BEST OF 2021 (MOVIES)
The 25 Films That Made My Year
The 25 Films That Made My Year
What a great year for film following the year of lockdown that was 2020. Big screen blockbusters returned for better and worse. Even better, this was the year for the musical. Not all of you felt comfortable returning to cinemas, so it’s a good thing some movies shared day-and-date releases between the multiplex and streaming (looking at you, Warner Bros.). While Hollywood didn’t seem so keen on that arrangement, movie lovers ate it up with the biggest spoon they could find. Regardless of how you consumed movies in 2021, the important thing is that you did.
My picks for the best films of the year are below. I feel the need to give a special shoutout to Pedro Almodóvar’s Parallel Mothers, which I saw too late to be considered for this list. Needless to say, I loved it and encourage you to track down this beautiful, powerful film however you see fit. If you’re feeling particularly nerdy, maybe pair it with The Lost Daughter for a yin/yang of motherhood.
25) In the Heights
Change is gonna come. Life is not stagnant. Coming to terms with this is part of living. Finding your place in the world when you love where you come from can be complicated, but don’t you owe it to yourself to live your best life? The characters in this Washington Heights community are coming to terms with that train of thought in their own ways. This adaptation of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s vibrant stage musical sings on the screen.
24) Limbo
Stuck between the past and the future is a hard place to be. Especially when experiencing this fate on a remote Scottish isle with nothing but time on your hands. As a young Syrian musician seeking asylum in the U.K. awaits his fate, he struggles to make peace with his family while embracing the man he’s become in this beguiling, engaging comedy-drama.
23) The World To Come
Love is always where you least expect to find it as two frontierswomen learn the hard way in this gorgeous, spare romance set in the mid-19th century. They are torn between their longing for one another while recognizing the necessity of honoring their wedding vows to their husbands. Bravura turns from Katherine Waterston and Vanessa Kirby.
22) Riders of Justice
A grieving husband and father (a fantastic Mads Mikkelsen) goes on a roaring rampage of revenge when his wife is killed in a train crash. While his devastated daughter struggles to right her now-upside down world with little help from her soldier dad, answers to their questions appear in the form of a fellow passenger on the train. Violent, touching, hilarious.
21) Raya and the Last Dragon
Devoted to her father’s legacy and her people, a young woman embarks on an epic quest to unite the warring factions of her world with help from unlikely allies — including a god in the form of a dragon. One of Disney’s best efforts in recent years features a dynamic score that astounds as the animation stuns.
20) tick, tick … BOOM!
Rent is a titan of musical theatre. Before it was a gleam in its creator’s imagination, Jonathan Larson bestowed upon the world this autobiographical musical that cuts deep as it transcends. A never better Andrew Garfield imbues the playwright with an emotional nakedness that’s brought into stark contrast by how he loses in himself in his work, pushing away the ones he loves most. OMG that soundtrack though. Larson was a genius taken too soon.
19) The Card Counter
A former military interrogator (Oscar Isaac, electrifying) finds solace at the poker table only for his past to catch up with him in writer-director Paul Schrader’s smart, taut thriller. There may be hope in the arms of a fellow gambler (a delightfully unexpected Tiffany Haddish) or with a troubled young man (Tye Sheridan) the ex-soldier takes under his wing. Or is hope an illusion, a sucker’s bet?
18) Belfast
Kenneth Branagh delivers a rousing yet poignant look at life in Northern Ireland during the start of the Troubles, based on his own childhood. Seen through the eyes of a young boy (the irrepressible Jude Hill), we’re given an unique perspective of this tumultuous time that sees rays of joy break through the storm clouds as he and his resilient family struggle to survive and thrive amid the turmoil.
17) Passing
Based on the novel by Bella Larsen, this is the story of two friends reconnecting and the ripple effect this has on the lives of both women. In her directorial debut, Rebecca Hall shows off a natural talent that bleeds into every shot as well as into the performances of her cast, particularly leading ladies Tessa Thompson and Ruth Negga.
16) Shiva Baby
Running into one’s sugar daddy at a shiva with your parents in tow and your ex-girlfriend hovering around can make for an extremely tense afternoon. Oh right, Sugar Daddy’s successful wife and their baby are in attendance, too. John McClane’s Christmas party shenanigans pale in comparison. This darkly funny tale will have your pulse rate up as you nervously laugh away your stress.
15) The Mitchells vs the Machines
A cross-country road trip that ends at the university of your choice should be an awesome adventure to be remembered forever. The Mitchell family agrees wholeheartedly as they battle an army of robots en route to dropping off their daughter at school thanks to the self-centered antics of a tech mogul that lead to his AI revolting to terrifying (and yes, hilarious) effect. The best and most imaginative animated film of the year.
14) The Night House
In the wake of her husband’s death, a woman learns that nothing is at it seems when she learns he led a double life involving a house located across the lake from the home they shared in this psychological horror. Rebecca Hall gives a ferocious, shattering turn as the widow whose grief morphs into something else altogether.
13) West Side Story
Leave it to a master of cinema like Steven Spielberg to breathe new life into this classic musical featuring the music of Leonard Bernstein with lyrics by Stephen Sondheim. As relevant today as it was when it first bowed on Broadway in 1957, the war between the Sharks and the Jets radiates with a pulsing energy that bursts from every performance (except a miscast Ansel Elgort), every song, every step of choreography.
12) The Green Knight
Medieval fairy tale brought to vivid life by a master storyteller. The legend of Sir Gawain, one day a member of the Round Table, is not one for the faint of heart — much like the journey he makes after accepting a challenge from the titular knight. Writer-director David Lowery weaves a sumptuous tapestry from the famous story while Dev Patel inhabits Gawain like a second skin.
11) Zola
Be careful who you trust. If there’s only one thing to be learned from this insane Florida road trip, it’s that. Based on a Twitter thread that recounted every detail of this true story, a stripper enters an SUV expecting a fun weekend working the pole at a few clubs only for her world to go topsy-turvy in no time flat. Your nerves will get a workout between the ratcheting tension and the dark humor coursing throughout.
10) Dune
The epic of 2021 leaves a large shadow in its wake, one that is well earned. Denis Villeneuve constructed for the big screen a world that not only feels lived in, but he transports us there with such seeming ease that you can almost feel the sand under your feet. Ultimately it’s a coming of age story about a young prince, whose character influences those closest to him to step up and take back a world that’s on the verge of being lost to the enemy. Also, sandworms!
9) The Lost Daughter
Olivia Colman enthralls as a professor whose interaction with a young mother while on holiday triggers her own reflections on her past as a mother of two. First-time director Maggie Gyllenhaal, who also adapted the Elena Ferrera novel, soaks the story in ennui which, despite its sun-dappled locale, gives everything a haunted quality that reflects the state of Colman’s character. Fascinating study of motherhood that’s not all hearts and rainbows.
8) Saint Maud
Day in, day out, we go to work and come home as though nothing much happens. Same old thing. Then, one day, we meet someone who makes our world tilt and nothing is the same. When a nurse (an otherworldly Morfydd Clark) comes to care for a dying artist, the young woman believes she’s meant to save her patient’s soul. That she has terrifying visions and hears distorted voices only amplifies her situation in this evocative mediation on faith and loneliness.
7) The French Dispatch
Wes Anderson’s loving ode to journalism via the final issue of the titular newspaper set at an outpost in France is his most ambitious film yet. Each story featured in the issue is seamlessly presented in inventive styles with a droll, absurd sense of humor. The usual players (Bill Murray, Tilda Swinton, Frances McDormand, Owen Wilson) mix with newcomers (Timothée Chalamet, Benicio Del Toro, Léa Seydoux) to delightful effect.
6) Licorice Pizza
The hangout movie is a dying art. Characters we grow to care about going about their lives from moment to moment, situation to situation with minimal connective tissue. Robert Altman was a master and Paul Thomas Anderson is happily following in his footsteps. First love. Opposites attract. San Fernando Valley, 1973. A charming con artist. A wayward woman. Shenanigans. What more could you want?
5) The Power of the Dog
There’s something attractive about the wide open spaces of the American West that draws us to it like a moth to a flame. That metaphor also describes the relationship between a darkly charming rancher (an electrifying Benedict Cumberbatch) and a bright, introverted young man (a beguiling Kodi Smit-McPhee) who are unceremoniously thrusted into each other’s orbit. Dangerous yet alluring, what follows is a slow burn cat-and-mouse game in a treacherous environment that can be unforgiving.
4) Spencer
The late Diana, Princess of Wales is an iconic figure. A biopic covering the whole of her life would be ill advised. Director Pablo Larrain and writer Steven Knight instead focus on one particular Christmas at Sandringham with Prince Charles, their boys, and Queen Elizabeth. Less a drama than a psychological thriller, Diana’s thin veneer of calm is shattered as she rushes to pick up the pieces. Kristen Stewart is a revelation in the role, losing herself just enough to deliver a commanding performance.
3) Censor
Watching hours upon hours of grisly horror films as part of one’s job is bound to have an effect on anyone. Enid’s world goes sideways when she spots her sister in one, the same sister who disappeared years ago. Convinced her sibling is still alive, Enid embarks a twisted journey that puts her own mental stability at risk. Director/co-writer Prano Bailey-Bond and star Niamh Algar create a nightmarish what if? scenario that lingers.
2) The Hand of God
When you’re young, life is expansive and filled with possibility. Things seem wonderful in their simplicity until the moment when everything seems complicated and the ellipses that you took for granted are now replaced with question marks. Based on his own life, Paolo Sorrentino masterfully depicts the world of a young man in 1980’s Naples as a tragic event puts him on the path to becoming a filmmaker.
1) Titane
Julia Ducournau is one of the most visionary writer-directors working today. In her latest, a woman with a metal plate in her head following a childhood car accident grows up with an unhealthy fascination with automobiles. She goes on a violent crime spree only to cross paths with a grieving father. The turn the film takes midway through is unexpected yet completely works within the framework. It pulses with vivacity and heart that will leave you breathless.
Honorable Mention
Barb & Star Go To Vista Del Mar; Blue Bayou; Candyman; Coda; Dance of the 41; Encanto; I Carry You With Me; Judas and the Black Messiah; The Last Duel; Last Night in Soho; No Sudden Move; Pig; Plan B; Spider-Man: No Way Home; Supernova; Together Together; and The Vigil.
Joanne Thornborough is pop culture junkie with a particular love for film, TV and the printed word. Find her at @cinelitchick on Twitter.