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We all have our favorite relaxing movies that help us unwind. After a bad day, week, month (try year), we call upon that one movie, or Netflix binge, that brings us some peace and quiet. There are movies we love, and then there are certain movies we need. Perhaps a Coen Brothers comedy or a Steven Soderbergh classic is the chill movie of choice for you. There are always characters and filmmakers that can flip a switch in our minds and brighten up our day. Feel-good movies check that box, and in the same vein, so do “chill movies.” By chill movies, we mean relaxing or lighthearted stories told about laid-back characters or movies clearly made by laid-back people. More often than not, these soothing movies are heavy on goodness and kindness.
Before reading this list, imagine going to a concert of one of your favorite bands later on in their careers. There are probably a lot of songs we all want to hear, right? Just like with a list, you can’t always get what you want. We all have our own ideas of what’s chill about a person, a character, or a movie. Below, in many of the movies listed, we’re talking about characters who spread kindness or are genuinely pleasant and peaceful to observe.
40
‘Crazy, Stupid, Love’ (2011)
Directed by Glen Ficarra and John Requa, Crazy, Stupid, Love is one of the defining romantic comedies of the 2010s. It follows the dramatic life changes that a middle-aged husband (Steve Carell) starts experiencing after his wife (Julianne Moore) asks him for a divorce. A hilarious parade of subplots ensues, which all come together in one of the most hilarious third acts of any modern rom-com.
Crazy, Stupid, Love isn’t only a comedy, however. If anything, it’s one of those romantic comedies that feel more like dramas in disguise. It’s complex, it’s emotional, it’s not afraid to get dark, and it holds back zero punches when questioning the behavior of its characters. With Carell and Ryan Gosling at their best and a story that never lets up, this is nothing if not a delightfully relaxing rom-com. —Diego Pineda Pacheco
39
‘Leave No Trace’ (2018)
Based on Peter Rock‘s 2009 novel My Abandonment, which itself is based on a true story, Leave No Trace is one of those near-perfect dramas that nobody seems to remember anymore. It follows a military veteran father (Ben Foster) suffering from PTSD, who lives in the forest with his young daughter (Thomasin McKenzie).
Foster and McKenzie are incredible in their roles, and the chemistry they share as father and daughter is a spectacle to behold. Aside from that, Leave No Trace is a beautifully quiet and subtle film, slowly building up to an emotionally explosive climax. Those who find calm in the gentleness of the forest are guaranteed to find it in Leave No Trace as well. — Diego Pineda Pacheco
38
‘The Holiday’ (2006)
A romantic comedy film set around Christmas, The Holiday follows two women from either side of the Atlantic Ocean who swap their homes for the holiday season to escape heartbreak. Kate Winslet stars as Iris, a shy and heartbroken London columnist who rents out a Los Angeles home from Amanda, the ambitious owner of a movie trailer-making company, played by Cameron Diaz. Jude Law, Jack Black, and Rufus Sewell also share notable roles.
The Holiday bears all the warmth and cozy vibes that a holiday-themed rom-com should offer, making it a relaxing watch. It is endearing to watch two women from vastly different cultures and life backgrounds simultaneously go through similar journeys in dealing with breakups and end up with pleasant surprises. Highlighted by excellent performances from Winslet, Diaz, Law, and Black and supported by delightful cinematography, The Holiday remains a charming film that can easily be called a modern Christmas classic. —Maddie P
37
‘Amélie’ (2001)
A warm, colorful blanket of a movie about enjoying the little pleasures in life and being good to your community and yourself. The shy but animated Amélie (Audrey Tautou) works in a café and lives a little more in her imagination than the great big world outside her mind. She’s hesitant to step outside of her comfort zone, but once she does, she starts doing the chillest act of all: helping others. Amelie’s kindness lights up almost everyone she crosses paths with and, based on director Jean-Pierre Jeanuet’s vision of Paris, the city itself.
Amélie is achingly heartfelt and nutritious eye candy about a lovely character without a mean or cynical bone in her body simply spreading happiness. She’s a superhero in Paris, lighting up every shop, street corner, and subway stop she graces with her iconic presence.
36
‘The Intouchables’ (2011)
As if any more proof were needed that modern French cinema has plenty of exquisite feel-good experiences to offer, there’s also The Intouchables, a dramedy every bit as highly acclaimed as Amélie. It’s one of the best comedy movies of all time, about a quadriplegic aristocrat (François Cluzet) who hires a young man from the projects (Omar Sy) to be his caregiver.
A film like this lives or dies by its lead performances, and thankfully, Cluzet and Sy are dynamite together. They elevate the film’s every comedic moment to hilarious heights, but they also sell the story’s more poignant and emotional moments like a pair of pros. The friendship between these two characters is one of the most comforting of any buddy comedy from the 2010s. — Diego Pineda Pacheco
35
‘Lars and the Real Girl’ (2007)
While its premise makes it seem as though it would be a lowbrow raunchy comedy film that was more than prevalent during the era, Lars and the Real Girl is, in reality, a calming and heartwarming story of connection and community. The film sees Ryan Gosling as the incredibly shy Lars, who finds it impossible to socialize or make friends and has, as a result, lived a very isolated lifestyle. While his family members are worried about them, Lars ends up surprising them by revealing that he has a girlfriend, yet it soon dawns upon them that Lars’ new girlfriend is a life-size plastic doll.
Despite all odds and preconceived notions, Lars and the Real Girl is not a mean-spirited comedy that makes Lars the butt of every joke, but instead paints a wholesome portrait of an entire community coming together to help Lars in his time of need. While his solution is far from ordinary, the depression and loneliness that Lars faces throughout the film are deeply relatable and impactful for many audiences, so seeing him overcome these fears and difficulties makes for an uplifting and cathartic experience.
34
‘Before Sunset’ (2004)
Many, many Richard Linklater movies could go on this list. The filmmaker creates such lived-in, relaxed but tightly constructed stories that drop in on characters we wish or maybe we even do know in real life. Before Sunset is Linklater’s peak relaxation film in his romantic trilogy, not without its highs and lows. The reunion between Celine (Julie Delpy) and Jesse (Ethan Hawke) is a movie full of light that radiates off the screen every single second, though.
It’s a serene walk-and-talk with Celine and Jessie at their most relaxed with one another. There are awkward moments, complications, and some unhealed wounds, but for the most part, Before Sunset is a triumphant reunion between two iconic characters at their most comfortable with themselves and one another. The honeymoon phase isn’t quite over in Before Sunset. Not that perfection matters, but it is Linklater’s closest shot to perfection.
33
‘Midnight in Paris’ (2011)
Starring Owen Wilson as the protagonist, Midnight in Paris follows a debut novelist, Gil (Wilson), who ends up in Paris with his ambitious fiancée, Inez (Rachel McAdams), on a work vacation to finish his novel. Unable to align with Inez’s materialistic approach to everything, Gil escapes into the streets of Paris alone at night and travels back to the 1920s, where he interacts with various historical figures and literary geniuses every night.
Different from most other Woody Allen films, Midnight in Paris is a dreamy and humorous story of a free-spirited man’s love for life and art framed as time-travel. The film’s visual aesthetics and the sweetly sentimental narrative are sure to soothe the eyes and calm the souls of art, history, literature, and Jazz aficionados. What can be easily called a genre-overlapping film, Midnight in Paris is a wholesome blend of time-travel, fantasy, period drama, and adventure that offers both whimsy and wisdom in the same breath. —Maddie P
32
‘Being There’ (1979)
Hal Ashby’s classic is gentle. The story still has Ashby’s and star Peter Sellers’ biting wit, as well as their more tragic qualities as storytellers. The satire resonates strongly today, watching Chauncey Gardiner (Sellers) become the popular kid among political royalty as he says nothing of substance. He’s just a man who enjoys gardening and watching television, but then again, maybe he’s more than that. The iconic final shot suggests so. Like everyone Chauncy meets, we always gravitate towards him and hang on to his every word.
Maybe it’s pointless to search for meaning in Being There, but what isn’t pointless is exactly what the title says. Sometimes being there is enough, even to get ahead in the world of politics. Satire, politics, and the buzzing but possibly inconsequential questions aside, Being There is also a movie that’s as delicate as Chauncey Gardiner. “Life is a state of mind” is one of the many doses of wisdom that Being There leaves its audience with.
31
‘Robot Dreams’ (2023)
A beautiful tale of connection and friendship that accomplishes its themes without a single word of dialogue, Robot Dreams has proven itself to be easily one of the best animated movies of the 2020s. The film follows a lonesome dog living in 1980s New York, who, in an attempt to tackle his uneventful lifestyle, purchases a robot companion to act as his new best friend. Dog and Robot immediately hit it off and have an array of adventures across the city, yet when an accident causes them to be separated, Dog and Robot will have to face the isolation head-on in their own ways.
Sporting beautiful 2D animation and an overwhelming joy and passion for life in all of its ups and downs, it’s difficult not to have a wide smile on one’s face while experiencing the majesty of Robot Dreams. From an array of creative and colorful dream sequences to perfect usage of Earth Wind and Fire’s “September,” the aura of Robot Dreams is one that is largely defined by joy and whimsy for the world.
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Jack Giroux
Almontather Rassoul
