There were some BIG disappointments in 2024. Films with major directors or all-star casts or both, that were highly anticipated only to debut to derision. Truckloads of production money or marketing dollars could’ve been better spent on crafting multiple pictures. What saved this lackluster year of releases was the incredible, raw, powerful performances by actors that surprised me. There were some audacious turns in small films that blew me away.
In prior years, most of my favorite films would’ve been screened at the Telluride Film Festival. This year, most of them played the festival but because there were more passholders and less theaters, I didn’t get to see many movies. I did get to watch Anora, Emilia Pérez, and at the Saoirse Ronan Tribute, her amazing film, The Outrun. And though I didn’t fall in love with the Indian film, All We See is Light, I could appreciate the story of sisterhood. There were also films that were brilliantly crafted even if I didn’t find them as stellar: A Better Man (a simian stand-in for British musician, Robbie Robertson), Memoir of a Snail (outlandish stop-motion animation for adults), and Nickel Boys (trauma and torture w/an omnipresent view).
Tuesday was the film that kicked off this Year of Fierce Women for me. I missed this movie at the 2023 Telluride Film Festival when Julia Louis-Dreyfus was there. Is there anything more fierce than a mother protecting her child? And in Tuesday, her character is willing to literally eat death to save her daughter. Tuesday is a 2023 fantasy written and directed by Daina O. Pusić; her feature directorial debut. A co-production (UK & US), the film stars Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Lola Petticrew as a mother and daughter who are guided by Death in coping with the daughter’s impending demise.
I was also wowed by three independent films that featured Kick Ass women: My Old Ass, His Three Daughters and We Live in Time. Audrey Plaza had quite the year! With outstanding performances in My Old Ass, being one of the best things in Megalopolis, and stellar work in the tv series White Lotus and Agatha All Along. Then the tragic death of her screenwriter husband…she must be reeling.
I loved Florence Pugh in both We Live In Time and her brief stint in Dune 2. And Zendaya, what a talent! She gave balls-to-the-walls performances in both Dune 2 and the brilliant Challengers. The three women in His Three Daughters were all excellent but it was the nuanced performance and quiet radiant presence of Natasha Lyonne, that resonated with me.
There was a lovely, lyrical Icelandic film that stayed with me for months. Touch (Snerting) is a romance directed by Baltasar Kormákur, written by Baltasar and Ólafur Jóhann Ólafsson, and starring Egill Ólafsson, Kōki, and Palmi Kormakur. The film is based on Ólafur’s 2022 novel of the same name. It is an international co-production between Iceland, United States, and United Kingdom. I see some reviewers putting All of Us Strangers on their 2024 Best Of List. I saw it two years ago but sure, give my favorite movie from 2023 some more love! I also love Ghostlight (UK), telling the story of how art can transform even the most curmudgeon.
It was a great year for animation. I enjoyed the watercolor-like images in the dialogue-free Flow (Latvia) and craft and subversion of Memoir of a Snail (UK). It’s The Wild Robot that stole my heart. I watched it twice in the movie theater and cried both times. The film is so immersive and heart-felt and beautiful. I love the soundtrack, the animation, and the story.
Though I didn’t see many documentaries this year, I loved Will & Harper and was blown away by Origin. I haven’t had a chance to see Super/Man, but I know I’ll love the biopic about Christopher Reeves. And Blink seems like such an inspiring documentary that I must make the time to watch.
My favorite blockbuster this year was the tennis romance Challengers. I also really enjoyed Hit Man and the sweeping epic that was Dune 2.
My number one film of the year is The Brutalist. An epic tale of immigration, Holocaust trauma and survival, impotence and love, and architecture has phenomenal performances from Adrian Brody and Guy Pearce. Felicity Jones has a pivotal role as the wife of a broken man; a genius who’s been beaten down, abused and still has the spark of genius. The production design features incredible architectural details and settings. The soundtrack is compelling but also feels like the heartbeat of the film and I loved the credit sequences set sidewise across the screen. Brady Corbet has crafted an epic 3 ½ hour film (with a 15-minute intermission) that needs to be seen on the largest screen possible. The end may not live up to the promise of the brilliant first 2 hours, but it’ll have you reeling.
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Drinks with films 