The Best of 2020, Early Edition
One of my favorite end-of-year traditions has started. Metacritic has published their annual tabulation of critics’ ten-best-film lists. This is my reliable destination to both feel validation about my impeccable taste in movies, and also where I can learn about films that have escaped my attention throughout the year. The docket is quite modest as of this writing, compared to what it will contain by January.
As the list progresses, they’ll finish with about thirty films in the top section, representing those that have appeared on a significant number of individual lists. Down below are the individual top ten lists from film critics you’ve mostly never heard of. But hey, they’ve never heard of me either, have they?
The New York Times published their critics’ lists last week, and the most common response in the comment section was a variation of “Huh?” Nobody was familiar with the titles, more so than most years. 2020 had no shortage of great movies, but attending a virtual screening seems, ironically, a much more deliberate act than going to the cinema. Even keeping track of “new releases” was more of a challenge this year, as acclaimed films abruptly appeared on certain film websites with no fanfare. The largest streaming services did all they could to promote new content, but that’s only a fraction of what was available, if you knew where to look.
How to watch all these movies?
Let’s dive into that. First, let me introduce you to a site that shows the availability of a film on all the major streaming services, Justwatch.com. Plug in the name of the film, and see where it’s available, including free services like Kanopy and Hoopla which you really must check out. But what about newer releases in the Covid streaming era? That requires a little digging. Sometimes the film will have a website, which tells you which streaming theaters are featuring the movie. Try Kinomarquee.com to watch, while simultaneously supporting independent theaters. Theater chains may have their own streaming service, like the Alamo Drafthouse.
But What Does Bob Recommend?
Let’s start with my top film list, and where to find them. This is a premature cataloguing, since my want-to-see list of films released in 2020 currently stands at 76 (I’ll note them below), including several on that Metacritic list (Kajillionaire and Nomadland are my highest priority right now). I’ve only got five in the highest category so far. All film links will take you to Letterboxd, a film social media site of sorts, where I publish all my reviews. You don’t need to join to see content, only to post. All film notes below are taken from my reviews.
- The Personal History of David Copperfield (FandangoNow, Amazon, YouTube, others)
“This is a startlingly fanciful combination of drama and whimsy. It reminded me of 2019’s Little Women that way, and also how it prominently featured some of my favorite British character actors, such as Hugh Laurie, Ben Whishaw and Peter Capaldi. They relieved the burden on Dev Patel needing to carry the film, not because he couldn’t, but because his character simply isn’t as interesting as everyone else he interacts with.
The movie is occasionally frivolous, diving into Terry Gilliam territory, pulling away the fourth wall like a curtain, literally so in one instance. This movie pushed all my buttons of cinematic glee. One of the few “good for the whole family” movies that comes out every year, since the drama never turns very dark for very long. The casting decisions were deliberately made to reflect more of a stage EDI (equity, diversity and inclusion) sensibility than what you typically get in a movie. It had no adverse impact since everyone was just so perfectly British and Dickensian. I’d be thrilled to see more like it.”
2. Portrait of a Lady on Fire (FandangoNow, YouTube, Apple, others)
“It starts as a stilted period piece of mannerisms, then evolves into a sensual depiction of a painter and her subject. Marianne has to paint a portrait of the soon-to-be-wed Heloise, who has led a cloistered life. Marianne has to pretend to be her companion, and paint on the sly. The progression of their relationship illustrates the proposition that an artist’s emotional connection with her inspiration results in a finer depiction. This movie is therefore a counterpoint to Amadeus which depicted a cad, who nonetheless was able to produce beautiful art, as did Picasso, and any number of great actors, writers, and other virtuoso schmucks.
Early dialogue consists of simple declaratory statements, with a measured pause between each one, with no overlap. As their attraction grows, but before it becomes explicit, the camera work changes. The first time I noticed was when Heloise had fallen asleep, and Marianne quietly fetches her sketching tools and extra candles, all in one lovely uncut shot. The director has adopted her own theme.”
3. Beyond the Visible — Hilma af Klint (YouTube, Amazon, Apple, others)
“That Hilma af Klint surpassed the celebrated abstract painters like Kandinsky and Mondrian seems unquestionable. The movie has two major points to make — that her art was extraordinary, and why so few people know about her. The first part was jaw-dropping. Like many other abstract painters, she began as a very talented figurative painter. She won awards and scholarships. Side by side comparisons with famous abstract painters are made, with Klint’s paintings equally or surpassing the others in quality, while pre-dating them by years or decades.
She was incredibly well-read in science. She made paintings to represent subatomic and other physical concepts right on heels of those theories being published by Einstein and others. One commenter notes something brilliant — Klint understood the whole electromagnetic spectrum, and therefore to depict “reality” one must represent non-visual parts of that spectrum, which make up most of it. That blew my little mind.”
4. Athlete A (Netflix)
“This is the horror movie of 2020. It was incredibly hard to watch. If you’ve ever watched Olympic gymnastics (or figure skating) with a feeling of underlying discomfort like I have, this movie will validate you. How can we celebrate this absurdly destructive process?
Parents are defensive when interviewed. “How were we to know what’s normal?” is a common type of response. That’s true, but after this scandal, can any parent ever countenance a gymnastics or other camp that doesn’t even allow parents to visit, like the Karolyi ranch? Will physical exams ever be done behind closed doors like they were? Let’s make sure parents of today and the future know EXACTLY what’s normal.”
5. Synchronic (No availability online yet)
“Synchronic is a drug that two paramedics find at the scene of some very bizarre injury calls in New Orleans. Anthony Mackie tracks down a source for synchronic in disgust after another disturbing call that involves his partner’s daughter, and learns what the drug actually does. The analogy is brilliant — imagine that time runs in synchronicity with the present, like grooves on a record, and it’s only our pineal gland that keeps us in one time, or from jumping time streams. The drug allows us to put the needle into another groove. Geographically, there’s no movement, which is a problem if you take the drug in an elevator, for instance, or anywhere above the ground floor. Prepare to splat.
Like all time travel movies, this is filled with anomalies, best not dwelt on. I appreciate the effort to create an original concept, and take it to the logical conclusions it implies. And then wrap it up with a well earned emotional ending. An impressive combination of genres here, that works for all of them — not too geeky, gory, or melodramatic. Just enough of each.”
First Losers (aka second place films)
There were nine films that I ranked with 4.5 stars released in 2020. These are also excellent, maybe just missing some extra edge that prevented perfection. Just a sentence or two for each.
- The Assistant (Free on Kanopy, Hulu, rent elsewhere)
“This movie is all about the economic and cultural forces that prevent meaningful change. Jane is afraid for a young attractive waitress from Boise that the boss flew into the city, and put up in an expensive hotel, ostensibly for a job interview. The HR manager keeps asking “So?” or “And?” at the very moment when this new girl might be being assaulted. It’s a devastating moment of pessimism.”
2. The Platform (Netflix)
“I don’t know that I could give anything with scenes I found so repulsive a high rating, but the more I thought about how this movie absolutely required disgust and violence, the more I appreciated it. A melding of Christian mythology, and the reason for why that mythology is rejected by its Marxist critics.”
3. The Vast of Night (Amazon Prime)
“This film is sharp. The dialogue, particularly in the brisk opening scenes, is quick and clever like an old-style screwball comedy. There’s a marvelous sense of time and place here. Patterson is showing off, but he executes so well that the urge to stop and admire is submerged beneath the need to follow along. This is the kind of debut that got critics excited about Spielberg after Sugarland Express, and Lucas after American Graffiti.”
4. The Traitor (DirectTV, Amazon, FandangoNow)
“Mafia movies over-emphasize honor. In real life, these guys are just crude thugs who don’t deserve the cinematic treatment they’ve often received since Coppola. The movie opens like so many other mafia films, with a celebration. Don’t worry about remembering all their names, if you get my drift.”
5. Greyhound (AppleTV)
“This is a sea action flick, almost from the first to the last. No time for character development, because the situation didn’t allow for it. This is not a criticism. Imagine The Enemy Below, or Run Silent Run Deep pared down to essentials.”
6. On The Rocks (AppleTV)
“I adored this movie, almost as much as Sofia Coppola adores Bill Murray. This is the Bill movie you/we have been waiting for, after all those Wes Anderson wastes of time. Being a dad to an adult female is very different than being a dad to a little girl, and Coppola writes the role perfectly.”
7. The Invisible Man (YouTube, Amazon, FandangoNow, others)
“The opening of this film, when Cecilia (Elizabeth Moss) is sneaking out of her partner’s absurdly appointed house, is a smorgasbord of foreshadowing. After she learns that he’s dead, there’s no real time when you suspect Cecilia is crazy, or that her partner is really dead. But I didn’t see the end coming, and the payoff is magnificent. To be fair, I rarely see it coming. I’m really that naïve.”
8. Sound of Metal (Amazon Prime)
“Ruben’s sudden deafness breaks the ice, and the self-confident veneer spirals quickly into a kind of desolated anguish. An addict who is unsure of his footing is in a terrible space, and we’re really scared for Ruben at times. That you’re rooting for him so early in the movie illustrates how effective Riz Ahmed portrays vulnerability.”
9. Mank (Netflix)
“Thirty minutes into Mank, John Houseman delivers his critique of the Citizen Kane script, 65 handwritten pages in progress. He correctly describes the jumpiness and non-linear structure of that film, and simultaneously, this film, like the Player King telling us how to correctly act Hamlet. No one is ever at a loss for the cleverist thing to say, or in Mank’s case, a brilliantly thrown off quote. Nobody silently emotes. There’s always great speechifying. The dames are all crackin’ wise.”
What Else Happened in 2020?
Not much, why do you ask?
If you’re a film buff stuck at home, you’ll also explore more films from the past that are easily available, and in 2020, I’ve so far watched 154 films for the first time, released from 1927 onward. I wanted to note some of the great films from previous years that I adored as well — no sense in being temporally discriminatory!
Three additional 5-star films to note first watched in 2020 — Giant from 1956, Bicycle Thieves from 1948, and Malcolm X from 1992. Usually it takes a “big screen” effect to stun me like these movies did, but they were powerful enough to shine in any size venue. Other 4.5 star films — Harakiri, Come and See, Hitchcock Truffaut, No No: A Dockumentary, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, Karl Marx City, Rififi, and A Streetcar Named Desire (2014 National Theatre version).
The Emperor’s List 2020 edition
A pretty short list this year, of movies that critics praised but left me cold. This is pretty rare, to be fair. I’m not an iconoclast by nature.
She Dies Tomorrow (1 star)
“This film depicts a contagious condition that makes EVERYONE ELSE a miserable needy high maintenance person too. Fun!”
Enola Holmes (2 stars)
“We interrupt this review to note the following: her mother was a wannabe terrorist. She was only stopped from blowing shit up and killing people because her daughter got some reform bill passed. Are we supposed to be okay with that?”
12 Hour Shift (2 stars)
“Bloody mayhem can be funny, if the script actually provides for it, contains jokes about it, and so forth. This doesn’t. It just gets tedious.”
Words on Bathroom Walls (2 stars)
“If you’ve seen the Battlestar Galactica reboot, with Baltar talking to an invisible Cylon, you’ve seen this. Pretty irritating, actually.”
What’s Left to See?
I would love to find out from you, my faithful reader(s), which of the following 2020 releases you recommend highly, so I can prioritize.
Happiest Season, Mangrove, Collective, Coded Bias, Monsoon, Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey, Fireball: Visitors from Darker Worlds, Madre, Fire Will Come, His House, Ham on Rye, Coming Home Again, Beasts Clawing at Straws, Bellingcat, Love and Monsters, Shithouse, Wolf of Snow Hollow, The Forty Year Old Version, The Boys in the Band, A Call to Spy, The Nest, #Alive, Unpregnant, Ammonite, Nomadland, Summerland, All In: The Fight for Democracy, Residue, Alone, Critical Thinking, Save Yourselves, The Swerve, The Garden Left Behind, Mulan, Buoyancy, Misbehaviour, Desert One, Apocalypse ’45, A Thousand Cuts, Relic, Palm Springs, A Muse, The Outpost, The 11th Green, House of Hummingbird, Babyteeth, Miss Juneteenth, Marona’s Fantastic Tale, Sometimes Always Never, Tomasso, Shirley, Papicha, On A Magical Night (Chambre 212), Driveways, How to Build a Girl, Bull, The Half Of It, Selah and the Spades, The Truth, The Climb, Corpus Christi, Inside the Rain, Straight Up, Human Nature, The Wild Goose Lake, Sorry We Missed You, The Whistlers, And Then We Danced, Standing Up Falling Down, Vitalina Varela, Premature, Young Ahmed, Incitement, Color Out Of Space, Zombi Child, I Wish I Knew.
I know that most of these will go unseen. There’s only so many hours in a year. There are still 106 films released in 2019 on my wantlist that I never got to.
