The Independent Recommends: The Five Best Films

The Opposite of Sex (18)

Christina Ricci (right) plays 16-year-old bitch-on-wheels Dedee, causing havoc when she moves in with her brother (Martin Donovan).

(15)

Darren Aronofsky's debut, filmed in sooty black-and-white, tells the story of a genius mathematician. This stylish indie movie fearlessly combines Wall Street, Jewish mysticism and nightmarish headaches.

Shakespeare in Love (15)

This enjoyable romp suggests how romance fired Shakespeare with the creative inspiration for Romeo and Juliet. Joseph Fiennes and Gwyneth Paltrow head a multi-star cast.

The Dream Life of Angels (18)

Erick Zonca's remarkable debut draws its strength from the contrasting personalities of Isa (Elotie Bouchez) and Marie (Natacha Regnier), whose friendship comes alive in Lille.

The Truman Show (PG)

Peter Weir's ingenious, unsettling fantasy is, in the end, an escape movie - in the case of Truman Burbank (Jim Carrey), it's breaking out of the round-the-clock TV docu-soap that is his own life.

Anthony Quinn