Glazing over the fact that 2020 has disrupted the world, it is devastating that the business decisions by studios, especially towards streaming services, will have rippling effects for years to come. In a year that was meant to be supplying new films from Denis Villeneuve, Wes Anderson, Edgar Wright and the Bond franchise, we instead got some streaming releases that, whilst some were good, feel underwhelming on the small screen. It is the first year I can't do a Top 10; only six or so of the films I have seen this year are worth talking about, and padding out the rest of the list with Da 5 Bloods, Borat 2 or Sonic the Hedgehog implies they are much better than they are. Praise has to be given to the UK release dates though, meaning our 2020 contained last year's awards films and meant it was not a total failure of the year. Here are my favourites.
6. The Trial of the Chicago 7 (Aaron Sorkin)
Seemingly under-seen, this riveting court room drama from acclaimed writer-director Aaron Sorkin packs all of the snappy dialogues, monologues and smooth editing one now expects. Boasting a great performance from Sacha Baron Cohen, as well as able assistance from Mark Rylance, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II and Michael Keaton, the film depicts the true life trial of seven anti-Vietnam protest leaders which puts them against the odds as the legal system hopes to find them guilty of inciting violence. The events are brilliantly unfolded in the court room.
5. Mank (David Fincher)
Using his late father's script, David Fincher's ode to the pioneering spirit of Golden Age Hollywood is visually stunning thanks to its polished monochrome photography. Gary Oldman gives yet another career best performance as Herman 'Mank' Mankiewicz, the screenwriter of Citizen Kane who repeatedly clashed with Orson Welles on the story. A strong cast, superb attention to period detail and an auto-biographical quality make this a compellling watch.
4. Jojo Rabbit (Taika Waititi)
Only Taika Waititi could make a film about Nazi youth and play an imaginary version of the Fuhrer. Jojo Rabbit contains some of the best child performances I have seen, but for all its laughs (and there are many) there is true heart to this story. Captured in the performances of Scarlett Johansson and Sam Rockwell, Taika does know how to move the soul as much as he can the belly. "Fuck off Hitler" indeed.
3. 1917 (Sam Mendes)
Sam Mendes directing a story loosely based on his grandfather's WW1 experience. Roger Deakins shooting the film to look like a continuous shot. Lee Smith editing. Thomas Newman on score duties. A cast including Colin Firth, Mark Strong, Benedict Cumberbatch, Richard Madden and Andrew Scott. Was anyone doubting this film would be brilliant? A technical masterpiece, Mendes knocked it out of the park with a gripping, grueling experience that brought emotion, tension and ethereal beauty with it. There are films, and there is cinema. This is cinema.
2. Parasite (Bong Joon-ho)
Bong Joon-ho won four Oscars in a single night for this record breaking South Korean film. And with good measure. Whilst having only seen the black and white version of the film, the effect is still the same: this is thrilling yet funny, scary yet endearing. It is so thematically dense that dissertations will be citing it for years to come, whilst it is has enough detail in the production design to beg repeat viewings. Containing outstanding moments such as the first dive into the basement, the sudden switch in tone when the family comes home and the finale, it lingers long after having seen it.
1. Tenet (Christopher Nolan)
If Parasite is the better all round film, Tenet takes the win because it reaffirmed my love for filmmaking. This is an awe-inspiring, towering work of ambition from Christopher Nolan. The master of introducing concepts and tinkering and evolving them, here he takes that skill to a whole new level. When ideas are this head-spinning, you do not need rich three-dimensional characters to keep your interest. Luckily still the characters are memorable enough, but it is the technical bravura of the film that is astonishing: a 'how did they do that / who thought of that' film. With blistering action scenes scored by an almighty Ludwig Goransson accompaniment, Tenet reverberates for hours after. The temporal pincer strategy is one of the coolest, smartest things going. And the building explosion / restoration? Beyond awesome.
Here's hoping No Time to Die, Dune, Top Gun: Maverick and Mission Impossible 7 make it to the big screen next year.
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