Top 5 Movies All Writers Must See

Whether you're an aspiring screenwriter, novelist, or journalist, here are the top five movies worth checking out to enhance your career and perhaps even find a sense of comradery .

5. Taxi Driver

Via amazon.com

In this classic 1976 movie directed by Scorsese, viewers get to FEEL the grit and isolation that transforms Travis Bickle, Robert De Niro's character, into the ultimate anti-hero. The movie is great moral support for writers who may already identify with a sense of isolation and need someone complicated to identify with. The way the film uses the vehicle as a device to demonstrate isolation is just one of the many genius aspects a writer could learn from this film.

4. Fight Club

Via google.com

Although quite popular in film and literature, the subject of identity is confronted when an insomniac meets a fellow outsider like himself. This movie owns the champion title for transgressive fiction, as it shows the protagonist trying to find peace, albeit in unconventional ways.

3. Adaptation

Via cinematicfilmblog.com

Along with all the dialogue that demonstrates the difficulty and duality writers face, the meta-aspect of this movie can teach an inspiring writer a thing or two about layering their material and use of chronology.

2. Casino

Via iconicauctions.com

Casino is a great film that portrays how an INSTITUTION (in this case, a casino), has the power to transform people. In many cases, stories are told the other way around- where people influence their surroundings. This plus all the hectic subplots and the development of the perfect femme fatale portrayed by Sharon Stone will make this a movie enjoyed by aspiring writers.

1. Memento

Via hdnetmovies.com

Like other Christopher Nolan films, Memento is no exception when it comes to complexity. Writers can appreciate the frantic, desperate search for one's identity and also have a lot to learn by the way time plays a role in story-telling.