Want to get real? Check out this week's lineup of dramas showing on the big screen in and around Chicago.
Read on for the highest rated drama films to catch in theaters, based on critical scores sourced from review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes. (Movie descriptions courtesy The Movie Database; showtimes via Fandango.)
Schindler's List
The true story of how businessman Oskar Schindler saved over a thousand Jewish lives from the Nazis while they worked as slaves in his factory during World War II.
With a 97 percent critical approval rating and an audience score of 97 percent on Rotten Tomatoes, this 1993 release has made a lasting impression, with a consensus that "'Schindler's List' blends the abject horror of the Holocaust with Steven Spielberg's signature tender humanism to create the director's dramatic masterpiece."
It's playing at ShowPlace ICON at Roosevelt Collection with ICON X (1011 S. Delano Court East) through Thursday, Dec. 13. Click here for showtimes and tickets.
The Favourite
In 18th century England, two cousins fight to be the court favorite of the frail Queen Anne.
With a critical approval rating of 94 percent and an audience score of 97 percent on Rotten Tomatoes, "The Favourite" has garnered plenty of praise since its release on November 23. According to the site's critical consensus, "'The Favourite' sees Yorgos Lanthimos balancing a period setting against rich, timely subtext — and getting roundly stellar performances from his well-chosen stars."
Get a piece of the action at ArcLight Chicago (1500 N. Clybourn Ave.), ShowPlace ICON at Roosevelt Collection with ICON X (1011 S. Delano Court East), AMC River East 21 (322 E. Illinois St.) and Regal Webster Place 11 (1471 W. Webster Ave.) through Thursday, Dec. 13. Click here for showtimes and tickets.
Tokyo Godfathers
One Christmas Eve, three people — a middle-aged alcoholic named Gin, former drag queen Hana and dependent runaway girl Miyuki — discover an abandoned newborn while looking through the garbage.
With a critical approval rating of 90 percent and an audience score of 91 percent on Rotten Tomatoes, "Tokyo Godfathers" has proven a solid viewing choice. The site's critical consensus notes that "Beautiful and substantive, 'Tokyo Godfathers' adds a moving — and somewhat unconventional — entry to the animated Christmas canon."
Catch it on the big screen at ArcLight Chicago (1500 N. Clybourn Ave.) on Wednesday, Dec. 12. Click here for showtimes and tickets.
Boy Erased
Jared, the son of a Baptist pastor in a small American town, is outed to his parents at age 19. Jared is faced with an ultimatum: attend a gay conversion therapy program — or be permanently exiled and shunned by his family, friends and faith.
With an 81 percent critical approval rating and an audience score of 77 percent on Rotten Tomatoes, "Boy Erased" has proven a solid option since its release on Nov. 16. The site's critical consensus has it that "Anchored in empathy by writer-director-star Joel Edgerton, 'Boy Erased' proves the road to complex, powerfully performed drama can also be paved with good intentions."
You can catch it at ArcLight Chicago (1500 N. Clybourn Ave.) through Thursday, Dec. 13. Click here for showtimes and tickets.
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