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Films that do well on the festival circuit, are often overlooked when they’re released in theatres.

This is unfortunate because, without the hype that comes with raking it in at the box office, they can fall by the wayside, and unless you’re a film buff who keeps up to date with everything that graces the silver screen, you might miss them as they disappear into the archives.

Thankfully, some film buffs, like those tasked with checking out great films at WIRED, are happy to do the work of digging them up for you.

They compiled a list of the 20 most underrated films of the past 20 years, of which we chose our four favourites, and added a fifth that you may never have heard of (it’s the last one on our list).

Have at it.

The Assistant 

Jane, played by Julia Garner, is a recently hired assistant to a major Hollywood player. Through what at first glance looks like an average day for an assistant (making coffee, filing papers), it’s slowly revealed that not everything happening behind closed doors is appropriate.

It’s a subtle, clever look at the abuse and objectification that a number of women have experienced in the industry and a “timely take on the Harvey Weinsteins of the world“.

Good Time

Most of us know Robert Pattinson as the sparkly stalker, and low-key abusive vampire from the Twilight films, but he’s fast establishing himself as one of Hollywood’s most interesting actors.

In Good Time, he plays Connie Nikas, a bank robber who recruits his developmentally disabled brother Nick (co-director Benny Safdie) to help him in his criminal endeavours.

When the brothers are arrested, he spends the remainder of the film trying to break Nick out of the hospital that he has been placed in, without much consideration for what might be best for him.

99 Homes

This one did very well on the film festival circuit but didn’t attract much attention in the theatres.

Its star-studded cast includes Andrew Garfield, Laura Dern, and Michael Shannon, and follows real estate professional Rick Carver who does quite well for himself during an economic crisis by evicting homeowners with no regard for their individual situations.

Things get interesting when Carver hires Dennis Nash whose conscience is a little more developed than his own.

The One I Love

If Elisabeth Moss is in it, I’m on board.

She and Mark Duplass star as a couple in need of a little relationship counselling, but when their therapist offers them a remote place to stay to work on their problems, things start getting weird.

The Castle

The Castle is an Australian comedy-drama directed by Rob Sitch, and it’s an absolute gem.

The movie, which was filmed in just 11 days, gained widespread acclaim in New Zealand and Australia but wasn’t really distributed globally.

It centres around the Kerrigan Family whose home, their pride and joy, becomes threatened when developers attempt the compulsory acquisition of their house to expand the neighbouring airport.

It’s a laugh a minute, with a delightful ending, and you have no excuse not to watch it because here it is, in full:

You can thank us later.

Check out the rest of WIRED’s list here.

[source:wired]