By Luca Newton
Finally, it's time to discuss the 10 films that I loved the most from last year. So enjoy a lot of praise.. and also a return to normal posts..
2021 has perhaps been my best year for watching movies. While in 2019, I really started to increase the amount of films I'd watch, it was abruptly stopped by the global pandemic. However, last year I decided to watch as many new films as humanly possible, on top of finally getting around to some of the films I'd been dying to see. Movies are my passion, and 2021 definitely cemented that for me without a doubt. I've really enjoyed getting fully into films. Especially given my concurrent film studies. I believe I have the right to criticise and talk films extensively and actually know what I'm saying - I don't know everything of course, and I am hoping to learn more.. but anyways. Today, I will be telling you the 10 new 2021 films that were my absolute favourites.
Before getting into these, I will have to preface that this is a list of favourites and not best. I believe they are the best, but that's in my opinion. I probably won't spoil much as I want people to watch these films, but if you haven't seen these films and want to go in completely blind, maybe skim through? Let's get started..
Before getting into the main 10, I thought I'd mention a few honourable mentions, given the year being so damn good, and me seeing so damn much
Honourable mentions:
HM 1: No Time to Die
The conclusion to Daniel Craig's era of James Bond, No Time to Die is an incredibly epic and satisfying conclusion, as well as a genuinely incredible entry in the Bond franchise. Absolutely top notch, and gets better on rewatch. Doing a James Bond first-time watch in the lead up certainly helped it to land emotionally for me.
HM 2: Spider-Man No Way Home
The latest event in the MCU, I was destined to absolutely adore this film, and while I do, I just prefer the films above! The way it culminated 3 eras of Spidey generations into one epic and genuinely emotional film was genuinely surprising, but welcome.
HM 3: Mass
Fran Kranz's directorial debut set in just one room with two couples having a debate and discussion. I really love these types of films, and it absolutely destroyed me this time, because it's about a couple who lost their child in a school shooting talking with the parents of the shooter. The acting from Jason Isaacs, Martha Plimpton, Ann Dowd and Reed Birney each were absolutely top notch. Any other year, this would top my list.
Extra Mention: Bo Burnham Inside
In terms of my ranking, Bo Burnham's Inside is certainly in the top 10, however the debate on whether it truly counts as a movie or not really makes me want to remove it from this list, but make sure that everyone knows that I believe it's one of the bests of the year. It's a masterpiece not only due to the songwriting, comedy and direction, but also due to how very relevant it is to the current situation we're in. It's genuinely devastating in how real it is.
Anyways, that's it for the honourable mentions, let's start the top 10..
#10 - The Green Knight (dir. David Lowery)
From the start of the year, I was incredibly interested in David Lowery's The Green Knight. Based on an old Arthurian tale of a green knight who comes to take a blow which it will do the same back at the Christmas of the next year, and the knight who volunteers himself must take the year to find the green knight. Dev Patel plays Gawain, and is as likeable as ever, I found him to be a really compelling protagonist. He isn't necessarily this stoic badass who is fearless, and in that sense he is pretty relatable.
While the film is relatively slow, I never felt the length. It was constantly engaging as the journey was fascinating. It is an epic through and through, but in a way you wouldn't expect. There is absolutely no action, and instead this adventure is purely psychological in its obstacles. Some people probably wouldn't like that, but I found it significantly more interesting that way. To fit with the Arthurian myths of the time, The Green Knight goes very mystical and has several odd folktales incorporated within the narrative. From the eerie performance of Barry Keoghan as the Scavenger to the weird encounter with the Lady and Lord, it has that unsettling tone to it that is so very present in these Arthurian legends, but is completely absent from adaptations. It's weird and creepy, but epic at the same time. It strikes the perfect balance with STUNNING cinematography and incredible visual effects. In the second half it gets almost a little confusing and disorienting, but I think it's done in a way that didn't ruin the film for me. That mystery and disorientation is part of the magic of it. It's not for everyone but I was into it.
#9 - Pig (dir. Micheal Sarnoski)
Starting this list is a film I discussed in my biggest surprises of the year, and it's absolutely good enough to also reach my absolute favourites of the year. Pig, starring Nick Cage, is about a truffle hunter who lives in the wilderness, loses his pig, and is determined to find it. That's the briefest way to sum it up honestly, but it's a lot more than just that. Nick Cage's Robin Feld returns to the city that he used to live as a chef with the help of Alex Wolff's Amir. It seems like a revenge thriller from a brief premise, but it is the absolute opposite of that. It's a deeply rich and beautiful film on grief and moving on. Sure, the truffle hunter trying to find his pig is the main story, but when you delve into it deeper it's a lot more. It had me engaged the entire time. Nick Cage's performance was phenomenal and one of the best and most underrated of the year as a whole. The structure and the editing of the film are also top notch as they align with Robin as a character, and while the film is slow and a little quiet, it's next really boring.
I said it in a previous post, but Pig is this perfect balance of style and substance, it's wild that this is a directorial debut. If this is the first attempt, then I am extremely excited to see what he has coming next.
#8 - West Side Story (dir. Steven Spielberg)
There is a ridiculous amount to gush about with Steven Spielberg's West Side Story. It's a remake of the Oscar winning original, and a musical in the true sense. As I said before, I was not expecting to like it as much as I did given that pitch didn't really sell the film for me to any extent. It was just a film that I intended to watch out of obligation and give a decent score and move on, but Spielberg's West Side Story blew me away and stayed in my mind for far longer than I was expecting.
What happens when you give a man who has never made a musical in his life, a classic musical to remake? Well somehow Spielberg managed to ace it on his first try. It's a tremendous feat by all means. I haven't seen the original film, but from what I've heard, this remake improves the original film fundamentally. And that in itself is a monolithic feat I respect immensely. As someone going in without the previous film watched, I was brought right into this world and was engrossed for the whole time. I think there's a certain magical quality to the film that makes it this really incredible film on top of just a good musical for me. Everything from the top notch cinematography (best of the year in my mind), to the brilliant performances on all fronts.. well except one. The emotional core of the story lands here and I loved how it unfolded, for me a lot of it was shocking. I believe that some of the story aspects could have been improved as some of it straight up didn't make much sense, but it's far and few between, and Ariana DeBose's rendition of 'America'. It's not flawless, narratively, but on a technical level, it absolutely is. It's jaw dropping how well-made it is, and it absolutely earns a spot as one of the absolute bests of the year.
#7 - Nightmare Alley (dir. Guillermo del Toro)
Nightmare Alley looked good, but I was not ready for it to be this good. It's a tribute to the talent of Guillermo del Toro as a filmmaker, he managed to pull a deliciously dark and engaging thriller with ease and a stacked cast. I wasn't expecting it to be one of my favourites of the year, but I sure am glad it is.
Based on a novel of the same name, Nightmare Alley stars Bradley Cooper, Cate Blanchette, Rooney Mara, and Toni Collette. In the 40s, Bradley Cooper's Stanton Carlisle is down on his luck and working in a moving carnival. He runs off to NYC with Rooney Mara's Molly, after acquiring vital advice from the man who's roof he had been staying under. In NYC, he takes advantage of the rich and wealthy citizens by using deception and lies. I don't want to get much more into it out of fear of spoilers, but that's the foundation of this thriller. Bradley Cooper was phenomenal here. I fully stand by the fact this is his best performance to date and he absolutely deserves more buzz in awards circles. It's a thriller in that his character is a ticking time bomb, but it's psychological due to the delve into morality and it gets really dark. It surprised me how utterly engaged I was in the film. Rooney Mara and Cate Blanchette were also incredible; I absolutely fell for Molly, and Dr. Lillith Ritter was such a presence in the second half I enjoyed.
Nightmare Alley has a certain classic Hollywood vibe to it, not just through aesthetics, but also the general filmmaking such as the way it's directed, written, the stunning set piece and the unbelievably beautiful cinematography. I've seen many people say the issue with Nightmare Alley is that it was too slow and that impacted how entertaining or engaging it was, and honestly I couldn't disagree more. It kept me consistently engaged for the entire duration, I thought that the ending could've been paced better, but it was ultimately worth it for what the ending actually accomplished, which is astonishing. Please see this film, it's so much better than what I'd heard before going in.
#6 - Encanto (dir. Byron Howard, Jared Bush)
The film you most likely haven't been able to stop hearing about since it came to Disney+, Encanto is truly worth the insane amount of hype that has surmounted for it. And if it isn't evidentially clear, I absolutely adored it. I truly believe this one of Disney's greatest animated movies, and I don't believe that is recency bias by any means. At the point of me writing this post, I've seen Encanto 3 times. Once in cinemas, and twice through Disney+. Each time, the film has maintained its charm and general greatness that I had initially felt after leaving the cinema for the first watch.
Many say that Encanto has great songs, but as a film isn't strong due to "narrative issues", and I've got to say, I couldn't disagree more. First things first, let's get the music out of the way. Lin Manuel Miranda writing them was the first real indication of something special, but I honestly couldn't comprehend how much this soundtrack would resonate with me. Since I rewatched it at the start of the year, I have had the soundtrack on repeat in my head, and sometimes on my computer or iPad just to listen to. Initially you think that We Don't Talk About Bruno is the one catchy one, and so you think that the soundtrack might be average compared to it, but no. Each and every song from the soundtrack I absolutely adore. Take Waiting on a Miracle, it's Mirabel's want song, but I think it's absolutely incredible, and not nearly talked about. I don't dislike a single song in the soundtrack, they've all resonated with me since I saw it first. But it's not just that they're catchy and well written. They are incredibly animated. I feel like the animation is the best it's been in 3D here, as every frame of the movie is always filled with stuff that you can spot and appreciate, and I love how the songs felt that dynamic due to the beautiful animation.
Moving on to the story, themes and characters, I believe they are as equally top tier. The story is a simple one, but it's effective. Mirabel is the only person in her family that didn't get a gift, and after the youngest member of the family gets his own gift. cracks start to show up in the magical house, which causes Mirabel to go find a way to save the miracle to prove herself to her family. She finds in order to do so, she has to fix the generational trauma and heal the family. The magic is very much a visual representation of the generational pressure metaphor. It didn't need to be deeply complex. The characters were plenty, and they got a really good balance of screentime. Outside of Mirabel and maybe Abuela, everyone got equal screentime, and that gave them enough time to make an impression but not too much to overstay their welcome. Enough not in that you desperately want more. I was a fan of each character. Dolores particularly was my favourite.
By how much I've had to say about Encanto, you'll know how incredible this film is to me. It's not a masterpiece, but it is one of my favourites of the year.
#5 - The Worst Person in the World (dir. Joachim Trier)
A film that many may not have heard of, but one that many should go out of their way to watch. By technicality, The Worst Person in the World is a drama comedy, but honestly I'd rather describe it as a tragedy coming-of-age. From Norwegian director, Joachim Trier, The Worst Person in the World is his masterpiece.
Starring Renate Reinsve, it's an outlier in the coming of age subgenre, as we follow Julie, who is 30 years old. Unlike many other stories like this, despite being a grown woman, Julie, at 30, is still not put together fully, which fully reassures me. Over a 4 year period of time in Julie's life, she has to re-evaluate her life decisions, and has to reflect on herself. She starts the film getting into a relationship with a man at a different stage of development to her. The film gets absolutely devastating as it goes on. It's not only a really compelling coming-of-age story, but also a really compelling story about how important one relationship can be, how it affects your life. Everything from the acting, to the direction is absolutely top tier and the way the film was structured hooked me in. I think it's a shame that Renate Reinsve will get absolutely no major awards for this film. Anders Dainselsen Lie is also underrated, as he brought an emotional performance too. The film has a long-lasting classic vibe to it, I feel like it'll be remembered as fondly as it's loved now.
#4 - Eternals (dir. Chloe Zhao)
Certainly not a surprise to anyone who knows me, but I absolutely adore Chloe Zhao's Eternals. I even made a post all about it. So I won't go too in depth here, as there are other movies I'd like to talk about at lengths. But if you know me, I love the MCU, and when I heard the premise for Eternals it sounded so unique and different and bold and interesting, I was very enthusiastic for it.
I was incredibly excited for it since that first trailer, and obviously the reviews were insanely mixed, even kind of negative overall, which was very heartbreaking for me, but after I first watched it, I left the cinema in absolute awe. Awe of how phenomenal it was. I will take it to my grave that this film is a masterpiece. A flawed masterpiece. Which might sound contradictory but I essentially adore the film, despite its flaws. Despite all those flaws, I can't help but still love it as much as I do, none of them really bother me. At the time of this post, I have watched Eternals 5 times. Yeah, it's crazy. It's held up every single damn time. I find it to be such a stunning film, not just visually, but thematically. It's a love letter to humanity through and through, and Chloe Zhao's passion shines through.
Despite having monolithic stakes, the film manages to have very grounded and personal stakes somehow? It's weird to explain, but each character had different backgrounds and different experiences with humanity, and when faced with the inevitability of death for more life and preserving this life has different consequences on each character. It has so many personal moments with the characters, and in its epic and humongous scope of thousands of years, it manages to feel so emotional and personal. I just don't see how the film is said to be dull, bland and boring, when it's this emotionally rich. It's not high cinema, it's not a Scorsese film, but it has genuine parts that make it feel so much more than just another MCU movie, which I obviously like too.
I was moved by Eternals, and every time I rewatch I always stick with that. Sure there are flaws, but is it really AS bad as people say??
#3 - C'mon C'mon (dir. Mike Mills)
C'mon C'mon is such a special movie to me. It's an absolute crime that it's not getting more recognition in awards circles.
C'mon C'mon feels like the movie that represents the year. It's equal parts optimistic, and introspective on a younger generation about what the future holds, and what it means to deal with tough situations and owning up to your feelings. With the global pandemic, I related to this film personally on a very very deep level. Even if that's not the intended message of the film, it came at the right time to emotionally resonate with me on a deeper level. I found it to be absolutely gorgeous in that sense and uplifting as it puts to words in some ways my thoughts.
Besides just that, it also has a story of a child connecting with his uncle, and I just found that beautiful to watch to, as they face hardships together, as Johnny tries to bond with Jesse. How Jesse comes to terms with his future and how uncertain it is, and how uncertain he is about his father's wellbeing, and that similar kind of worries are projected into the many kids that we see Johnny interviewing as they share their views on what they think makes them strong and what they think their future holds for them. In that way it's optimistic, but also feels eerily relevant and that resonates with me.
Mark Mills directed this absolutely Incredibly, the film looks phenomenal with black and white, but the direction is top notch as well as the score and the overall editing was so well executed. It was paced flawlessly. Joaquin Phoenix was incredible here, and child actor Woody Norman absolutely stole the show.
#2 - Spencer (dir. Pablo Larrain)
Spencer is a fairytale based on a true tragedy, and due to that it isn't your average biopic, in fact it isn't a biopic really, but it's absolutely outstanding. I've written about it at lengths, and I truly implore you to go and watch it knowing the bare minimum.
Kristen Stewart as Diana Spencer has to be not only her best performance, but the best performance of last year, and it is weird to me that she seems to not be a frontrunner anymore. The amount of effort in that role, it is absolutely enchanting. Spencer is about the weekend of Christmas which lead to Diana divorcing Prince Charles. Right from the start, we are told it's a "fairytale", and that's because, while the outcome is true, the way it's got to we can never know if it is, and so it doesn't try to trick you into thinking that's what the film is about, instead we have a mix of a fairytale and a horror. In true fairytale nature, it's underlying message is so weirdly dark and grotesque, you wonder how it's read to children. Diana struggles mentally and also medically over the weekend, making for some absolutely nauseating scenes. It gets very surreal at points too. But the best part of the film is the way it focuses on Diana herself, and her progression from being locked in a cage, to breaking free and establishing her individuality. Sally Hawkins brings an incredibly underrated supporting role which just adds to this marvel of a film.
It's just awe-strucking from the masterful direction, the perfect performances, the haunting score, the framing of the story. It makes this tragedy of a film that never failed to engage me. It may be a bit too odd for the general audience, and so the film seems to have missed many awards this year, which is a shame, but it's a film that is an absolute must-watch in my opinion.
#1 - CODA (dir. Sian Heder)
Aaaand, in first place is CODA. Originally CODA was not my number 1. It was high up, but I didn't put above C'mon C'mon or Spencer. I did that because I felt CODA didn't have the same technical achievements, but what CODA thrives at is being a movie I can confidentially say will become of my all-time favourites. It is such a special film, and I am so glad that it's being recognised by so many people. Maybe CODA doesn't have the best cinematography of the year, but it does have some of the best writing of the year, in a story that feels so simple and easily formulaic, can resonate with you so deeply to the extent that CODA did. I said in my surprises of the year how I didn't expect much from it, and that was completely true. I didn't expect to be this emotionally invested in Ruby.
Ruby Rossi is the child of deaf adults, and family in general with her older brother. Ruby is then bestowed the natural responsibility of translating for her family who work on a boat, but in school Ruby pursues her passion of singing, which causes issues with her family and vice versa. It's pretty simple, but the way it's executed is absolutely astounding. Emilia Jones is so great in the lead roles, and absolutely deserves more lead roles. Troy Kotsur was the standout though, there's a specific scene that really shows it, and I won't spoil it, but that is just one of so many moments that are just spectacularly directed and written in a way that is so very uplifting and also emotional. The end of the film only works when you're attached to the characters, and CODA does that so well. Truly a masterpiece in my eyes. I just adore how it balances humour, emotional moments and drama.
CODA could've been a very formulaic coming of age story, instead it's my favourite movie of 2021. It's on Apple TV+. You really need to check it out, please do. You won't regret it.
Well... That's 2021. What were your favourites? I think a lot of my picks are going to be pretty popular. but they're popular for a reason. Obviously there are still tons of movies I loved outside of even my honourable mentions - for me, it's been an outstanding year for me overall. I'm really excited for what my favourites of this year will be.
Thanks for reading!
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