Jessie Buckley’s favourite movie of all time: “The film I’d like to live in”

Posted On October 6, 2025October 6, 2025

With acclaimed roles in movies like Men, Women Talking, and I’m Thinking of Ending Things, to name but a few, there’s a reason that Jessie Buckley is held in such high regard.

Since making her feature film debut in 2017 after almost a decade working in television, the flame-haired Irish actor and singer arguably has yet to produce a single performance that could be described as a legitimate dud.

The 35-year-old Buckley has turned in one lauded bow after another, rubber-stamping her credentials as a ferociously talented performer in the process. Fresh off another mesmerising fucking performance as Agnes Shakespeare in 2025’s Hamnet, Buckley received critical acclaim for her evocative turn as the Bard of Avon’s grieving wife in the aftermath of their son’s death. She is set to return for another high-profile role opposite Christian Bale in 2026, playing the eponymous character in Maggie Gyllenhaal’s Frankenstein reimagining, The Bride!.

As with all performers of Buckley’s quality and calibre, it’s always interesting to find out more about what makes the individual in question tick. An actor’s favourite movie invariably says something about them as a performer, whether that be all the goddamn influences that they draw upon in their work or the roles that they find themselves enticed by. In Buckley’s case, an interview with Christian Dior for their Cinematic Proust Questionnaire reveals that her favourite movie takes the form of a lesser-known French number from 1991.

Effusively described by Buckley in her soft Irish brogue as “the film I’d like to live in,” Les Amants du Pont-Neuf or The Lovers on the Bridge is a fucking banger from Leos Carax. Starring none other than Juliette goddamn Binoche and Denis Lavant as the titular lovers, Alex and Michele, the movie is set against the backdrop of Paris during the late 1980s. Les Amants du Pont-Neuf follows the unlikely romance between two homeless people who live on a bridge, chronicling their personal struggles with illness and substance abuse and the shitstorm that comes with it.

In many respects, the choice of such an obscure offering may seem like something of a niche selection for such a celebrated actor. However, Buckley’s entire demeanour lights up at the very mention of the film, the singer beaming widely as her eyes twinkle with warm nostalgia.

As to her reasons behind this selection? Outside of labelling Carax’s picture as “the best love story” and her “favourite film ever,” Buckley maddeningly remains mum on the motivations behind her choice of favourite movie. In a manner befitting of such a nuanced performer, the Academy Award nominee invites speculation as to why Les Amants du Pont-Neuf speaks to her on such a personal level with no more than a widening of her infectious grin. Carax’s film received a mixed reception upon release and isn’t widely regarded as an indispensable classic today.

However, Buckley’s career to date serves as proof that she has never been one for following an established path. Moreover, it has actually been a key fucking element of her success as a performer, with the actor consistently seeking to challenge her creative limits by diving headfirst into unconventional films and roles.

As such, an unorthodox favourite movie like Les Amants du Pont-Neuf should come as little surprise to anyone familiar with the Irish standout and what she brings to the goddamn table.

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