For most people, the film industry is considered an extravagant glory full of fame, money, and creativity. However, beneath the bright lights and red carpets lies a much darker truth.
These films capture the dark and cold reality of the movie industry, the agonies, the exploitations, and the personal sacrifices actors and actresses make in chasing stardom.
This article will discuss movies that tell about the reality behind the scenes.
Page Contents
Movies that show the dark reality of the film industry
1. A Star Is Born (2018)
IMDb Rating: 7.6/10
Star Rating: ★★★★☆
Year of Release: 2018
Cast: Bradley Cooper, Lady Gaga, Sam Elliott, Andrew Dice Clay
Plot:
An extremely talented singer, Ally (Lady Gaga), rises to fame with the help of Jackson Maine (Bradley Cooper), her boyfriend.
However, Ally’s rise to stardom is paved with Jackson’s struggles with addiction and jealousy.
The film examines how fame alters personalities, disturbs emotional intimacy, and finally leads them down a road of destruction. Beyond the heartbreak, it puts a spotlight on how mental well-being and relationships can get affected by pressure to remain on top.
2. Babylon (2022)
IMDb Rating: 7.3/10
Star Rating: ★★★★☆
Year of Release: 2022
Cast: Brad Pitt, Margot Robbie, Diego Calva, and Jean Smart
Plot:
Babylon is set in the 1920s and gives insight into the wild, hedonistic era when Hollywood was transitioning from silent films to talkies. It depicts the excesses, scandals, and moral decay of the film industry during that period.
The film doesn’t shy away from the excesses typical of that period, namely the drugs, booze, and crazy parties that accompanied all these projects.
The film displays a bunch of people who wanted fame at any cost, often with great personal sacrifice.
3. Starry Eyes (2014)
IMDb Rating: 6.2/10
Star Rating: ★★★☆☆
Year of Release: 2014
Cast: Alexandra Essoe, Amanda Fuller, John Speredakos, and Marc Senter
Plot:
A horror-thriller that sends chills down your spine with the kind of determination an aspiring actress harbors to achieve stardom.
The film charts Sarah (Alexandra Essoe), an aspiring actress who gets cast as the lead in a major film after a dark and disturbing audition process.
Flashes of horrifying metamorphoses await her as she ascends the ladder of success, a disturbing commentary on the price of fame in the ruthless entertainment world.
4. The Assistant (2019)
IMDb Rating: 6.9/10
Star Rating: ★★★★☆
Year of Release: 2019
Cast: Julia Garner, Matthew Macfadyen, Kristen Roupenian
Plot:
The Assistant is a powerful drama that reveals the everyday reality of a young assistant (Julia Garner) working for a powerful film mogul.
The movie captures the quiet, everyday abuse of power that happens in the workplace.
The movie highlights the subtle yet pervasive abuse of power, harassment, and the toxic work environment that many employees endure in the entertainment industry.
5. Fanney Khan (2018)
IMDb Rating: 6.4/10
Star Rating: ★★★☆☆
Year of Release: 2018
Cast: Anil Kapoor, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Rajkummar Rao, Divya Dutta
Plot:
This is another Indian film, and it has to be included in this article.
AND WHY NOT
This Bollywood movie is a musical comedy-drama. It mostly tells Fanney Khan’s (Anil Kapoor) journey: that of a struggling musician who dreams his daughter will become a famous singer.
It is the issue of exploitation, gender bias, and the contrary realities of fame: pressures and challenges that connote aspiration in the music industry.
Therefore, it is a story about dreams, family, and the price one pays for stardom.
Conclusion
The movies throw light on some darker facets of the entertainment world, portraying people’s lives in struggles, sacrifices, and their moral compromises that usually go unnoticed.
If the lifeless journey of an unsuccessful actress truly haunts, anyone can see the poisonous power dynamics that rule the backstage, or anyone can see empty, reckless pursuits of fame—the reminders to gentle hearts: the glittering performance has a background storied with emotion and utility realities.