Is it trite to say that this year has been an unprecedented one in so many ways? (No need to respond; I know the answer.)
I’ll (try to) keep it short and sweet this year because I’m so, so tired.
A raging, global pandemic the likes of which the world hasn’t seen in over a century has made me tired; The grueling 2020 presidential campaign season in which the losing candidate (Donald Trump) refused to concede and thus threatened our long-standing tradition of a peaceful transfer of power has made me tired; Donald Trump’s astronomical mismanagement of COVID (as well as just about everything else he touched) has made me tired; The attempt by Trump’s most unhinged supporters – to say nothing of the white supremacists and Christian supremacists – to violently overthrow the democratically elected government after being fed unnumbered lies about the election being rigged against Trump has made me tired; Realizing that all of this is how America has always functioned for certain oppressed groups of people has made me tired, as well as full of rage.
But still I find hope.
I find hope in the kinds of movies that rose to the top for me in 2020. It feels like something is ever-so-slightly changing in the culture. Six of my top ten films of the year were directed by women. Four of them were directed by and/or predominantly feature people of color; the stories that they tell are pointedly from a perspective that is not white and male.
And here’s the thing. Surprising absolutely no one (OK, maybe Tucker Carlson, but fuck that guy), these movies are all phenomenally good.
I put off publishing my top ten films list this year by a little over a month. I’ve had a very strict deadline in years past of publishing this list on the anniversary of starting my website (December 20th). But this year has been like no other, at least that I’ve lived through. So, as I ended my sixth year of writing film criticism, because I was tired, and because I wanted to squeeze a few more films in before I made the list, I held off.
I’m glad I did.
If I hadn’t, two of these films wouldn’t be on the list, including my number one of the year. I watched 214 movies in 2020, but, as always, I feel like I barely scratched the surface. I still have work to do. I need to make time for Minari, Soul, and Steve McQueen’s entire classification-busting Small Axe anthology.
But all that is for later. For now, without further ado, please see below for my top ten of 2020:
*Note: Each movie title above the picture is a link that will take you to my review of that movie, with two exceptions. I didn't write a review of my number seven, or my number one, but I’ll get to that one soon.
10. Shirley
This not-quite-a-biopic biopic about the writer Shirley Jackson plays like one of the author’s own chilling tales. A fictional couple comes to stay with Jackson and her literary critic husband, and the constant head games and psychological manipulation from both hosts wreak havoc on their guests. The final shot of the movie is one of the creepiest of the year.
9. Never Rarely Sometimes Always
This delicate neo-realist drama from director Eliza Hittman is a moving example of humanist filmmaking. It tells the story of a young girl who needs an abortion, but who lives in a place where it’s all but impossible to get one. With the help of a friend, she journeys to New York City to get the medical care that she needs and that is supposed to be a protected right for every woman in America.
8. Possessor
This is my transgressive horror film selection of the list. Director Brandon Cronenberg takes us on a harrowing body-horror odyssey in his sci-fi mind-bender about a corporation that completes contract assassinations by taking over the bodies of other people in order to do the dirty work. The existential dread of one of those hapless victims fighting for his body and mind is brought to life with a surreal aesthetic and sickeningly violent special effects.
7. David Byrne’s American Utopia
I didn’t have a chance to write about Spike Lee’s filmed version of David Byrne’s Broadway show (that was shut down not long after filming took place, due to COVID), but I was blown away by its artistry and moving message. Byrne’s music is fantastic, especially his cover of Janelle Monáe’s protest song, Hell You Talmbout. Lee’s direction during this sequence made me sit up and say, “Oh, hi, Spike!” It’s as iconic as anything the director has ever done. Byrne’s political message, melded with his incredible music, tells a story about America that is timely, necessary, and ultimately hopeful.
6. One Night in Miami…
Malcom X, Muhammad Ali, Sam Cooke, and Jim Brown. In a room over the course of one night, these four iconic men debate the strategies for and aims of the Black Liberation movement. It’s a fascinating premise on its own. Regina King’s strong direction and the performances of the four actors taking on the roles make it one of the best films of the year.
5. I’m Thinking of Ending Things
I’ve never been happier to feel like a complete idiot by the end of a movie. Charlie Kaufman’s near-impenetrable tale of a woman who begins to doubt her own existence by the end of a “nice family dinner” with her boyfriend’s parents is a puzzle box of a movie. Kaufman delivers his signature existential dread, mixed liberally with his idiosyncratic sense of humor. At one point, we get a character quoting verbatim from Pauline Kael’s review of A Woman Under the Influence and an ethereal dance sequence that raises more questions about what the hell is going on in the story than it answers. What’s not to love?
4. Sound of Metal
That ending. Riz Ahmed’s electric performance as a metal drummer who suddenly loses his hearing is pulverizing. The journey we take with his character, as he comes to terms with his new, forever changed life, is by turns heartbreaking, frustrating, and ultimately uplifting. Paul Raci’s pitch-perfect supporting performance as the head of the half-way house where Ahmed’s Ruben begins to put his life back together is brilliant. The added technique the film uses of making us hear the world the way that Ruben does is inspired and unforgettable.
3. Dick Johnson is Dead
Director Kirsten Johnson asked her father to make a movie with her that imagined a variety of ways that he might die when it becomes evident that the aging man is beginning a mental decline. The darkly funny (oh, the gallows humor) and deeply moving result is a documentary that is as much about losing a loved one as it is about actually dying. Based on my experience with Dick Johnson is Dead, I can’t wait to go back and dive into Johnson’s first documentary as director, Cameraperson.
2. Promising Young Woman
First-time feature director Emerald Fennell’s Promising Young Woman is a feminist scream and a darkly comic reckoning with the toxic men targeted by the #metoo movement. Fennell’s main character, Cassie (played by a brilliant Carey Mulligan), is on the warpath, and no man who treats women like objects is safe. I was pained to leave The Assistant, a film that deals with a Harvey Weinstein-like film producer’s toxic work environment, off this list, but Promising Young Woman represents this sub-genre of women pushing back against shitty men more than ably. The use of Britney Spears’s Toxic in the climax is inspired.
1. Nomadland
I haven’t fully wrestled with my thoughts about director Chloé Zhao’s phenomenal Nomadland yet. Keep an eye out in late February for a proper review from me, when the film is rolled out wider, and more people have had a chance to see it. Zhao’s wonderful use of non-professional actors alongside the brilliant Frances McDormand paints a picture of people on the fringes of society with a great amount of depth, nuance, and striking beauty. At one point, McDormand’s character, Fern, who lost almost everything in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis, says, “I’m homeless, not hopeless.” Zhao’s film is brimming with hope and a quiet dignity for its characters, and is set against some breathtaking American landscapes.
The rest of the best:
Like last year, I’m expanding my list to include my top 25 of the year. I’m not going to comment on them at all. I’ll just list them and link to my reviews, where available. If any of them grab your attention, check ‘em out: