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| Scene from Uncut Gems |
1. Marriage Story
The idea of people falling in and out of love is a subject often explored on film, though rarely with as much nuance as director Noah Baumbach's personal story of divorce. With career-best performances by Adam Driver and Scarlett Johansson, the story explores the quest to understand why these two fell in love even as their world falls apart, all of the world judging and forcing them to take sides. It's a heartbreaking story where minor grievances once taken as innocent are now weapons for custody, but it's also one full of humor and humanity in a way that only the best films can capture. This is a story that feels like every detail comes from an open wound of an experience, where the only way to move on is to let the hurt come out. In the process, it shows how difficult it is to get divorced not only legally, but in that, it's sometimes much worse than how each party feels.
Everybody wants a piece of the pie in Parasite. They're all trying to become wealthy in the hopes that they'll gain the respects of the entire community. Of course, that's because those in the gig economy at the bottom of the mountain are constantly bombarded with the waste from above from a careless public. Part of the film's charm is that despite many characters having villainous undertones, nobody is inherently evil and that we're all fighting a desperate battle. The real enemy is money, where society doesn't respect you without it. It's the finest work by Bong Joon-ho and manages to be a film that explores a crisis of international proportions on a human and even accessible level. There's nothing like Parasite because of its endless uses of symbolism both bold and subtle as well as plot twists that more than warrant going in blind. It's a masterpiece that only becomes richer (pun intended) the more that it's thought about.
In the world of literature, few books have mattered as much as "Little Women" thanks to its depiction of women exploring their own agency. Every mundane detail shouldn't be a page-turning achievement, and yet it's impossible to forget the magic that comes from the March sisters. Director Greta Gerwig's adaptation is faithfully remixed to fit themes closer together as she goes on a quest to not only tell the story but understand the struggles that Louisa May Alcott took to release it. While still charming and infinitely endearing, the one thing that makes this an essential update of the text is its ability to engage with its meaning in a modern lens. This isn't just some bogus female empowerment anthem, it's about applying it to everyday life and finding various parables whose poignancy hasn't lost any of their musters. It's a powerful film full of great performances, notably from Saoirse Ronan and Florence Pugh, that answers the question: why adapt a story with seemingly no action? Oh, there is a lot of action. It just happens to take place deep inside every character's willingness to follow their own path.
Billi finds herself at many crossroads throughout the film. She is an American visiting family in Asia and thus must follow the customs of a collectivist society. She is a failure in a moment when she should be a success. Most importantly, she is emotionally distraught when everyone expects her to be brave. The dichotomy that goes into Awkwafina's phenomenal performance is a thing of wonder, managing to make a personal story about letting go into something even more complicated. How do you enjoy the potential last moments with your grandmother when she may die of cancer at any moment? It's a drama that's heartwarming in showing a family bonding in ways only the deepest emotions could truly capture. It's a love letter to grandmothers everywhere, the sweetest people on Earth. It's also one of the best dramas about family in many years.
In what may be one of the most incredible feats of the decade, Dreamworks has created over nine years a trilogy that's just as visually breathtaking and emotionally satisfying as anything that Pixar had done. To watch dragons soar through the clouds as John Powell's echoic score plays is to witness the magic of family entertainment. In the final chapter, the world has grown bigger and the sights more majestic as Toothless and Hiccup learn that while they love each other, certain things must be sacrificed to better their lives. As a result, it's one of the most ambitious, emotional, and satisfying conclusions to an animated trilogy since, well, Toy Story 3. The franchise doesn't seem to be going away, but for now, it can rest assured that it created a fantasy trilogy that's fun for the whole family.
The journey through Silver Lake, CA is presented as a hazy neo-noir where the answer is not the point. In fact, one could argue that there is no definitive answer to the mission that Andrew Garfield is on and is, in fact, an exploration of his own failings as an adult. He's a bit misogynistic, often unable to pay his rent but able to find hidden messages in old gamer magazines. Are there really as many clues as he claims, or is it all just a big tease? That's part of the fun of the story, and its winding path is an atmospheric delight into one of the year's most colorful, deranged series of characters that redefine seedy underbelly. What's here is a chance to get lost in the wonder and discover a world that feels bigger than any one scene. It's about a feeling, and the uncertainty creates one of the greatest commentaries on conspiracy theorists this decade.
It could be argued that Jordan Peele's home invasion film never quite hit the cultural resonance that Get Out did. However, it was evident that he wasn't going to pigeonhole himself in one style of filmmaking. There's a lot more humor infused in the horror this time, making the action pop with a humorous irreverence as it explores the social divides between upper and lower classes. With Lupita Nyong'o's best performance in over five years, the film's duality is upsetting and made more nerve-racking with help from Michael Abels' screeching score. The journey into our neighbors' homes results in a journey of greater heights and richer imagery, proving that Peele will never let us off easy. We'll have to sit with his work for a long time before it loses its muster, and Us is one that feels more defiantly so than Get Out.
Journey deep into the mouth of madness, and you're likely to find Robert Pattinson and Willem Dafoe there, still fighting over whether he cooks a good lobster. It's a story that finds two men traveling to the edge of reason, only finding themselves helpless in claustrophobic spaces as waves crash on their lighthouse. Does a month pass, or even a day? Are any of the characters even real? There's so much that's abstract in this realism that the film is open up to interpretation. With that said, it's a film with such a torturous tone that it can only be appreciated by those willing to go through the grievances and quirks of men who have nothing to lose. It's also one of the most demented films of the year, incapable of being spoiled because of its atmospheric, tonal chaos that assaults the viewer until they're left confused. There is no film like this and Pattinson would be in a mental asylum if he did anything crazier than this. It's art at its most confrontational, and its lack of clarity only makes it better.
In a career full of manic performances, Adam Sandler has never been as neurotic as this. Every scene he's in is a few moments short of giving the audience a heart attack, and The Safdie Brothers continue to perfect the modern gritty crime thriller. It's a journey into an obsession with a man who has nothing to lose in part because he hasn't achieved anything. He's negotiated wealth into his life through shady trades and good networking. By the time he's taking bets on Spurs games, he's gone through a whole spectrum of emotions, in the process showing the depths of Sandler's gifts as an actor. The film holds him upside down and shakes every last instinct out of him, and the results are appalling and breathtaking. It's a story that starts with praise and ends in revulsion, finding the tragic arc of a man losing his dignity. It is a compelling character piece and one that refuses to leave the audience alone long after the credits have rolled.
For a story full of robbing and exotic dancing, it's a surprising, empowering story that finds a sympathetic economic story coming to life. Featuring one of the great casts of the year, this comedy finds Jennifer Lopez and Constance Wu depicting a friendship being torn apart as every obstacle gets them closer to trouble. Even then, director Lorene Scafaria subverts the male gaze by using sexuality against them in clever ways. These women aren't victims of their economic woes, but more heroes who love each other. Some of the film's best moments feature the titular hustlers gathered together, celebrating the finest things that life has to offer. It may be a story of cheating the system, but for once it's a justified one with a career-best performance by Lopez. All it takes is two women sitting in a fur coat on the roof to capture the endearment of working together to make a difference. The world is cruel, and having someone by your side makes it a tad easier.
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