My Favorite Films of 2019
/This was an absolutely packed year for movies. Streaming services threw their weight around more than ever before. Netflix in particular showed that they could distribute some of the best films of the year from some of the greatest filmmakers working today. But audiences were still drawn to the theater as well, turning up for both the usual blockbuster franchises and smaller, original films as well.
The movies of 2019, as with every year, reflected the current fears and hopes of the world. Stories about class divides, the creeping rise of fascism, race and gender inequality, and the sentiment of eating the rich shined through the typical feel-good narratives we might be used to. Documentaries showed the real effects of a world on fire; a planet under siege by the machinations of late-stage capitalism, and the people who struggle to survive, fight for change, or both.
I watched one hundred and sixty-eight films this year. To call any list “the best” would feel a bit untrue to myself. Films are largely subjective. While I saw plenty that I and many others consider to be brilliant, impeccably made works, not all of them had the lasting impact on me that these ones did. Here are my favorite motion pictures of the year.
Fyre: The Greatest Party that Never Happened Directed by Chris Smith
Was there any better way to kick off the year? This Netflix documentary, about the infamous disaster that was the 2017 Fyre music festival, is a masterpiece of hilarious tension. Fyre is an insane true story about dumb rich people committing fraud against other dumb rich people, culminating in Lord of the Flies-esque mayhem on a Bahamian island. As funny of a story as it is, it also serves as a perfect example of how the wealthy squander obscene sums of money for luxurious indulgence, and the negative impact that often has on the communities that make those luxuries possible. And of course, the documentary’s interview with Andy King, the event producer, has one of the single greatest moments of the decade, where King confesses just how far he was willing to go to try and salvage the doomed festival.
Climax Directed and written by Gaspar Noé
Climax was the first film I saw this year that really rocked me to my core. I had never seen anything like it before, and it became a turning point for me in the kinds of movies I most enjoy experiencing. Largely improvised, the film follows a party that turns into a hallucinatory nightmare, as a French dance troupe rehearses in an empty school one snowy evening. They celebrate with a big bowl of sangria, which, unbeknownst to them, has been laced with LSD. Argentinian filmmaker Gaspar Noé crafts this descent into hell and madness with chaotic energy and hauntingly beautiful grace, filming it all in long, unbroken takes. The second half of the film, set once the hallucinogen has begun to take effect on the dancers, is a masterful and dizzying 42-minute long take. A look at humans regressing to a more animalistic state, and a safe space turning into a madhouse, Climax is one of those movies that you just have to experience for yourself. Buckle up.
Rocketman Directed by Dexter Fletcher Written by Lee Hall
Transcending the confines of the music biopic, Rocketman is a full-blown musical fantasy, perfectly fitting for the flamboyant stylings of Sir Elton John. Anchored by an astounding performance from Taron Egerton, the musical is packed with Elton’s signature gaudy costumes and high-energy anthems, chronicling the highs and lows of the legend’s life. As showy it is, Rocketman still manages to never lose sight of the very human story at its center - that of a man who’s been desperately searching for love since he was a child.
Avengers: Endgame Directed by Anthony & Joe Russo Written by Christopher Markus & Stephen McFeely
In a year that marked the end of several mega-franchises like Game of Thrones and Star Wars, Marvel Studios was arguably the only one that truly stuck the landing. The grand finale to an unprecedented, decade-long story that spread across 21 films, all taking place within the same universe and interconnecting to one another, Endgame was Marvel’s victory lap. Bringing everything together and ending it all in a satisfying way seemed like a near impossible feat, but the Russo brothers proved that they were more than up to the task by keeping the focus on the one thing the Marvel Cinematic Universe always got right: its characters. Now the highest-grossing movie of all time, Endgame is the example of how far blockbuster filmmaking can go. We probably won’t see anything like it ever again.
Us Directed and written by Jordan Peele
Anticipation for Jordan Peele’s second major film was high. Get Out had become a smash hit and a cultural landmark, so audiences were eager to see what the comedian-turned-horror-filmmaker was cooking up next. Us is a continuation of Peele’s use of horror to convey timely social commentary, and it’s far bigger, bolder, and ultimately more rewarding, than its predecessor. What begins as a terrifying but conventional home invasion by a gang of creepy doppelgängers quickly turns into nationwide mayhem. It’s a tale about the United States (the film’s title has multiple meanings) and its abandonment of the less fortunate. The late-stage twist at the film’s end forces you to reexamine the entirety of what you just watched, and practically demands that you give it repeat viewings. Peele took a huge leap forward with his sophomore effort, and it’s clear that this is a master who’s only getting started.
Peterloo Directed and written by Mike Leigh
In 1819, after periods of famine, unemployment, and harsh laws, the citizens of England organized a pro-democracy rally to demand fair representation. Led by radical orator Henry Hunt, a massive crowd of between 60,000 to 80,000 people, many of them women and children, peacefully gathered at St Peter’s Field in Manchester. Shortly after the meeting started, British forces charged into the crowd, attacking indiscriminately. Many of the unarmed protestors were killed and hundreds were left seriously injured. Mike Leigh’s film portrayal of the Peterloo Massacre tells a story that’s parallel to the one going on today - of resentment towards governing bodies that refuse to provide for their citizens, and how that resentment sparks into a push for necessary, radical change. In a world that’s seeing country after country rising up in protest of the status quo that doesn’t work for them, Peterloo is a bleak warning of where this all inevitably leads, and a reminder of the countless, unnamed sacrifices that often feel in vain.
Midsommar Directed and written by Ari Aster
Nothing short of a masterpiece. A folk horror tale set in the broad, sunny fields of Sweden, Midsommar carries the banner in this strong year for the horror genre. Similar to last year’s Hereditary, which seemed to open the floodgates for a new wave of horror films, this film lingers in your mind long after the credits roll. Florence Pugh proves herself to be the actress of the year (she also starred in Fighting With My Family and Little Women) with an earth-shattering performance, playing a young woman stricken by grief and trapped in a relationship that should’ve ended long ago. A perfect film that only gets better the more time you have to think on it. I am consistently in awe of it.
The Great Hack Directed by Karim Amer & Jehane Noujaim Written by Karim Amer, Erin Barnett & Pedro Kos
The Facebook-Cambridge Analytica data scandal is something that could only happen in our current digital age. Cambridge Analytica is a UK-based political consulting firm, who began working on behalf of Ted Cruz’s campaign to win the 2016 Republican nomination. By mining the data of millions of Facebook users without their consent, the firm was suddenly wielding immense power. Having unfiltered access to so many people’s personal data could be used to stage massive campaigns that target those people, influencing everything in their lives from who they vote for, to what movies they watch, to what kind of content they have come up on the internet for them. So, naturally, it was used in exactly that way. After Ted Cruz dropped out of the race, Cambridge Analytica was then hired by the Trump campaign, and 2016 became the first year where social media’s influence in political elections became disturbingly apparent. Cambridge Analytica had an impact on Brexit as well, and it soon became apparent that the think tank created by this massive amount of mined data could destabilize countries and cause general disruption. A scary look at how advertisers and politicians weaponize our personal data to exploit every single one of us, The Great Hack is necessary viewing.
The Farewell Directed and written by Lulu Wang
An autobiographical work, The Farewell follows Billi, played by Awkwafina in a career-making performance, a Chinese-American who’s residing in New York. Billi receives news from her family - her grandmother, Nai Nai, has been given a terminal diagnosis. The family is staging an impromptu wedding for everyone to get together with her one last time. There’s just one thing: Nai Nai hasn’t been told that she’s sick, and the family intends to keep it that way. As funny as it is heartbreaking, Lulu Wang’s personal story of familial love and loss, and of being torn between two cultures while feeling like you belong to neither one, is a perfect film start to finish. An observation of the differences between the East and the West, where one emphasizes the self while the other emphasizes the whole, without ever leaning towards one or the other, The Farewell is about as good as movies can get.
Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood Directed and written by Quentin Tarantino
Tarantino is a director that is all Hollywood, all the time. Once Upon a Time is his love letter (and bittersweet goodbye) to the Golden Age of movies and the people who made them. Leonardo DiCaprio is just magnificent as always as Rick fuckin’ Dalton, a fading television star, and Brad Pitt is quietly brilliant as his stunt double, Cliff Booth. The two are past their prime in the eyes of most, but still strive for success in an industry that has seemingly passed them by. It’s Tarantino’s most genuine work of art he’s ever done. It’s surprisingly subdued for him, and just may be the best work yet for a director with an already astounding career behind him.
Godzilla: King of the Monsters Directed by Michael Dougherty Written by Michael Dougherty, Zach Shields & Max Borenstein
Y’all did this movie dirty, you really did. King of the Monsters is a perfect summer blockbuster - it’s big, loud, and insanely fun. Dougherty, being a massive Godzilla fan all his life, gives the iconic monster the god-like status he deserves, as he and other titans battle it out for dominance. Is it silly? Hell yeah it is. You know what this is going in, and you get exactly what you should be looking for. The monster designs are beautifully done and each scene truly feels like you’re in the presence of deities, ones that just love to tear shit up. This is big, monster movie action done exactly as it should be: with maximum emphasis on just how much fun this sort of stuff is. Martin Scorsese described Marvel movies as amusement park rides, but I’d say that this was as close to a roller coaster as you could get at the movies this year.
Knock Down the House Directed by Rachel Lears Written by Robin Blotnick & Rachel Lears
An intimate look at the aftermath of the 2016 U.S. presidential election, Knock Down the House follows the various grassroots campaigns that sprung up across the country in the first two years of the Donald Trump presidency. Led predominantly by women and people of color, the 2018 midterm elections tipped the scales of power in Washington, showing that the progressive side of the United States wasn’t going down without a fight. This documentary shows the personal impacts of the financial crisis, the country’s broken healthcare system, the continuous slayings of unarmed black men and other violence against people of color, the hazardous environmental destruction caused by industry, and how it’s all reached a boiling point. In a year where the world seemed bleak, Knock Down the House is an inspiring spark of hope for a better tomorrow, and how real change can come from anyone who cares enough to try.
Jojo Rabbit Directed by Taika Waititi Written by Taika Waititi & Christine Leunens
Taika Waititi has proven himself to be an incredibly unique voice in the crowded market of entertainment, and Jojo Rabbit, his best work to date, walks a fine line that shouldn’t ever work but miraculously does. Telling the story of a Nazi youth whose life becomes complicated when he discovers a young Jewish girl living in his attic, Waititi makes fun of the absurdity of white supremacy without making light of it. It’s as hilarious as it is devastating, and as fun as it is contemplative. Showing nothing but contempt for the ways in which campaigns of evil indoctrinate children, and where that sort of dogma inevitably leads, Waititi has made a film unlike any other.
Hustlers Directed by Lorene Scafaria Written by Jessica Pressler & Lorene Scafaria
Inspired by a true story, Hustlers reinvented the crime genre simply by switching the most common perspective to the least common one. After Wall Street bankers and bros sunk the country into a financial recession, ruining the lives of countless people, a group of strip club employees in New York banded together to turn the tables in whatever way they could. A wonderful reminder of how fantastic Jennifer Lopez is when given the right material, Hustlers is powerful and thrilling storytelling that puts the spotlight on the characters who usually end up marginalized in these types of movies. Equally as grimy and dirty as it is beautiful and glamorous, this film is yet another that channels the anger of the lower class in this country, to dazzling effect.
The Lighthouse Directed by Robert Eggers Written by Robert & Max Eggers
Based on the diaries and writings of real lighthouse keepers of the time, The Lighthouse has a simple premise. Two lighthouse keepers, one new to the job and the other a hardened veteran of it, live and work together on a remote New England island in the 1980s. The two don’t particularly get along, not without copious amounts of alcohol at least, and once a storm strands them on the island for longer than they had planned, their grips on their sanity slowly start to weaken. Still riding high off of the terrifying The Witch, Eggers has created a spiral into paranoia and madness, fueled by Robert Pattinson and Willem Dafoe’s committed and outrageous performances. Gaslighting, hallucinations, sabotage, seagull murder, and homoeroticism are all found here, and for something as depraved as this, it’s also awfully damn funny.
Knives Out Directed and written by Rian Johnson
An immigrant story told through the lens of a classic whodunit, Knives Out became the surprise hit of the year, solidifying that Rian Johnson is one of the best filmmakers working today. It’s easy to follow without ever dumbing itself down, it takes obvious twists and turns with its murder mystery but still finds a way to make it feel new, and the cast is absolutely stacked. The heart and soul is Ana de Armas’ Marta, who winds up caught in the affairs of an entitled, rich family that condescend and underestimate her. The final shot might be the best of the entire year; it’s about as satisfying as it gets.
Frozen II Directed by Jennifer Lee & Chris Buck Written by Jennifer Lee, Chris Buck, Kristen Anderson-Lopez, Robert Lopez, & Marc Smith
The sequel to the most successful animated film of all time, Frozen II set its sights high. It’s far bolder, more mature, and abstract in its approach compared to its predecessor. It’s definitely not a perfect movie - it often feels like it bit off more than it could chew, leading to several plot lines that feel underdeveloped or just pointless, but the effort put into it is astounding, and I can’t help but love it. The visuals, animation, and the music (my god, the music!) are breathtakingly beautiful, and its themes of belonging, grief, and self-discovery are just as stunning, especially for a younger audience. This is the kind of direction I’d love to see Disney continue to take with their movies, animated or otherwise.
Honey Boy Directed by Alma Har’el Written by Shia LeBeouf
About as painfully honest as a movie can be, Honey Boy was written by Shia LeBeouf as a form of therapy while he was in rehab. It captures two critical points in his life: working as a child star while still living alone with his father in a run-down motel, and his post-Transformers life that winded him up in rehab. It’s something so specifically personal, yet it invokes a universal feeling: the desire and need to be seen, to be felt, to be loved. Gorgeously directed by Alma Har’el, the film forms a perfect triad of the stories of LeBeouf, his younger self, and his father, which are really the same story told in different ways. It’s a cathartic, emotionally exhausting, and therapeutic experience for both the writer and the audience.
A Hidden Life Directed and written by Terrence Malick
The most necessary and philosophical film of the year, A Hidden Life is the true story of Franz Jägerstätter, an Austrian farmer who refused to swear loyalty to Hitler and fight for the Nazis during World War II. There was no other movie this year that perfectly captured the creeping rise of authoritarianism, and the anxiety over what good people should do in the face of it, better than this one. Malick weaves a story of unwavering faith and love for family by focusing on the smaller, seemingly insignificant moments of life. Instead of rousing speeches about what’s right and wrong, the film is constantly asking questions, musing on the complexities of life and morality. It’s a deep meditation on what difference, if any, a single person can make, taking its title from the last sentence of Middlemarch by George Eliott: “…for the growing good of the world is partly dependent on unhistoric acts; and that things are not so ill with you and me as they might have been is half owing to the number who lived faithfully a hidden life, and rest in unvisited tombs.”
Uncut Gems Directed by Benny & Josh Safdie Written by Ronald Bronstein & Benny & Josh Safdie
This adrenaline rush of a movie is a story about what happens when you make numerous scores of bad decisions in a very small span of time. It’s also an aggravating reminder of just how damn good Adam Sandler is when he’s actually trying. He plays Howard Ratner, a sleazy, fast-talking New York City jeweler with one hell of a gambling addiction. Constantly making bad deals, placing sporting bets with money he doesn’t have, and surrounded by loaners looking to collect, Uncut Gems follows Howard during a particularly stressful week in his life. The Safdie brothers have made a dizzying, anxiety-inducing masterpiece here, about a man with no friends always chasing the high of winning.
Parasite Directed by Bong Joon Ho Written by Bong Joon Ho &Jin Won Han
I know I said earlier that this isn’t a best of list, but let’s face it. Parasite is the best film of the year. What I want the most from a movie that I go to see is to be surprised by it. Bong Joon Ho, a master of filmmaking if there’s ever been one, mixes genres together in a movie that dares you to try and guess what happens next. Just when you think you’ve got this puzzle / ticking time-bomb figured out, it takes another unprecedented turn, and then another, and then another. No other motion picture better reflected this particular moment of time for the world. Remember folks, the only real evil is capitalism.
This list may be updated. There were still plenty of movies that came out this year that I haven’t gotten around to seeing, including big ones like The Irishman. What were your favorite movies of the year?