Caused Controversy

Some films get attention for all the wrong reasons; from a scandalous back story, to a questionable choice by the director. The following movies all have their share of controversy and made audiences angry, and kept the media talking. 

1. I, Tonya; Craig Gillespie Click here to see trailer

This strange and true story has become synonymous with competitive figure skating in America. Tonya Harding (Margot Robbie), a world champion figure skater and the first ever woman to land a triple axel has more than her share of bad luck - with an unloving mother and a husband who beats her on a regular basis. Tonya's talent begins to crumble but things go from bad to worse when her husband 'accidentally' hires hitmen to maim Nancy Kerrigan, her most prominent competition. The controversy stemmed from the way the film portrays Tonya Harding - in a way that makes us feel sorry for her and makes her a star. Some people didn't think Tonya deserved this recognition and still hold firm that she was the mastermind behind the plan to devastate Nancy.  

2. mother!; Darren Aronofsky Click here to see trailer

Audiences described this movie in two ways: a masterpiece the masses can't understand, or a literal clusterf**k of bad ideas. With an exactly 50/50 split of positive and negative audience reviews on Rotten Tomatoes, the controversy surrounding this movie isn't just about the quality of the film but also the terrifyingly bizarre storyline and graphic violence. When uninvited guests make themselves at home, young wife Veronica (Jennifer Lawerence) fights to look after her home and her sanity. 

3. Capturing the Friedmans; Andrew Jarecki Click here to see trailer

Many documentaries cause controversy, but this one more than others because of the bizarre way the events fold out. Director Andrew sets out to make a documentary about children's entertainers, particularly clowns, but as the story unfolds he discovers the family have some dark troubles in their history. Arnold Friedman, the patriarch of the family, has a large collection of child pornography which is found by the U.S postal service. The accusations get deeper and darker as the film goes on, and the largest controversy stems from the simple question - is he guilty? Audiences were concerned by the lack of an 'answer' as the film is very ambiguous and unbiased. 

4. Argo; Ben Affleck Click here to see trailer

Want to upset an entire country and have their Prime Minister comment on how upset your film made him? Well that's what happened with this one. Based on the shocking true story, set in 1979 when 66 Americans are taken hostage by Iranian militants and the cunning plan to save them. In the film, the team ask New Zealand to help house 6 of the escapees but are turned down - this making Prime Minister John Key very upset claiming that this isn't how it happening in the real story at all. 

5. Birth; Jonathan Glazer Click here to see trailer

Anna (Nicole Kidman) loses her fit and healthy husband unexpectedly and is forced to move on without him, although taking a long time to recover she is finally settling in to her new life and about to marry her boyfriend. But, she meets a strange kid named Sean who claims to be a reincarnated version of her late husband, and has the facts to back up this claim. Of course this in itself is a strange premise, but controversy arose over the even stranger scenes of Nicole Kidman and a 10 year old boy bathing together, kissing, and sharing intimate secrets. 

6. Spotlight; Tom McCarthy Click here to see trailer

Of course a film chronicling the uncovering of a massive child sex abuse scandal in the Roman Catholic Church is going to stir controversy, and that's exactly what Spotlight did in the best way possible. Based on the true story of a small team at the Boston Globe looking for their next scoop, and in turn finding hundreds of victims of Priests - some willing to share their story, some still coming to terms with what they've been put through. 

7. Red Sparrow; Francis Lawrence Click here to see trailer

Where do I even begin with the controversy surrounding this bizarre, disturbing, mild anti-Russia propaganda-filled movie? There is so much to talk about including the hyper sexualisation of Jennifer Lawrence, the rape scenes, the terrible Russian accents and casting of Americans to play Russian roles, mass numbers of people leaving the cinema halfway through, and a dress Jennifer Lawrence wore to promote the film. This movie is about a secret service of men and women who use seduction as a weapon to gain information and feed it back to the government - who care little about the bodies and sanity of the people it employs. 

8. Django Unchained; Quentin Tarantino Click here to see trailer

Django (Jamie Foxx) is found by an unusual German bounty hunter named Dr. Schultz (Christoph Waltz) and taken under his wing to learn the work, effectively making him a free man. The pair eventually come up with a plan to find Django's stolen wife, which involves tricking a notoriously malevolent slave trader which you can imagine doesn't go quite to plan. In true Tarantino fashion there is enough blood, gore, violence, profanity, and cool-dialogue to shake a stick at. An of course controversy which arose because of the use of the N-word, not only in the movie, but by the actors in interviews too.