The top 10 films of 2020, Take 1
This movie year was better than you think.
Earlier this year, during an episode of the We’re Watching Here podcast, I was talking to my co-host, Perry, about my film-centric resolutions. One of those was to watch films in as many different theatrical settings as possible in 2020. I was growing itchy with the multiplex experience; I wanted to enjoy the variety of arthouses in Detroit, frequent a local repertory house, and spend more time with the independent cinemas in our area.
That did not happen.
Instead, the only time I went to theaters this year was when I took my son to a Saturday matinee of Sonic the Hedgehog. Throughout January and February, most of my evenings and weekends were consumed with finishing my master’s thesis. Just as I was nearing the end of that, the pandemic began raging across the country, and theaters shut down. There was a brief period over the summer when theaters reopened in Michigan (they shut down again in November) and a friend and I made tentative plans to see Tenet; at about the same time, cases started surging again and it didn’t seem wise. And so, for the first time since early childhood, this is the first year in which I’ve only seen one movie on the big screen.
There’s been so much horrible this year that the pandemic’s effects on the movie industry might seem to be the epitome of first-world problems. But the theater closings, pauses in productions and loss of revenue, not to mention the continued threat posed by streaming, will have impacts that don’t just affect Hollywood’s elite; the biggest toll will be on workers throughout the industry who find themselves taking pay cuts and out of work. COVID has leveled so many industries this year, but the movies — one of our culture’s few remaining communal activities — were hit particularly hard.
So, I want to be clear that when I say it was a good movie year, I’m not trying to belittle the very real economic, health and emotional impacts of the pandemic.
But...it was a good movie year.
Yes, it was weird to have a year with no new Marvel movie (our first since 2009). It was odd that I saw both new Pixar films in the comfort of my own home, and that there was no summer movie season to get amped about in the warmer months. I usually cap the year by spending two days in a movie theater with about two dozen other local critics, doing our year-end catchup in a gloriously exhausting binge. If we do that this year, it will be closer to spring, to coincide with the delayed Academy Awards ceremony. The rhythms of this year were gone, as was any type of release structure. Sure, we knew when several films were coming out on VOD, and marketers kept the online screeners coming. But what screeners would we get? What were people going to be talking about? When you have five screeners coming in a week, each with 48-hour windows to view them in, how do you decide which ones to devote your time to?
It made for an exciting year. Getting the big studio releases out of the way meant smaller films had an opportunity to grab the spotlight. Without an opening weekend to pin marketing on, people depended more heavily on word of mouth to make their viewing decisions. And I found myself watching screeners during the year that I probably would have had to ignore in a traditional year, as a full-time job and family commitments put a limit on what I can watch. And I discovered some great films that I hope would stand up just as easily at the end of the year if we’d had a traditional release.
In fact, there was so much good this year that I know I’m only scratching the surface in what I watched.
There’s really no requirement to do a top-ten list. Most critics do it because readers like to read and argue about them. I enjoy them because it gives me a chance to look back on my year and celebrate the films I’m grateful to have seen. It also helps me mentally close out the year (and if any year needs closing out, it’s 2020). So, there was no way that I was not going to do a list of the top 10 releases of 2020.
But I still have so much left to see. As I type this, there’s a pile to my left of screeners that just arrived. First Cow, Minari, I’m Your Woman. I didn’t get a screener of Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, which hits Netflix this weekend. I still need to see Tenet, which just hit streaming and physical. But I know there’s no way, with holiday obligations and work, that I’m going to get around to it before Dec. 31. And, like I said, my critics group isn’t voting until late March.
So, here’s the decision I made. Last Sunday, I watched the last release of 2020 before starting this list. I’m going to take a few weeks off to enjoy the holiday break, probably catching up with some movies over that time as well. In January and February, I’ll catch up on the remaining movies (it sounds so much more appealing to watch those in the doldrums instead of trying to plow through screeners at Christmastime, anyway). And in mid-March, I’ll do a Take 2 of this. It’s quite possible that list could look much different than the one I’m publishing today; it’s kind of exciting to think that I might have that many great films ahead of me.
So, here today, you get Take 1. If I had to submit a list of my top 10 films of 2020 today, these would be the ones I’d highlight. And I love all of them. I don’t feel like this list needs to come with an asterisk; I’d be proud to have all of these represent my moviegoing year. I films come out that are even better, I’ll be more than happy to celebrate them in a few months.. It was a solid year for movies, and I hope you’ll take a chance on some of these. I’ve also included a list of the top 10 older films I finally caught up with in 2020, and they’re all movies I hope you’ll give a chance to as well. We’re going to be stuck inside in the cold for a while longer; why not enjoy some movies while you’re at it?
So, without further ado…
My 10 favorite releases of 2020
Nomadland: Chloe Zhao’s thoughtful look at life on the fringes brought me to tears with its simple beauty. Frances McDormand is fantastic as Fern, a woman who takes to van living after the death of her husband. Zhao crafts a compassionate look at people who, for a variety of reasons, choose to take a different path than the one dictated to them by American culture. She never romanticizes it; Fern is still beset by car troubles, money woes and the knowledge that people look askance at her choice. But Zhao also celebrates the unexpected joys of checking out on society, including the community of intentional outcasts Fern encounters and the moments of beauty that creep into the stillness. This film’s reminder that there are more ways to happiness than the American Dream is much needed in 2020. (Nomadland was released at the Toronto International Film Festival and will have a wider launch in February 2021).
Small Axe - Lovers Rock: Steve McQueen’s BBC/Amazon Prime anthology was a beautiful late-year surprise. Each of the five films tackle the history and struggles of England’s West Indian community. All are worth watching; Lovers Rock is essential. For 80 minutes, McQueen stages a house party in the London suburbs. He lingers on food preparation and setup. He immerses us in extended dance sequences and singalongs. He watches people take tentative steps toward relationships and celebrate their culture, if only for an evening. It’s an energetic and fully alive experience, a reminder of the importance of community in handing down heritage and celebrating identity. It’s one of the most enjoyable and immediate film experiences of the year, and the best thing the Oscar-winning director has done. (Stream on Amazon Prime).
Sound of Metal: Darius Marder’s directorial debut is an innovative and emotional tour-de-force, fronted by a blistering lead performance by Riz Ahmed as Ruben, a heavy metal drummer confronting hearing loss. Rather than frame Ruben’s story as one of overcoming a disability, Marder focuses on his struggle to accept the curveball that life has thrown at him and grow comfortable with the stillness. In a year where routines and plans were thrown out the window, Sound of Metal resonates, and never gives in to the temptation to overplay the emotion or indulge in melodrama. Marder’s sound design puts audiences in the middle of Ruben’s struggle, and the film is anchored by award-worthy performances from Ahmed, Olivia Cooke and Paul Raci. (Stream on Amazon Prime).
Dick Johnson is Dead: Kirsten Johnson’s documentary is both a love letter to her father and an opportunity to mourn him before he goes. When she realizes that her dad, the titular Dick Johnson, is getting up in years and starting to experience the first symptoms of Alzheimer’s, Johnson decides to celebrate him in what initially seems to be an odd way: filming a variety of tableaus in which he suffers an untimely, and sometimes darkly funny, death. But these scenes are merely setup, the hooks on which to hang this funny and moving meditation about our discomfort with death. Johnson allows such intimate access to the father-daughter relationship that, by the end, we feel like we know Dick almost as well as she does, and we also aren’t ready to say goodbye. Its final shot is one of the great cinematic moments of 2020. (Stream on Netflix).
The Climb: Michael Angelo Covino’s film is proof that the buddy comedy doesn’t have to lack visual imagination. Covino co-wrote and co-stars with real-life best friend Kyle Marvin for this years-spanning epic about two best buds and their often toxic relationship. Covino and Marvin’s chemistry is palpable and the beating heart of this sprawling story, which is by turns deeply funny and bracingly real. Covino, in particular, is both heartbreaking and hilarious as the more toxic of the duo. But in addition to a gift for witty dialogue, Covino also has a strong directorial eye. He composes the film in a series of long shots, including a stunner shot from outside a home on Christmas Eve. The direction is exemplary, but the visual tricks don’t detract from the film’s insightful look at male friendship. One of the year’s best surprises. (The Climb had a theatrical release this year and should be available to purchase or stream in 2021).
Da 5 Bloods: Spike Lee’s angry, sprawling film is one of his best. The film follows a group of veterans as they return to Vietnam to reclaim stolen gold, and their return reopens old rifts and memories. Lee tackles the emotional and mental plight of Vietnam veterans, and how the racism of America’s past continues to bleed into its present. Lee speaks cinema, and Da 5 Bloods is bursting with references to other films, from Apocalypse Now to Treasure of the Sierra Madre to Platoon, and more, but this is never just reference for the sake of reference. Early in the film, the characters note how the majority of Vietnam movies are about white soldiers, when so many Black men fought and died in the war; this is Lee’s opportunity to reclaim the genre. In addition, the film features all-timer performances from Delroy Lindo and, in one of his final films, Chadwick Boseman. (Stream on Netflix).
The Dissident: A focused and urgent work of journalism, The Dissident explores how Washington Post report Jamal Khashoggi went from the inner circles of the Saudi government to living in exile in the United States, and how his writing and activism became such a threat to his homeland that he was ultimately killed for it. The film isn’t easy to watch; the details of Khashoggi’s final moments are horrifying. But the film’s importance isn’t just in from how it unpacks Khashoggi’s apparent state-planned murder. It’s in unveiling how the Saudi government uses social media to alter its citizens' reality and in pointing the fingers at other world leaders who expressed outrage but have yet to hold the Saudi government accountable. Even as it continues to dole out information, The Dissident never makes Khashoggi a talking point; it leans on interviews with his fiancée and friends to paint a picture of a warm, brave man who’d already sacrificed so much. An important and vital film. (The Dissident will hit theaters Dec. 25 and be available on demand Jan. 8, 2021).
Soul: Pete Docter and Kemp Powers co-direct the best Pixar film since Inside Out. While there’s an argument to be made that Soul is simply a combination of elements from Pixar’s greatest hits, this story of a man who learns to live after death is one of the studio’s most visually and aurally inventive offerings. The world in which Joe Gardner finds himself is filled with characters made up of two-dimensional lines that twist and turn as they see fit, and the “real-world” sequences are rendered with gorgeous, nearly photorealistic animation. Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross’ score stand aparts from anything Pixar’s done before, and the film is the rare animated film (and first Pixar film) to celebrate Black culture. While the film’s ultimate points may be a bit pat and its resolution rushed, it’s the kind of imaginative, philosophical and funny bit of work Pixar used to regularly be known for. (Soul will debut on Disney+ Dec. 25).
The Way Back: No one makes sports movies like Gavin O’ Connor. The Miracle and Warrior director delivered another emotional, engaging sports drama with this story of an alcoholic who finds healing by coaching high school basketball. Ben Affleck has never been better; he never overplays the affliction nor does he oversell the triumph. O’ Connor keeps the emotions restrained; it’s an often muted film, and the rare sports movie that puts the game in the background while foregrounding the character drama. We’ve seen this movie before, but rarely done with this much thoughtfulness; in the film’s final 30 minutes, O’Connor allows the character’s decisions, not the genre’s conventions, dictate the story. The Way Back isn’t a stand-up-and-cheer sports movie, but it packs its own undeniable power. (The Way Back is available on home video and streaming rental).
I’m Thinking of Ending Things: Rarely has a film cared so little as to whether you understand what’s happening. Charlie Kaufman’s films are often challenging, full of surreal flourishes. But I’m Thinking of Ending Things may be his most confounding and inaccessible work yet. An abrasive and darkly funny mental thriller that follows a young woman (Jessie Buckley) as she accompanies her boyfriend (Jesse Plemons) to his parents’ farm. But the two aren’t even out of the car before it becomes apparent that identity and reality aren’t fixed concepts. What follows is a story about perception, regret, self-loathing and insecurity that is almost impossible to follow without taking heavy notes; and that’s before we get to an ending that somehow incorporates ballet, the musical Oklahoma and Ron Howard’s A Beautiful Mind. Along the way, Kaufman delivers haunting, gorgeous compositions and Buckley, Plemons, Toni Collete and Dave Thewlis are all fantastic. With this, Anomalisa and Synecdoche, New York, he has become one of cinema’s great surrealists. (I’m Thinking of Ending Things is available to stream on Netflix).
My 10 favorite ‘new to me’ movies of 2020
The Umbrellas of Cherbourg: Gorgeous and melancholy, one of the great musicals of all time. Jacque Demy’s film is a bittersweet look at romantic idealism and stark reality. It’s like no musical I’ve ever seen, and it filled my beauty tank. (Streaming on The Criterion Channel and HBO Max).
Salesman/Grey Gardens/Gimme Shelter: Albert and David Maysles created three of the most influential American documentaries, each wholly unique and with its own staggering power. Salesman is a vivid look at the religion of capitalism and the desperation that drives it; Grey Gardens a haunting and human look at two former socialites trying to hold onto the past even as it decays around them; Gimme Shelter is a slow-motion horror show, in which we watch The Sixties die in front of the Rolling Stones. These are essential docs. (Streaming on The Criterion Channel).
Real Life: Albert Brooks’ 1979 directorial debut is still a deeply funny and prescient look at what would become reality television. Watching the fictional Brooks meddle in his subjects’ lives, play with the narrative (that summer montage!) and then literally burn the whole thing down at the end is just as funny and trenchant 41 years later (was on Criterion Channel; might rotate back again).
Casino: I avoided this one for a long time because I’d assumed Martin Scorsese and Nicolas Pileggi’s reunion couldn’t escape the shadow of Goodfellas. Instead, it widens the scope and retains the power. Scorsese’s a master storyteller, and the film is at once entertaining and horrifying. The final moments set the stage for Scorsese’s look at crime in America to evolve into The Wolf of Wall Street almost two decades later. (Available for rent on most outlets).
Mad Max 2: I love Mad Max: Fury Road; earlier this year, I named it one of the best films of the last decade. So, I set out this year to see the rest of Miller’s quadrilogy (I still haven’t made it to Thunderdome). Truth is, I’m not the biggest fan of Mad Max; it’s admirably weird and violent, but it’s a bit too shaggy for my tastes. But Mad Max 2 (also known as The Road Warrior) is almost as good as what he’d do in 2015. It’s big, bold mythic filmmaking. The world-building here is top-notch. Mel Gibson is iconic. And, much like with Fury Road, I watched every action sequence wondering how anyone escaped from this production unscathed (available to rent on most outlets).
Police Story: One of Jackie Chan’s earliest, and still wildly entertaining. The finale in the mall is an all-timer of an action sequence, with a climax so nice they play it twice. But there’s also superb physical comedy here, including a scene where Chan contorts his body to answer five phones at once. We’re so lucky to have this performer. (Was on Criterion Channel; not sure if it’s still there).
The Last Detail: There’s tenderness amidst the carousing and profanity of Hal Ashby’s comedy. When two Navy officers have to escort a young kid to prison to begin serving an eight-year sentence for a petty crime, they decide to show him a good time before doing so. There’s palpable anger at the military institution, but it’s leavened by the burgeoning friendship between the three men at the film’s center. It’s always a pleasure to watch Jack Nicholson seduce and scream, but the film’s heart is a young Randy Quaid as the naive young man, who sees a surrogate father in Nicholson’s character and comes of age on the road. (Was on Criterion Channel; can also rent at most places).
Smoke: I’d never heard of Wayne Wang and Paul Auster’s 1995 indie until Perry suggested it for an episode in our series about that year. I’m thankful he did, because this talky, kindhearted gem is 100% my jam. Harvey Keitel is so warm and funny as a smoke shop proprietor, and the film revels in long, literate conversations between him, William Hurt as a tortured novelist, and Harold Perrinaeu Jr. as a young man searching for his father. The film is about connections and story-telling, but it never feels contrived; there’s never a moment where some Deep Connection is revealed to pull everything together and rob the film of its organic flow. Instead, Wang loves to take in Auster’s pleasurable dialogue, and the film’s final scene is an all-timer. (Available to rent on most platforms).
The Color Purple: I saw Steven Spielberg’s 1985 drama as part of a series that has since been put on hold but that I hope to revive in 2021. I’d always put this movie off as eating my vegetables, but there is a lot to love here. I think Whoopie Goldberg, Oprah, and Danny Glover are all fantastic. Spielberg delivers some striking sequences, and it’s impossible to escape its emotional pull. But it’s also a fascinating film because of its flaws. Spielberg is trying so hard to make his masterpiece, but he doesn’t have the capability just yet. He can’t embrace the darkness and, instead, resorts to emotional manipulation and comedy. But it’s a striking picture of an artist trying to navigate a new direction; he’d get there eventually (Available to rent on most platforms).
Hardcore: Another film that is flawed but fascinating. Paul Schrader’s drama follows a Calvinist Minister to Los Angeles to rescue his daughter from the porn industry. George C. Scott is solid as the protagonist, but I wish they’d give him a bit more shading and nuance; however, the relationship he strikes up with a sex worker is the film’s heart. There’s a lot of The Searchers here, and I’m always game for Peter Boyle as a sleazy private investigator. Plus, it’s possibly the only film to include a lengthy discussion of the Calvinist concept of TULIP and a chase through an L.A. sex dungeon. (Viewed on Criterion Channel).
Note: Because of the length of this newsletter and because I’ll be getting next week’s out a few days early, I’m going to hold off on Chrisicisms and The Digest until then. Look for next week’s newsletter on Wednesday or Thursday, before Christmas.