Honorable Mentions (in order)
Knives Out; The Irishman; John Wick 3; 1917; Honeyland; Ad Astra; Hustlers; One Child Nation; American Factory; The Two Popes, The Farewell
Did Not See
Atlantics; Waves; Ash Is the Purest White; First Love; A Hidden Life; Her Smell; The Last Black Man in San Francisco; Burning Cane; A Fine Line
15. Monos
Directed by Alejandro Lares; starring Julianne Nicholson and Moisés Arias
What if Lord of the Flies were set in modern day Colombia, with automatic rifles instead of sharpened sticks? There is even a Piggy and a Jack Merridew in the group. This engrossing journey sucks you deep into the lush environment of isolated mountains and sweaty jungles with this ragged crew of children soldiers – it’s a dizzying experience, as the viewer is dropped in media res. Parts of it are so real and gritty that it feels like a documentary. Monos is feral, shocking, and instills a sense of dread of what humanity without civilization (or at least adult authority) and order might be like.
14. Jojo Rabbit
Directed by Taika Waititi; starring Roman Griffin Davis, Scarlett Johansson, and Thomasin McKenzie
Jojo Rabbit, a coming-of-age Nazi satire in which a little boy’s imaginary best friend is Hitler, is wonderfully compassionate, wickedly funny, and wholly original. Waititi’s one of the few directors in the world who could pull this off – he’s always skillfully melded the funny and the heartwarming, but also has the balls and has built up the credit to make a Nazi-themed comedy. It’s a kid’s movie at heart, in the best possible way, showing off Waititi’s childlike sense of playfulness and boldness and earnestness. His ability to see things through the lens of an innocent ten year old kid is what makes this movie work, but the clear winner of this movie is the Archie Yates’s Yorkie, who steals every scene he’s in.
13. Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood
Directed by Quentin Tarantino; starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Brad Pitt, and Margot Robbie
Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood is a much more restrained and mature effort by Tarantino, ostensibly about the Sharon Tate murder, but more a wishful ode to the golden age of Hollywood. Tarantino has, in the latter part of his career, almost exclusively made historical revisionist pulp stories with bloody, cathartic endings, but this one is charismatic and laid back by comparison – watching this is the film equivalent of sitting in lawn chairs in your backyard drinking an ice cold six pack of beer with DiCaprio’s insecure Rick Dalton and Pitt’s cool and masculine Cliff Booth. Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood gets better the more you watch it, and you’d be hard pressed to disagree with Trudi Fraser that it’s got some of the best acting you’ve ever seen in your whole life.
12. Honey Boy
Directed by Alma Har’el; starring Shia LaBeouf, Lucas Hedges, and Noah Jupe
Honey Boy, an autobiographical portrait of Shia LaBeouf’s experiences as a childhood actor and his complicated relationship with his ultra-demanding, eccentric, manipulative father, is touching, sometimes funny and tragic, and always hard-hitting and raw. Flitting back and forth between two timelines as a ten year old and as a teenager, the script was penned by LaBeouf as part of his therapy when he was in rehab, and he puts in a mesmerizing performance as his own controlling, outlandishly egotistical dad in what is one of the most memorable movie characters of the year. It’s the old “hurt people hurt people”, but feels so specific and so authentic. The film gets increasingly artsy with shaky cam and lens flares, but it is the honest and unexpectedly sensitive portrayal of the father-son relationship, warts and all, that is unique and compelling.
11. Midsommar
Directed by Ari Aster; starring Florence Pugh and Jack Reynor
Midsommar, Aster’s follow up to his breakout 2018 hit Hereditary, is trippy, bright-white, Swedish pagan cult horror from hell that will leave you reeling. The story follows the vulnerable Dani (played by Pugh) as she follows her boyfriend and his pals on a summer trip to a rural Swedish commune. What makes it work is that the movie doesn’t try to shock you for its own sake, but has the motivation and emotional resonance that leaves a much deeper and ultimately cathartic impact on you. It is incredibly smart and consistently visually arresting, and the sound editing really elevates the mood. Midsommar might not be the best film of 2019, but it is without a doubt one of the most unforgettable.
10. Uncut Gems
Directed by Josh and Benny Safdie; starring Adam Sandler, Julia Fox, Idina Menzel, and Lakeith Stanfield
Uncut Gems is the story of Howard Ratner, a Jewish jeweler in the New York diamond district with a self-destructive addiction to gambling. The Safdie brothers just have a special, relentless, raw type of energy that’s almost unique among all working directors – the score, the sound design (there was a 45 page ADR script), the tone, the gritty NY scene, the flawless casting, all bundled into a visual experience that will leave you needing a Xanax. Along with the constant and almost unbearable tension, the movie has some really darkly funny moments too. Uncut Gems isn’t quite as good as Good Time, but it’s one of the best gambling films of all time, and has arguably the best acting performance by a professional athlete. It’s also the most frenetic and stress inducing film of the year.
9. I Lost My Body
Directed by Jérémy Clapin
I Lost My Body follows the journey of a severed hand, interspersed with flashbacks of the hand’s owner. Despite being animated, it is fully adult in its pacing and themes, dealing with loss, hope and finding the magic in living life even when you’re dealt a depressingly shitty hand. There is a palpable sense of melancholy and desire in every frame, as you start to realize just how much the art form of animation can be pushed in capturing something so human. The story is existential but never moralizing or dull, and is spurred on by a longing to be made whole and a sense of adventure that keeps you guessing until the very end.
8. The King
Directed by David Michôd; starring Timothée Chalamet and Joel Edgerton
Michôd’s The King is a period piece drama based on the Bard’s Hendriad plays, but you’ve never seen Shakespeare quite like this before. It is dark, moody, brooding, soulful, and intensely personal. Even if you aren’t a history buff or knowledgeable about Anglo-Franco historical conflicts, this gripping tale of imperial politics and double dealing will draw you in. The fighting scenes are astonishingly realistic – I’ve never seen knights showing ground game in their duels – and culminates in a stunning battle sequence at Agincourt. The cast is deep, with Chalamet mesmerizing in the titular role of Henry V, and Edgerton inspires as his gruff counselor. But Robert Pattinson comes in with one of the weirdest and most fun performances of the year by some distance – the hair, the accent, the whole package is ridiculous and irresistible at the same time. The King is possibly the most underrated film of 2019, and it definitely has the best haircuts.
7. Marriage Story
Directed by Noah Baumbach; starring Adam Driver and Scarlett Johansson
Marriage Story is a process story about the final stages of a disintegrating marriage and going through the physical, emotional and legal separation that is divorce. All the best elements of a Baumbach film are on display, but with a surprising sense of affection and lack of cynicism. The opening montage is one of the most realistic romantic sequences I’ve ever seen, setting the foundation and a reminder that these are good people that we are about to see at their worst. There are so many scenes and moments that are genuinely funny, or absolutely devastating, but all extremely rewatchable and incredibly specific in their details – from the heart wrenching fight scene, to Driver singing Being Alive in its entirety, or even ordering lunch during a settlement conference. Baumbach does this without judgment, taking no sides, while making the story feel deeply personal. Both sides are so flawed and hurting and relatable in a way that feels a little too real to anyone who’s been through a breakup, but maintaining that little bit of hope makes all the difference.
6. Us
Directed by Jordan Peele; starring Lupita Nyong’o, Winston Duke, and Elisabeth Moss
Peele’s follow up effort Us got somewhat lost in the shuffle between an underwhelming March release, some undeservedly unenthusiastic reviews from moviegoers, and the unfair comparisons with Get Out. Nonetheless, this social thriller flew under the radar as one of the finest films of 2019, even among the parade of similarly themed eat-the-rich movies like Knives Out, Parasite, and Joker, just to name a few. Us follows a suburban black family of four on its summer holiday in Santa Cruz that is forced to confront past traumas. Stylish, conscientious, and sophisticated, Peele shows a lot more ambition in his sophomore project. Us fulfills its duty as a terrifying horror film, but also is a carefully constructed social commentary, chock full of pop culture references and easter eggs.
5. The Lighthouse
Directed by Robert Eggers; starring Robert Pattinson and Willem Dafoe
4:3 aspect ratios are increasingly common, but the 1.19:1 that Eggers uses here is something we haven’t much seen in the last hundred years. But it works, the screen feels not just old-timey but claustophobic, and lends such a physical sense of the height and narrowness of the lighthouse that two lighthouse keepers are tending, isolated in the unbearably harsh New England climate. Loneliness, guilt, sexual frustration, and cabin fever quickly set in as things take a Lovecraftian descent into absolute madness. The Lighthouse is a gripping, atmospheric, black and white film with committed, feral performances by two of the most gifted actors of their generation in Pattinson and Dafoe. It’s a complex, feverish, grueling Sisyphean film, full of Old English, unreliable narrators, and open to some fascinating interpretations that leave you questioning what’s real and what’s not. Grab a bottle of your favorite liquor (or kerosene), and settle in.
4. Little Women
Directed by Greta Gerwig; starring Saoirse Ronan, Emma Watson, Timothée Chalamet, and Florence Pugh
Based on the beloved Louisa May Alcott novel, Gerwig’s Little Women is the latest iteration of countless adaptations over the years, following the March sisters from lively ambitious little girls to strong-minded and devoted women. Yet it somehow manages to stay fresh and relevant and modern even while retaining the unmistakable boistrerous charm and joie de vivre of the family in the book. With Laura Dern, Meryl Streep, Tracy Letts, Bob Odenkirk and Chris Cooper all in the supporting roles, Gerwig seems to have quickly become a filmmaker that actors are eager to work with. This is also a beautifully shot film, energetic and inventive as you zip back and forth between the storylines. It is full of love, nostalgia, hilarity, loss, and drama – bold to the very end.
3. Portrait of a Lady on Fire
Directed by Céline Sciamma; starring Adèle Haenel and Noémie Merlant
Portrait of a Lady on Fire is the best love story committed to film in 2019. This 18th century lesbian romance is patient, lingering on shots the way you would stare at a painting at a museum, or at someone you were in love with. Merlant and Haenel are enchanting, and their smouldering glances and soft gestures crackle with electricity. The use of lighting and silence is extraordinary, and only serves to heighten the tension and desire, as does the symbolism throughout: the fire, the story of Orpheus and Eurydice, a word here and there. Portrait of a Lady on Fire is largely and happily devoid of the physical presence of men (though while the weight of patriarchy is ever present), but the film revealing a sensual, exquisite, aching kind of love. It is also incredibly tactile in the way it shows a painter at work (real life artist Hélène Delmaire painted 16 hours a day while they were shooting), and the relationship develops the same way you would start a painting, by sketching an outline and then filling in all the intimate details. It is cinematic poetry, full of, as Heloise would say, poet’s choices.
2. Pain and Glory
Directed by Pedro Almodovar; starring Antonio Banderas and Penelope Cruz
This autofictional slice of life story is about a celebrated film director afflicted with physical ailments and a loss of creativity in his older years, who turns to his past to rediscover his joy and vitality. There are obvious similarities to Federico Fellini’s 8 1/2, but Pain and Glory is vastly more warm and hopeful in tone. It is such a tender, affective, emotionally textured film, made by a master of his craft with a confidence and maturity that comes only with the passage of time. As Mallo says, “you never know if it’s a drama or comedy until the end”. Almodovar has always been a genius, and while he still retains his trademark symbolic use of color, the splashy characters, and the maternal relationships, here he explores what it’s like to find purpose and meaning in your past – the enduring suffering, the stiffness of growing old, and the delights and regrets of memories selectively stored and relived.
1. Parasite
Directed by Bong Joon-ho; starring Song Kang-ho, Lee Sun-kyun, Cho Yeo-jeong, and Choi Woo-shik
Bong’s awe-inducing, globally acclaimed, box office smashing, Oscar-winning (!), Scorsese-approved Parasite is incisive in its commentary and meticulous in its artistry. This modern masterpiece takes an unconventional look at modern day social dynamics and class inequalities – it is so good, so nuanced, so metaphorical, while remaining supremely accessible and universal. The writing, the acting, the cinematography, the set design, the pacing and direction – every element of this film is sublime. And as satisfying as it is to watch, Parasite is even more fun to talk about and unpack afterwards. Bong doesn’t compromise on either style or substance: the classical music, the perfect montages, the pure, unadulterated sense of thrill, it is all there. In a year where Scorsese took on Marvel, Parasite was the best reminder in 2019 of what cinema is, and what it can be.
