Best Films of 2020
We did it everyone! We made it to the end of a hellscape of a year. The history-making Oscar win for Parasite gave cinephiles much to hope for, but that goodwill unraveled so very quickly. While it wasn’t a good year for going to theaters, it was a good year for films. By brushing aside so many blockbusters from the 2020 calendar, smaller titles that would’ve gone marginalized any other year suddenly got more prominent placing.
Regardless of the size of the screen we saw most of 2020’s films on, the impact those films made is indelible.
Honorable mentions: Da 5 Bloods, Impetigore, Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga, She Dies Tomorrow
10 — Be Water
The audience is introduced to Bruce Lee in Be Water as he’s also introduced to Hollywood executives. Lee presents quite the profile, but it’s when he’s asked to perform gung fu that he truly stands out. As Lee demonstrates a few moves, it’s clear that the camera can’t capture his movements quickly enough. He literally becomes a blur. Bruce Lee was a master of his craft, making it easy to see why he resonated in international cinema. Lee commanded your attention even in films where the script didn’t rise to his level. That he didn’t appear in more film and television is only because of prevailing ignorance in the industry that denied us more of the man’s work.
9 — Palm Springs
By adding a second person to “one of those Infinite Time-Loop situations you might have heard about,” Palm Springs takes the aggressive questioning about what it means to live in the 90s from Groundhog Day, and, in doing so, offers an introspective look at relationships. When unable to escape yourself, your area, or the people with you, the desperate yearning that Nyles (Andy Samberg) and Sarah (Cristin Milioti) feel was all too relatable in 2020. While the nihilistic laughs were welcome, the genuine heartbeat of Palm Springs . Among the film’s many life lessons: always add J.K. Simmons to your film if you can.
8 —Small Axe
This entry is devoted to all five films of Steve McQueen’s Small Axe anthology, but I wanted to devote some attention to John Boyega’s performance in Red, White, and Blue. So many times during the film, Leroy Logan (Boyega) enters a scene where only his reflection is present. A perfect visual motif for a story centered on a man who is absolutely qualified to do whatever he wants, but is constantly hounded by projections of him. Who they think Leroy is, and who they think he should be. Boyega serves as a bridge between two communities who want no part of each other while he desperately avoids being severed from both ends.
7 — The Nest
“Rory pitched Allison on moving as a new opportunity, yet it’s a retreat. At a homecoming for Rory, it all comes clear for Allison. The hairdo, the mink stole, the sports car, it’s a show for an audience that forgot his antics. In a discreet camera push, Carrie Coon lets her face do all of the scene’s work. Rory speaks offscreen, but the focus is on the almost imperceptible changes in her expression. As Allison listens, the faint smile she wore for the party disappears. It’s one of the least showy gut punches in a film filled with angst and rage.”
6 — La Llorona
What is the horror genre if not a morality tale? Jayro Bustamante’s film grounds itself firmly in the political realm before ushering viewers into the supernatural. As decrepit Gen. Don Enrique (Julio Diaz) is brought up on war crime charges, he refuses to admit guilt or regret. The Guatemalan Supreme Court releases him to his palatial estate where he finds a spirit punishing him for misdeeds. La Llorona is a slow-burn, but when it gets going, you won’t be able to look away.
5 — The Invisible Man
May there be many more of these updated-but-still-relevant Universal monster films. The special effects work in The Invisible Man was amazing, but the real standout was, of course, Elizabeth Moss’s gaslit, frenzied, protagonist. Cecilia is made invisible by a system that looks the other way time and time again, but the horror of The Invisible Man is that the boogeyman doesn’t go away once the credits roll.
4 — Bad Education
Hugh Jackman, forever linked to Wolverine and his musical performances, gets a chance to dig into a character a little less savory. His mundane crime may make Dr. Frank Tassone (Jackson) seem like a outlier, but his prepped explanations and lack of remorse suggest otherwise. He didn’t start out this way, but after compromising bit by bit over decades, there’s nothing left of him to save. The crushing finale, where Jackman has a chance to see everything he’s given up in pursuit of excess, may be the finest acting he’s ever done.
3— Possessor
Tasya (Andrea Riseborough doing career best work) and Girder (Jennifer Jason Leigh) never trouble themselves with the legality of what they do, only the physical toll it takes on their bodies. Thousands of people vape sadly while traipsing to their row homes, never knowing that they’re potential collateral for Tasya’s targets, who lord above everyone in their sky-high penthouses and their palatial estates. Cronenberg doesn’t pull any punches with his takedown of corporations, using white-collar business as the backdrop for some of the most shocking violence imaginable. Now, that isn’t to say Possessor spends its running time belaboring the points of late capitalism, it queries why a function of high society often demands us to be at our most animalistic.
2 — The Sound of Metal
A singular scene in Sound of Metal simultaneously defines 2020. Ruben (Riz Ahmed) sits in a ear specialist’s office after losing his hearing. The specialist tells him that he must take precautions to preserve any hearing he has left. Smash cut to Ruben banging away at his drums at another metal concern mere hours later. Ruben is desperate to keep some sense of normalcy, even if it comes as complete disregard of the doctor’s advice. Carrying on as if nothing is wrong. We live in freefall to keep feeling normal. It’s innate to being human, but for Ruben he’s going to have to learn the consequences that come with preserving normalcy. Riz Ahmed’s performance is in those details. No stillness, just planning. No one questions the desire to keep control, but in navigating what comes after, it’s harder to keep pretending. That old life isn’t closer to coming back, but we’re not emotionally ready to accept the new life. The peril comes in knowing that only we have to live with it.
1 — Promising Young Woman
Gut-punch endings will stick with viewers longer than you want them to. Her parents don’t understand her, her romantic life is largely for sport, and the world outside her photo slideshows is nothing but pain and misery. Whether Cassie (Carey Mulligan in an absolutely devastating performance) gets her wish is up for interpretation, but Promising Young Woman leaves nothing to debate about its ending.
