Selma

Set in 1965 in Alabama, this Academy Award-winning historical drama recounts the Selma-to-Montgomery voting rights marches led by some of the most influential African-American activists of that decade. Shortly after receiving the Nobel Peace Prize, Martin Luther King Jr. (Oyelowo) meets with President Johnson (Wilkinson) in an attempt to secure new legislation that would secure the rights of black citizens to vote unencumbered. After the president dismisses his request, King and other black leaders begin to organize a march from Selma to Montgomery as an act of protest over discriminatory voting requirements that disenfranchise African Americans.

Director: Ava DuVernay. Stars: David Oyelowo, Oprah Winfrey, Carmen Ejogo, Tom Wilkinson, Tim Roth. 2014. 128 min. Drama.

Miss Julie

Miss Julie (Chastain), a young aristocratic woman and the daughter of a count, comes face to face with her father's valet (Farrell) during the course of a midsummer's night. She begins seducing the young man, but the politics of power and class imbalance are very much in play, and the night's relationship between the two quickly goes to some very dark places. Based on the August Strindberg play of the same name.

Director: Liv Ullmann. Stars: Jessica Chastain, Colin Farrell, Samantha Morton. 2014. 129 min. Drama.

The Last Five Years

Time moves both forward and backward in this musical about the end of what seemed like a fairy tale marriage. Cathy's (Kendrick) marriage to Jamie (Jordan) is at an end in the present day, and through flashbacks and jumps through time, the couple's entire history is recounted, from their first meeting five years ago to Jamie's proposal to the opposite trajectories their careers took. Jamie's career as a writer takes off, while Cathy's as an actor struggles to get off the ground. Soon enough, the high of Jamie's success leads him into the beds of other women, while Cathy's career stagnation drives her to increasing bitterness and sadness.

Director: Richard LaGravenese. Stars: Anna Kendrick, Jeremy Jordan. 2014. 94 min. Musical.