Jesse Eisenberg’s five favourite movies
Jesse Eisenberg has a filmography that knows no bounds. From superheroes to social network creators, he’s taken on every sort of character, project and genre you can imagine. Between The Social Network and a series of appearances in the DC universe, he’s perfected the art of on-screen awkwardness and unlikeability. While Zombieland and Adventureland proved his capabilities for comedy, The Double saw him venture into off-kilter British cinema.
Though the latter may be one of his lesser-known films, eclipsed by the award season success of The Social Network and the blockbusting capabilities of Zack Snyder’s creations, it’s an area Eisenberg has excelled in. With his talent for sarcastic and witty characters, he seems made for strange, darkly comedic cinema. This interest is reflected not only in Eisenberg’s own work but in his watching habits, too.
While picking out his favourite films for Aframe, Eisenberg kicked off the list with two of his own projects that he deemed his “favourite kind of movie” – the aforementioned The Double, directed by Richard Ayoade, and his 2019 film, The Art of Self-Defense, directed by Riley Stearns. He suggested that the latter seems to walk the line between “absurd comedy” and “extreme earnestness”, a duality that continues to characterise all of Eisenberg’s favourite films.
It follows, then, that he’s a big fan of Ayoade’s work, even when he’s not starring in it. His third pick was the director’s first feature, Submarine, starring Craig Roberts. With a soundtrack provided by Arctic Monkeys frontman Alex Turner and a quirky coming-of-age story at its centre, it seems to fit perfectly into Eisenberg’s cinematic interests. He even suggested that it might be his “favourite movie ever made.”
The only documentary to make it onto Eisenberg’s list comes from Werner Herzog, who he again loves for its “earnestness mixed with absurdity.” He managed to narrow his love for Herzog’s mammoth filmography down to one favourite: 2005’s Grizzly Man. The film tells the story of activist Timothy Treadwell, who set up the preservation organisation Grizzly People.
Eisenberg rounded out the list with his most recent pick, which well and truly lives up to the absurdity of his taste so far. He names Ari Aster’s uncomfortable latest offering, Beau Is Afraid, as his final favourite – a bold choice. The lengthy film starred Joaquin Phoenix as the titular Beau, as he navigates anxiety and his strange relationship with his mother.
Between surrealist imagery and anxiety-inducing comedy, the film is almost impossible to enjoy. It’s three hours of pure paranoia. Beau Is Afraid continues to prove Aster’s reputation as one of the most off-putting directors working today, for better or worse. It also cements Eisenberg’s taste as one marked by absolute absurdity.
With multiple picks from Ayoade, from his own filmography, and a series of absurd comedies, the list feels entirely representative of Eisenberg’s character and his cinematic interests. It would be interesting to see Eisenberg take on another project with the British comedy staple, but it would be even more interesting to see him take on a project helmed by Aster, to see him take on such a strange, surreal script.
Jesse Eisenberg’s favourite movies:
- Grizzly Man (Werner Herzon, 2005)
- Submarine (Richard Ayoade, 2011)
- The Double (Richard Ayoade, 2014)
- The Art of Self-Defence (Riley Stearns, 2019)
- Beau Is Afraid (Ari Aster, 2023)
Watch Jesse Eisenberg in the trailer for The Double below.
