40. Annette
Fun fact: if you Google Leos Carax’s latest film, Annette, the first prompted question is “What is the plot of Annette?” and, well, that’s a loaded question. The psychological romantic drama musical (say that five times fast) follows superstar couple Ann (Marion Cotillard) and Henry McHenry (Adam Driver). She’s a renowned singer and he’s a crass stand-up comedian. When Ann gives birth to a rather unusual daughter, things begin to unravel for the couple, while reality and fantasy converge. The film is wholly otherworldly and imaginative, often balancing stark contrasts in tone. It’s as dark and morbid as it is funny and touching. And with phenomenal performances from the two leads, the film is enrapturing even when operating so far beyond the rules of reality as we know them. (Anna Swanson)
Where to find it: Currently streaming on Prime Video.
39. Wild Indian
Native characters have long been seen on screen in redface or as underdeveloped plot devices but 2021 is the year that all changes. While some releases are more positive representations, filmmaker Lyle Mitchell Corbine Jr. deals with the darker side of generational trauma in Wild Indian. While the film isn’t for the weak of heart, the performances from lead actors Michael Greyeyes and Chaske Spencer as grownup cousins who experienced death at an early age are chilling, like the atmosphere that surrounds the characters throughout the film. Wild Indian is just the beginning of Corbine’s impressive career but if this is the start, what difficult topic is he thinking of tackling next? (Shea Vassar)
Where to find it: Currently streaming on Starz.
38. Flee
“Is reality based in memory nothing but fiction?” – The Matrix Resurrections
Not since Waltz with Bashir in 2008 has an animated documentary proven so perfect and so complex this hybrid form. Jonas Poher Rasmussen’s Flee is another work of nonfiction illustrating the lengthy testimonial of a man recounting trauma and survival. It sometimes plays like a dream, as animation does, or an inescapable nightmare. Amin is a gay refugee born in Afghanistan who fled that country with his family in the 1980s, only to face new troubles in Russia and then rough passage to Sweden before finding his way to Denmark, where he’s now about to be married.
The visuals range in detail, from abstract shapes to well-defined, scripted scenes from the man’s memory. But none of it ever feels unreal let alone fictionalized through these crafted images. Amin’s voice (plus a smattering of archival news footage) keep it grounded and emotionally honest. Another animated feature that moves us more effectively than live-action ever could. (Christopher Campbell)
Where to find it: Currently available on VOD.
37. Spencer
There’s a scene in Spencer in which Princess Diana (Kristen Stewart), already iced out of the royal family yet unable to escape their life-leeching traditions, imagines choking on one of her own pearls at the dinner table. It’s not the best bit of Pablo Larrain’s high court horror story. That honor belongs to any mercifully warm moment she shares with her sons. But it’s a perfectly emblematic image. Larrain’s take on Diana is as specific as it is impressionistic. He envisions her during one of the worst points of her too-short life, a time when her well of youthful charm has dried up in the face of the Crown’s unchangeable pressure. Watching Spencer, beautiful and anxious, pace around Sandringham at Christmas feels a bit like suffocating on the smooth silkiness of a pearl. Finally, mercifully, Larrain lets Stewart uncoil Diana’s heavy sadness and reveal the human underneath. (Valerie Ettenhofer)
Where to find it: Currently available on VOD.
36. tick tick… BOOM!
Andrew Garfield has proved to be one of the most talented and versatile actors working today. He is the Amazing Spider-Man, a greedy televangelist, a conflicted missionary in 17th century Japan, and a complete weirdo searching Los Angeles for a mysterious hot girl. But did you know that on top of all of that he could sing? tick, tick…BOOM! only adds to Garfield’s impressive resume and will officially make all the moms fall in love. His ability to grasp the charisma of the late Jonathan Larson—best known for creating the iconic musical Rent—captivates and impresses all at once. And let’s not forget this is Lin-Manuel Miranda’s directorial debut. Miranda’s experience with theater musicals is evident in the staging of this on-screen singing and dancing extravaganza with cameos from some of Broadway’s biggest stars. Overall, tick, tick…BOOM! is a delight, a real honor to Larson’s young legacy. (Shea Vassar)
Where to find it: Currently streaming on Netflix.
35. The Harder They Fall
The Harder They Fall bounces with childish, reckless energy. There’s a sense that Jeymes Samuel has wanted to play within the Western for a very long time. And now that he’s here, he’ll attempt every trick the genre can offer. And the same goes for the rest of the cast. Idris Elba, Regina King, Jonathan Majors, etc., they’re going big. There’s no meditation here; subtlety can get lost. The Harder They Fall champions melodrama and uncovers deep-hearted emotion through extremism. In that excitement, though, there is a troubling reality; Black actors were frequently denied access in a fictional realm where historically Black cowboys and cowgirls prospered. The Harder They Fall operates as revenge for roles erased. It’s got more kick than swagger. (Brad Gullickson)
Where to find it: Currently streaming on Netflix.
34. The Tragedy of Macbeth
Joel Coen approaches Shakespeare’s tragedy like any of his other tawdry neo-noirs. It’s just a story of a couple plotting and executing a murder. He initially passed when his wife Frances McDormand approached him about directing a stage version. But the thought started to noodle, and before long, he was thinking of it as a film, and once that happened, the floodgates kicked open.
The Tragedy of Macbeth, despite the lack of his brother and collaborator Ethan Coen, feels perfectly at home in their filmography. It’s a thick, murky murder soup, where horrible people commit horrible acts upon each other and suffer the consequences. The film is also in conversation with every other adaptation that has come before. While it swings wildly away from most, The Tragedy of Macbeth aligns itself deliciously next to Laurence Olivier’s sumptuous productions. Bruno Delbonnel’s cinematography longs for the old ways and pushes that vibe into unimaginable shots. The performances are muted, set on simmer, teetering on a boiling edge, but the images are loud bold thwacks. Coen hits hard, leaving frames in your mind like scars. (Brad Gullickson)
Where to find it: Currently streaming on Apple TV+.
33. C’mon C’mon
Mike Mills’ best movies feel like they’re designed to shatter your heart, then pick up its pieces and put them back together, tenderly and by hand. C’mon C’mon is one of his best. The black-and-white film follows radio journalist Johnny (Joaquin Phoenix) as he connects with his nephew, Jesse (Woody Norman), for the first time. Jesse is only nine, but he’s already developed a particular set of neuroses–and accompanying unconventional coping methods–in the face of his own dad’s (Scoot McNairy) intermittent mental illness.
For much of its run-time, C’mon C’mon is low-key, earnest, and sweetly funny. But it sneaks up on you, and somewhere between Johnny’s reading of Claire A Nivola’s The Star Child and Jesse’s most casually heartbreaking observation, its small moments begin to feel like big moments. Norman and Phoenix give fantastic, naturalistic performances in one of the most life-affirming films since, well, the last Mills picture. (Valerie Ettenhofer)
Where to find it: Currently available on VOD.
32. Mass
Remember the pothead from 2011’s Cabin in the Woods? The dork named Topher from TV’s Dollhouse? Turns out Fran Kranz is a lot more than the sum of his characters as he made his feature writing/directing debut with this somber, tear-jerking masterclass in capturing raw humanity on the screen. Two couples meet in a small room to discuss the incident that binds them. And the result is a beautifully written elegy on pain and forgiveness. The cast elevates it further with terrific turns by Reed Birney, Ann Dowd, Jason Isaacs, and Martha Plimpton. You’ll want a fresh box of tissues on hand for this one. (Rob Hunter)
Where to find it: Currently available on VOD.
31. Zola
Not enough praise can be given to Janicza Bravo’s Zola, a film that has perhaps not received its just due to the tumultuous nature of the pandemic and its effect on the movies. Based on the famous Twitter thread that begins, “Y’all wanna hear a story about why me & this bitch here fell out?” the film’s premise shows the endlessly rich possibilities for source material in the age of new media. That alone should excite viewers.
The film also features a pair of superb performances from Taylour Paige, who plays the titular character, and Riley Keough, who plays Stefani. Beyond the Twitter thread, the film offers a fresh and honest take on class and race through the lens of what it is like to exist in our current moment, one where the artificial glamor of social media masks (or at least attempts to mask) the fires of capitalism that surround us. What makes Zola so great is the ways in which it depicts such issues without a hint of condescension. The film has a baseline level of respect for the characters and the world in which they exist. This key element is what makes Zola one of the most effective satires of recent years, and one that so brilliantly captures much of what it’s like to be alive in the chaos of right now. (Will DiGravio)
Where to find it: Currently streaming on FuboTV and available on VOD.
Related Topics: 2021 Rewind
