Don't Mess With Keanu: Our Top 5 Picks for Drama-Packed Reeves Films
Who needs Netflix when you have these in your watchlist?
The Devil's Advocate (1997)
The Devil's Advocate is an adaptation of Andrew Neiderman's novel of the same name starring Al Pacino, Charlize Theron and Keanu Reeves. Lawyer Kevin Lomax receives a lucrative job offer from a certain John Milton, director of a major law firm. Lomax agrees and moves to New York with his wife Mary Ann (Charlize Theron).
Here, defending criminals and winning court cases, Lomax builds a career while his wife gradually goes mad from strange visions and soon dies. Milton continues to tempt Lomax with high-profile cases, playing on his vanity.
The Matrix (1999)
The Matrix is a sci-fi action film directed by the Wachowskis, which is the first part of a trilogy about people living in a simulated reality. Everything that exists is just a simulation created by intelligent machines. Neo (Keanu Reeves) begins his fight against the machines that have taken over the human world. This movie brought Reeves the biggest number of awards and nominations. There is a continuation to the acclaimed story that was released in 2021.
Sweet November (2001)
Sweet November is a romantic drama directed by Pat O'Connor and starring Keanu Reeves and The Devil's Advocate colleague Charlize Theron. The film is based on the play of the same name by Herman Raucher. The tragic love story of Nelson (Keanu Reeves) and Sara (Charlize Theron) unfolds throughout the whole month of November. Charlize Theron's character wears a crocheted coral-colored scarf the day she first meets Nelson, and we also see her wearing it the day of their last meeting. Sarah knows that she's going to die soon, so every month she chooses a new man, breaking the heart of the previous one.
Although the film has garnered many negative reviews (as well as positive ones), we recommend watching it at least for the costumes (it was almost 20 years ago!) and the pleasant melancholy of autumn.
The Lake House (2006)
The Lake House is directed by Alejandro Agresti and it is his debut feature film starring Sandra Bullock and Keanu Reeves. The plot revolves around the correspondence between a single woman, Kate (Sandra Bullock), and a young architect, Alex (Keanu Reeves). In 2006, Kate moves out of the lake house and leaves a letter in the mailbox for the next tenant. It turns out to be Alex, who lives in 2004.
In the film, nature (symbolized by the lake house) is opposed to the city, and the former unsurprisingly wins. Thus, Alex plants a tree in the city center near the high-rise in which Kate lives, and the tree grows before her eyes. In the finale, of course, love prevails, since it turns out (not in the clichéd sense) to be stronger than death and time.
To the Bone (2017)
To the Bone is a drama film distributed by Netflix and directed by Marty Noxon, starring Lily Collins and Keanu Reeves. Ellen (Lily Collins) suffers from anorexia, so psychiatrist William Beckham (Keanu Reeves) tries helping her and a group of other patients, using various experimental treatments. Interesting fact: Lily Collins, who previously suffered from an eating disorder, went through a strict diet for the role which resulted in her weighing only 110 lb (50 kg).