Dakota Fanning Raids the Criterion Closet for Grey Gardens, Hedwig & More

Dakota’s Shelf Pull Is Cult Obsession, Family Ties & Serious Taste

The mighty great Dakota Fanning side-steps into The Criterion Collection’s Closet Picks, and thankfully her shelf pull is anything but predictable.

First up, she unveils her adoration of the Maysles brothers’ 1975 documentary Grey Gardens — one of our preferred documentaries as well. Little Edie forever, thank you very much.

Dakota also spills on thee captivation of Sandra Hüller’s performance in Justine Triet’s 2023 courtroom masterstroke Anatomy of a Fall. The film’s icy ambiguity and Hüller’s impossible-to-pin-down work clearly did the trick.

Then comes the family connection: Dakota praises Joachim Trier’s 2025 Sentimental Value, starring her sister Elle Fanning. Yes, sister support is cute — but Dakota’s taste here is not running on nepotism fumes. The film sits comfortably beside the rest of a list that jumps from documentary obsession to bruising drama to glam-rock cult cinema.

Her picks also include Elia Kazan’s 1954 classic On the Waterfront and John Cameron Mitchell’s epic 2001 glam-rock musical Hedwig and the Angry Inch. Now that is a shelf with range.

Criterion had already teased part of Dakota’s visit with Anatomy of a Fall, Sentimental Value, Grey Gardens and Hedwig and the Angry Inch among the selections. The full Closet Picks video lets her connect the dots herself — what she loves, what stayed with her and which performances refuse to leave the brain.

And truly, there is something endlessly satisfying about watching an actor with decades of film history wander into Criterion’s little cinephile candy store and immediately start pulling titles with personality.

Dakota Fanning’s Criterion Closet Picks

Dakota Fanning shares the films she reaches for inside the Criterion Closet, from Grey Gardens and Anatomy of a Fall to Sentimental Value, On the Waterfront and Hedwig and the Angry Inch.

Source: The Criterion Collection.