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2020's Top Ten Films
 Between my top 10 and my Honorable Mention, I saw 19 out of the 20 through streaming services. While it’s depressing that I couldn’t see more in a theater, I am grateful that I didn’t have to miss out on some daring, innovative, timely and intimate films. Separating out my top 10 proved difficult, as any of my Honorable Mention picks below could have made the cut: Another Round Borat Subsequent Moviefilm Driveways The Father The Forty-Year Old Version I Care a Lot Judas and the Black Messiah Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom Palm Springs The White Tiger Films take years to develop, make, and distribute, so sometimes it seems strange that their themes can capture the hopes, fears or frustrations of the current moment. No one who didn’t study pandemics could have predicted how COVID transformed the way we live. While none of the films below address the virus directly, many do depict isolation and disconnection with the larger society. Whether it’s a family trying to build a life for themselves in a foreign land, a woman avenging her victimized and ignored friend, a heavy metal drummer losing his hearing and his livelihood, two teenagers navigating a strange city to get a secret abortion, black Vietnam War veterans reconciling fighting for a nation that did not treat them as full citizens, or older people left behind by economic changes having to or choosing to live life on the road, the films reflect how fractured our culture has become. When so many of us have gone months with little to no face-to-face interaction, when others have had their lives and livelihoods jeopardized, and when all of us have had parts of our daily lives that we took for granted taken away, films about people struggling against cruel or disintegrating circumstances resonate that much more. Racial issues are the other resonating theme across some of these films, examining how Western societies have treated minorities in their past and what challenges still remain today. Films from African-American and African-British filmmakers take those questions a step further asking what responsibilities they have to each other and to address injustices that still persist. The murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and too many others brought the issues spotlighted in these films into sharper focus. Through all of these issues my picks for the best of “2021” are particularly timely and through their vivid characters, sharp writing and exquisite storytelling they are particularly outstanding: 10. The Trial of the Chicago 7 (dir. Aaron Sorkin) – Sorkin’s distinctive rapid-fire political dialogue is a perfect fit with the historical events depicted. He also shows growth as a filmmaker, deftly weaving together outside events with the courtroom proceedings. While keeping the narrative tight, the film still explores larger issues about the role of the protest in a democratic system, issues that persist through the unrest this past summer. Sacha Baron Cohen, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Frank Langella and Mark Rylance all stand out amid a superb ensemble cast. How fitting that Sorkin broke through 30 years ago by writing the courtroom drama A Few Good Men, and here he elevates the genre into a mirror of American power and division. 9. The Vast of Night (dir. Andrew Patterson) – This clever tribute to 1950s science-fiction uses low-tech tools to tell a gripping story. Patterson, who co-write the film with Craig W. Sanger, relies on mood, atmosphere, and his actors. Most of all, he trusts the audience’s imagination to fill in the parts of the story that you only hear. Some of The Vast of Night could have even succeeded as a radio drama in the vein of the infamous 1938 Orson Welles broadcast of “War of the Worlds,” another clear influence on the film. 8. One Night In Miami (dir. Regina King) – King and screenwriter Kemp Powers, who adapted his own play, humanize four icons – Muhammad Ali, Jim Brown, Sam Cooke, and Malcolm X. They become real men with their pride, charm, passions, insecurities and doubts. King opens up the play to place it firmly in the events of 1964 and what it meant for African-Americans. The film examines black celebrity and asks what responsibilities come with it, touching on debates still going on today. Leslie Odom, Jr. as Cooke has won acclaim and an Oscar nomination, both much deserved. Aldis Hodge as Brown and Eli Goree as Ali also bring life and depth into their portrayals. But the major revelation is Kingsley Ben-Adir as Malcolm X, who plays the role very differently than Denzel Washington in Spike Lee’s 1992 seminal biopic. Ben-Adir’s Malcolm X is no less committed to the cause, but he’s less sure about the way forward. Regina King won on Oscar a couple of years ago for her acting, but with One Night in Miami, her future may be behind the camera. 7. Minari (dir. Lee Isaac Chung) – Chung’s semi-autobiographical tale in some ways hearkens back to John Ford’s work and other classic American films about immigrants fighting for their place in this country. A lesser film would have overly focused on the culture clash between the Korean family and the rural Arkansas surroundings. Chung folds that in but spends more time on the internal relationships and conflict. He fills Minari with with so many little moments, tender, quiet scenes that build to a compelling whole. Chung draws each of the Yi family so finely that the actors can gradually reveal more of their characters as the story unfolds. Steven Yeun and Yuh-Jung Youn both richly deserved their Oscar nominations, but it’s Alan S. Kim as the young boy David that holds the film together. He gives one of the sweetest, most naturalistic child performances in recent years. 6. Promising Young Woman (dir. Emerald Fennell) – Fennell’s brash, provocative debut plays on audience’s stereotypes the same way it plays with those of the characters. For example, she uses bright, lively colors to mask the darkness underneath. Promising Young Woman challenges our preconceptions of consensual sex vs. sexual assault and our society’s tendency to blame the victim. Fennell’s story twists and turns in ways that keep it one step in front of the viewers without making it hard to follow. The dark, biting humor also keeps the audience off-balance. Carey Mulligan’s magnetic turn in the lead role never tries to gain sympathy but does so anyway. Fennell shrewdly supports Mulligan with Bo Burnham, Adam Brody, and Christopher (“McLovin”) Mintz-Plasse all playing against type in this scathing indictment of rape culture. 5. Mangrove (dir. Steve McQueen) – Yes, technically this is a TV episode, part of McQueen’s “Small Axe” anthology, but I’m including it here for three reasons. First, the line between film and TV was especially blurry this past year. Second, at 127 minutes it’s more than a full movie length. Third, the scope and power of the story feel more like a film than a television show. In some way’s it’s similar to The Trial of the Chicago 7, but it delves deeper into the systemic racism that brought forth the mass Mangrove protests and resulting trial. McQueen takes the time to painstakingly examine life in the black community in late 60s London and the increasing police brutality. So when the action shifts to the trial of the “Mangrove nine” the courtroom scenes are more powerful because we know what’s at stake. Cinematographer Shabier Kirchner’s precise camerawork and McQueen’s trademark holding of shots for a beat or two longer than expected give Mangrove a visual clarity that further enhances its story. 4. Sound of Metal (dir. Darius Marder) – Sound of Metal immerses the audience in the mind of Ruben (Riz Ahmed) a heavy metal drummer losing his hearing. Marder achieves this feat partly through brilliant sound design that, to the best degree possible, replicates how someone would hear his hearing loss (For more on that check out Thomas Flight's video essay. But it’s also through Ahmed’s astounding performance that we empathize with Ruben. Like Mulligan in Promising Young Woman, Ahmed never panders to us. He coveys so much with small gestures and looks. Paul Raci also shines as Joe, the leader of a deaf community that takes in Ruben. Raci brings a lived in weariness to Joe that plays well off of Ruben. The film’s last third centers on a real life divide in the deaf community. Marder doesn’t take sides, trusting viewers to come to their own conclusions. 3. Never Rarely Sometimes Always (dir. Eliza Hittman) –Thanks to Hittman’s tender storytelling and two understated lead performances Never Rarely Sometimes Always becomes a rare movie about an abortion that’s not political, at least not overtly. Hittman keeps the camera and the story squarely on the two girls (Sidney Flanigan and Talia Ryder) from a rural Pennsylvania town so one of them can get the procedure done in New York City. The stripped-down documentary style approach can be overused, but in this movie fits perfectly. We see the city through the girls’ eyes as a frightening, overwhelming place. So is the abortion clinic, even with the dedicated, sympathetic staff. Newcomer Flanigan stays quiet through much of the movie but conveys so much through her expressive face. Ryder has a little more freedom and complements Flanigan’s understated work. In the larger discourse abortion serves as such a hot-button issue that sometimes we forget about the humanity of the women making very difficult decisions. Hittman never loses sight of that humanity, which is why those on either side of the abortion debate should see this movie. 2. Da 5 Bloods (dir. Spike Lee) – How fitting that Spike Lee made the first major film to address the African-American soldier’s experiences in the Vietnam War. Epic in its scope and ambition, Da 5 Bloods seamlessly blends flashbacks from the war with present-day scenes of the four veterans searching for gold they had stashed away. The film evokes Apocalypse Now and The Treasure of the Sierra Madre in different ways that both serve the story Lee is telling. He has never been known for his subtlety, but here he delves into the paradox of men fighting for a country that did not treat them as equals without the film ever becoming a polemic. The stellar cast each illustrate how these men still suffer from the war’s lingering effects. The criminally underrated Delroy Lindo, as the most emotionally wounded of the group, gives a career-defining performance. He’s a live-wire of pain, resentment, anger and paranoia. Lindo imparts all of this while also showing the man’s vulnerability, and touches of who he was before the war turned him into the worst version of himself. The late Chadwick Boseman has little screen time in the war scenes as the group’s commanding officer, but has enough magnetism and charisma that you understand why soldiers would follow him anywhere. 1. Nomadland (dir. Chloé Zhao) – The beautiful, poetic Nomadland somehow combines a blistering critique of America with a love letter to America. The film spotlights a broken social safety net that treats older workers as disposable, but it also celebrates the supportive community some of these people formed along the way. Zhao takes her time telling the story, exploring all the intricacies of the nomadic way of life, the little details of how things work. The story is so simple, but Zhao is more interested in the characters and their behavior. She famously populated Nomadland predominantly with the real people from that world, giving the film the authenticity it needs. I can’t imagine anyone but Frances McDormand playing the lead. Her earthy, unaffected, naturalistic performance fits right in with the non-actors. Zhao frames her and others as small next to the majestic environment. (Check out another Thomas Flight video for an in-depth analysis). The striking magic hour cinematography gives Nomadland a spiritual feel. Fern and her compatriots see that for whatever their hardships, the grace and splendor of the American landscape still hold true. In these times when so much that we count on has been turned upside down, maybe that’s what we all need to see. Adam Spector May 1, 2021 Contact us: |
