“One can’t depend on time. One doesn’t know. So, ultimately, that time has to be worth it even if it’s just existing. Even if it’s just being alive, breathing, if you can under these circumstances.”
–Martin Scorsese (from Martin Scorsese’s Quarantine Short Film for the BBC)
Here’s a memory that will hurt– a friend and I are on the light rail here in Seattle. We step off into the cold air and walk over to the downtown Seattle AMC. We settle into our seats in one of the smaller theaters; it’s the same one we saw Uncut Gems in together. The theater is sparse, but the film we’re watching fills the theater with its intense silence. This is my experience watching The Assistant, but it’s an experience that can be recreated with any number of theater-going trips. My second watch of Birds of Prey was the last film I saw in theaters before COVID hit. I haven’t seen a film in theaters since (as you shouldn’t either). Streaming sites serviced us when it came to our appetites for new cinema this year, so wonderful indies and prestige streaming service gems populate this list as a result. Let’s hope in 2021 we can return to theaters. But if not, I’ll just become desperate enough to rent out a whole theater at The Beacon here in Seattle. You can check out my full 2020 ranked list on my Letterboxd here.
10. On the Rocks (Sofia Coppola, 2020)
Maybe he’s just not interested in me anymore.
Impossible.
If Sofia Coppola is releasing a new project, it most likely is going to be in my favorites of the year– sorry! On the Rocks marks a fun detour in Coppola’s filmography. This is arguably the more comedic of her films, so it makes sense that Coppola finally reunited with Bill Murray for this project. Murray uses his lighthearted tone to make his character much more likeable, even when he is saying something that is so outdated. But Coppola understands how father-daughter relationships can be shaped by generational differences and portrays this and all its frustrations in this picture. It’s also one of Coppola’s first stories to focus on modern motherhood, and she brings an auteur’s eye to a new realm of womanhood. The jazzy score and beautifully captured New York City skyline are wonderful too.
9. Shiva Baby (Emma Seligman, 2020)
Yes Daddy.
A true gem of indie debuts. Shiva Baby is claustrophobically relatable for any 20-something-year-old with no idea of what they want to do in the future, yet culturally specific with its setting of a shiva. The single location works very well, and tight 77-minute runtime is commendable. Certain moments have the feel of a horror film, capturing the emotional state of our protagonist. The bisexuality of the protagonist is treated wonderfully. As director Emma Seligman stated, “”if no one [watched] this movie except for some young bisexual women who feel seen, then [she would] feel like [she had] done [her] job.”
8. Mank (David Fincher, 2020)
You cannot capture a man’s entire life in two hours. All you can hope is to leave the impression of one.
Mank is a tricky one. A disappointment to some fans of David Fincher who were hoping for something with the trill of Gone Girl or the intensity of The Social Network. Instead, we got an account of 1930’s Hollywood. Why lie? The cue marks and the rosebud shot make my heart swoon. This video detailing the history behind this period really helped me appreciate this film more. Amanda Seyfried is the emotional center of the film, and her look of pain when sitting in a circus costume is stunning. It’s a well-crafted picture, and an enjoyable watch for those interested in this period of cinematic history.
You can read my review of Mank here.
7. One Night in Miami (Regina King, 2020)
It’s been a long time coming, but I know a change gon’ come.
Ah, adaptations of plays! Translating theater to screen is very difficult. But Regina King makes this dialogue-heavy medium work so well. Her actor’s eye helped her draw out incredible performances from the cast, and the film rests on their intricate conversations in a small hotel room. The performance from Kingsley Ben-Adir is a standout, capturing the humanity of the monumental political stature of Malcolm X. The film captures the spirt of 1964 and refuses an easy reading of the period. The end’s triumphant tone feels earned, and Leslie Odom Jr.’s final song gave me chills. Regina King joins the legacy of female actors turned directors, and hopefully award shows will begin to pay attention to the wonderful talent right in front of them.
6. The Assistant (Kitty Green, 2020)
You’re not his type.
This is the scariest film I saw in 2020. It depicts the routine of harassment and manipulation this assistant goes through masterfully, with our titular protagonist’s face dulled by the overwhelming unease of this workplace. The choice of radical mundaneness is a strength to the film’s message. A particularly brutal scene with the company’s HR guy slaps the viewer across the face. You leave this film with the understanding that she will have to come back in tomorrow and go through this all over again. It’s truly a hard watch.
You can read my review of The Assistant here.
5. Da 5 Bloods (Spike Lee, 2020)
Hear me. You will not kill Paul. And the US government will not take me out. I will choose when and how I die.
Da 5 Bloods’ dialogue is wondrously crafted. Fresh off his win of Best Adapted Screenplay for his last feature, Spike Lee infuses his work with natural gravity. The original screenplay was not centered on Black veterans, but Lee chose to write from this perspective. It’s a perspective not often explored when examining the Vietnam War. One of Da 5 Bloods’ strengths comes from its casting. Delroy Lindo is wondrously direct in his monologues, grandiose without being pretentious, with the hand of a Shakespearian actor. Chadwick Boseman’s natural glow shines in this film, the perfect casting for the leader of the group.
You can read Rohan Patel’s review of Da 5 Bloods here.
4. Soul (Pete Doctor, 2020)
I heard this story about a fish. He swims up to this older fish and says, “I’m trying to find this thing they call the ocean.” “The ocean?” says the older fish. “That’s what you’re in right now.” “This?” says the young fish. “This is water. What I want is the ocean.”
Soul’s animation is dazzling. It’s incredible that a studio that went from making the water in Finding Nemo look “too realistic” is able to swing in Soul from abstract Picasso-like shapes to capturing that specific light of a city evening. The film lures you into associating “purpose” with jobs and personal passions. The film turns on its head when it chooses to complicate the term “purpose.” It’s a smart decision and fits with Pixar’s choice to take family films seriously, to view this genre as a venue to explore deep subjects and heart-wrenching realities.
3. Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) (Cathy Yan, 2020)
But I’m the one they should be scared of!
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Margot Robbie went into this project wanting the film to center around a girl gang, because “Harley needs friends.” Too often “girl gang” films are not made by women, and often become male gaze-y as a result. Cathy Yan’s Birds of Prey reverses this tendency and makes this high-budget superhero film feel like it’s made for women, by women. It doesn’t unauthentically scream “girl power!” like other superhero movies have attempted, but instead uses its details to depict its characters with empathy and fun. That egg sandwich scene made me feel seen. Can’t we have fun?! Can we please just have fun?!
You can read Jesus Alfaro’s review of Birds of Prey here.
2. Never Rarely Sometimes Always (Eliza Hittman, 2020)
Whatever your decision is is totally fine, as long as it’s yours.
Handheld 16 mm never suited a story more. In watching Never Rarely Sometimes Always, I kept imagining what I would do in this situation. To be a 17-year-old, with an entire system stacked against you trying to control your body, is a grueling situation. Eliza Hittman choses to display intimate solidarity among girls as a defining center to this film, two interlinked pinkies are ingrained in my mind’s eye. This friendship is needed to counteract the constant misogyny these two girls go through on their journey, from sexual harassment at work to degrading comments from parents. It’s a story of resistance at the end of the day, with our protagonist awash in light by the conclusion. But it’s similar to The Assistant in the sense that you have to remember the scores of women going through this process to get an abortion right now.
1. Nomadland (Chloé Zhao, 2020)
Just like my dad used to say: “What’s remembered lives”. I maybe spent too much of my life just remembering, Bob.
I’m saying it now, Nomadland and Chloé Zhao for best picture and director. I’ve been saying this since I first watched this through the Lincoln Center back in December. What I would do to go back in time and see this on the big screen! I don’t think I’ve ever seen a film that feels as real as this. Beyond the moments when feature and documentary blend, these thoughts on life and death are portrayed and articulated with a magic that only cinema can provide. Frances McDormand’s sly smile shines as she’s exploring the beauty of the United States’ scenic landscapes. The film does not romanticize this way of life, and it portrays the harshness of the American economy. But there are moments of great joy and sadness, like a tear-inducing story about swallows, which makes this a wonderfully complex picture of life in America. This feels like the future of cinema– a blending of genres, with a focus on the real.
