If you’re looking for a good representation of our cozy childhoods we all wish we could relive one day, “Juno” is the movie for you to watch.
“The Four Seasons” (1981)
“The Four Seasons” tells the story of four adult couples who are navigating life through the popularity of divorce, marital discourse, and other obstacles. When one member of the four couples decides to make a change in their life, the other three couples are faced with examining their own personal selves and marriages. While the premise of this movie is a realistic and even sometimes serious one, the perfectly-timed comedic relief and nostalgic cinematography earn it a solid spot on this list.
This movie is divided into four seasons, hence the name, where during each season, the four couples take a group vacation together. While each four segments are a great representation of each season, fall heavily stood out to me when I watched it for the first time. Maybe I’m biased because I’m a big fan of the color orange, but “The Four Seasons” totally nailed the feeling of fall nostalgia and the desire to be a kid playing with neighbors outside in a quiet suburban neighborhood. Is it just me, or do the trees just not look quite like this in the fall anymore?
“Coraline” (2009)
“Coraline” tells the fictional story of a young girl who finds a strange portal to a different version of the creepy house she and her family just moved into. Everything in this new version of her house seems somewhat better than reality, but some things are slightly off. Throughout the movie, we follow Coraline’s journey to revert back to her normal life again. While “Coraline” is not necessarily a fall movie, its unsettling plot and visuals make for a great movie to get you into the spooky feeling, even now that Halloween is over.
Although “Coraline” can be a suspenseful movie at times, the nostalgia and color scheme of the movie create a comforting atmosphere that give it reason to fit in this list. “Coraline” is one of my go-to comfort movies that I know I can either pay full attention to, or have running in the background as I do my homework, and still enjoy either way. This movie, paired with a fall candle and cozy blanket are exactly how I’d like to segway into fall after a long summer.