My Fave Feel-Good Films of Fall

From New York brownstones to English boarding schools, these are the movies I come back to every fall.

Oct 13, 2023

There’s nothing like a good movie on a chilly autumn night. The month of reactivating our streaming services has come again! It’s always fun to have a little something indoors to look forward to when the days get shorter, darker, and colder. Here’s a list of movies that leave me feeling cosy and warm inside: my fave feel-good films of fall.

Many of these recommendations are set in Europe—there’s something about the English countryside, brick dormitories, and a posh accent that feels extra autumn-like. Maybe it’s because they get almost as much rain as we do here in Victoria, maybe it’s the fall fashion. Either way, these are the films I come back to when I want something warm, funny, romantic, or simply comforting.

Julie & Julia (2009)
Meryl Streep and Stanley Tucci dining in Paris, Amy Adams blogging and cooking in Brooklyn—it’s your favourite comfort food in the form of a film. It follows the lives of Julia Child and Julie Powell as they navigate cooking, writing, and relationships, all while making a name for themselves. Bon appétit!

You’ve Got Mail (1998)
If you didn’t catch the reference, the name of my newsletter happens to be based on this movie. Another Nora Ephron classic, You’ve Got Mail has everything I love in a fall romance: New York brownstones, bookstores, serendipitous connections, and dial-up internet. It follows two rival bookstore owners who unknowingly fall for each other through anonymous emails.

About Time (2013)
A young British man with the ability to time travel tries to change his past in hopes of improving his future. It’s a beautifully romantic story about love, family, and learning to appreciate the imperfect, ordinary moments that make life worthwhile.

Practical Magic (1998)
You knew this one would be on the list! Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman play sisters descended from a long line of witches, raised by their eccentric aunts in a beautiful old Victorian home. Add an apothecary, broomsticks, candles, a family curse, and midnight margaritas, and you have one of the most perfect fall movies ever made.

Where’d You Go, Bernadette (2019)
Cate Blanchett plays a fiercely intelligent architect who has retreated from the world and settled into family life in Seattle. Stylish, funny, and a little eccentric, it’s ultimately a story about creativity, identity, and finding your way back to yourself. This one always leaves me feeling inspired.

Dead Poets Society (1989)
Set in 1959 at an elite boys’ boarding school, Robin Williams plays an English teacher who inspires his students through poetry, curiosity, and a little rebellion. It’s heartfelt, beautifully autumnal, and the kind of film that makes you want to live more boldly. Carpe diem!

Paddington 2 (2017)
Paddington is happily settled with the Brown family in London when a stolen pop-up book lands him in prison. Sweet, funny, and genuinely heartwarming, it’s a film about kindness, family, and the small ways people can make life better for one another.

School of Rock (2003)
A down-on-his-luck rock musician, Jack Black, poses as a substitute teacher at a prestigious prep school and turns his class into a rock band. Bold, funny, and weirdly wholesome, it’s all about confidence, creativity, and letting kids discover themselves.