Boston, inspiring city
The city of Boston has always inspired more than one director, whether through the framework offered by its universities(Will Hunting by Gus Van Sant in 1997 or The Social Network by David Fincher in 2010), or through its various communities. Clint Eastwood with Mystic River (2003), Martin Scorcese with The Infiltrated (2006) and Ben Affleck with Gone Baby Gone (2007) honour the city's Irish community. The Boston Islands are also featured in Martin Scorsese's Shutter Island (2010). In 2015, Tom McCarthy's film Spotlight (about the paedophilia scandal in the American Catholic Church, brought to light by a Boston Globe team) won the Oscar in 2016 for best film as well as the prestigious Pulitzer Prize. In the same year, Scott Cooper honored the capital of Massachusetts in his film Strictly Criminal, a detective film about the life of mobster James J. Bulger (camped by Johnny Depp). More recently, let us also mention the new Ghostbusters (2016), the last two installments of the Hunger Games saga(The Revolt Part 1 and Part 2) as well as Tate Taylor's Ava (2020), starring Jessica Chastain. On the small screen, let's mention the three successful series created by David E. Kelly: Ally Mc Beal, The Practice, and Boston Justice. The city of Providence, capital of Rhode Island, was the setting for the series of the same name between 1999 and 2002.
New England
But Boston isn't the only New England town to serve as the setting for many cult films. Hitchcock finds New England the setting for his macabre farce But who killed Harry? (1955). Stanley Kubrick's Lolita (1962) has New Hampshire as its backdrop, Newport's opulent mansions serve as the setting for Jack Clayton's Gatsby the Magnificent (1974), Martha's Vineyard becomes Amity Island for Steven Spielberg's Jaws (1975), Frank Darabont's Les Évadés (1994) takes place in a Maine penitentiary, the famous Jumanji (1995) is filmed in many New England cities, Wes Anderson's Moonrise Kingdom (2012) is partly shot on Prudence Island, Rhode Island. Recently, it is the small town of Manchester-by-the-Sea on the north coast of Massachusetts that has become known, thanks to the eponymous film released in 2016. Manchester-by-the-Sea won the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay and Casey Affleck won Best Actor for his portrayal of the taciturn Lee. In the same year, The Finest Hours, set in Cape Cod, and in 2017, the film Stronger with Jake Gyllenhaal, were released.
