Top 10: Films of 2019
Welp, with another year in the books, we’re looking in the rearview to the films that captured us fully and didn’t let go! Like we'll probably say every year: it was difficult to whittle down our favorites to a list of only ten. But, as is the end of the year tradition, we've braved through the difficulty and crafted our picks for what we consider to be the most unique and masterful standout films of the past year.
We're a smaller indie blog and don't get the opportunity to see every film, so this is solely based on the ones we were able to see. Also, as the subtleties of taste buds seem to differ from person to person, it's highly unlikely that we'll be in complete agreement, but if you let us know your thoughts in the comments section below, we'd love to have a conversation over the past year's lot of fantastic films.
Without further ado, here's our top picks for 2019:
10: High Life
There’s little wonder why we love Claire Denis’ first English-language film, High Life, so much, given how much it echoes First Reform’s themes of extinction and existential dread. The film is a wonderfully stylized challenge that defies the traditional typifications of the sci-fi genre, taking the viewer down a cerebral path that has only been trampled on by contemplative cinema and art film mainstays like Solaris and 2001: A Space Odyssey. Languid, atmospheric, elusive, and more arrhythmic than most sci-fi fare, Denis rejects all of the genre’s tried and true conventions in favor of moving to the beat of her own drum. While it won’t be everyone’s cup of tea, it certainly rang our bell. The film gives you so much to chew on and is undeniably a singular experience that will stick with you for awhile.
9: The Art of Self-Defense
This refreshingly offbeat and deliciously niche comedy had us in an stranglehold of laughter for nearly its entirety. It may veer too heavily into the deadpan for some, but it takes on its meaty subject matter with deliberate blows that quietly boil into a surprising crescendo. It’s ultimately about toxic masculinity and the dangers of “boy’s clubs,” but it has some things to say about women and femininity by proxy, which are just as potent. It has some really sneaky, low key zingers and several roundhouse kicks of gut busting laughs though. Anchored by the excellent lead performance of Jesse Eisenberg, with Alessandro Nivola and Imogen Poots providing phenomenal support, The Art of Self-Defense is sure to deliver a karate chop your funny bone.
8: The Irishman
Martin Scorsese’s latest mob epic, The Irishman, reunites him with usual suspects Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci, and also marks his first collaboration with Al Pacino. Despite standing at a whopping three and a half hours, the film is a brisk, breezy, and entertaining thrill ride that reaches deeper than any of Scorsese’s previous crime films, arriving at a surprisingly profound and contemplative conclusion that lingers with a quiet sizzle. The film really feels like a culmination of everything in Scorsese’s career and how he’s refined himself in his Autumn years, blending his energetic and stylistic crime films with his more contemplative work, giving it the feel of Casino/Goodfellas meets Silence.
7: Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood
We were completely overtaken with the charm of this slow-burning buddy hangout. Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood finally unites Brad Pitt and Leonardo DiCaprio, gives us another slice of revisionist history in that particular Tarantino way, and takes us on another breezy, carefree ride. One of Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood’s many gifts is giving us that version of Tarantino that waxes inwardly in a way that we’ve never really seen from him before; he isn’t just looking back over his shoulder to a pivotal era of American history, the Hollywood industry, and his childhood. The film is loaded with everything you’d expect from a Tarantino film — wonderful dialogue, rich characters, violence, alt. history, and an unpredictable story — but its friendship between Brad Pitt and Leonardo DiCaprio and the film’s overall heartwarming charm make this stand out from the rest. It also has the most cathartic ending ever committed to film.
6: Little Women
It seems as though nearly every generation has their own rendition of Little Women. Louisa May Alcott’s perennial 19th-century novel has been countlessly adapted for the stage, television, and film, and just when you think the over 150-year-old text had been thoroughly beaten to death, in steps Greta Gerwig to imbue Alcott’s source material with a vitality and freshness that’s somehow yet to be seen. In fact, Gerwig’s version is spirited in ways that the other adaptations aren’t. Alive and teeming with a palatable vibrancy, everything feels tangible and authentic (not somehow out of reach, like most period films). The characters are fully rounded, the world is fully realized, and the culminating effect is akin to a warm blanket; it wraps you up totally (regardless of if you’re a fan of the novel, or have no context to it whatsoever), creating a warmth that you’ll want to revisit time and time again. It’s sweet (without being too saccharine), charming, soulful, and honest, mixed with really funny bits and some sad bits, and filtered through a modern lens, which is all perfectly blended and chopped up by Gerwig.
5: Her Smell
Spearheaded by an absolutely go-for-broke performance from Elisabeth Moss, Her Smell is a beautifully chaotic cyclone character study full of glitter, sweat, and mysticism that will absolutely leave you drenched in its singular aroma. It possesses a visceral energy that effectively wraps you up in its dizzying madness of its protagonist, a punk rocker on the downward spiral. The narrative is thin, and really it’s nothing new, but the performances and execution elevate the end result through the stratosphere. All of its efforts are directed solely on the characters, and slowly and subtly, it reveals shades of depth and definition to each individual character and their relationships, creating layers that the audience gets to unravel. Her Smell is pitch-perfect, even when it sings off-key, with each aspect working in harmony to create an absolutely visceral experience. Watching a rock star burn their life, career, and image to the ground and pissing on the ashes has never been so engrossing or entertaining.
4: Parasite
Bong Joon-ho’s latest is a wickedly entertaining amalgam of comedy, thriller, and social drama that had us enamored with the surgical precision of its unexpected unraveling. Parasite is to a viewer what a pot of slowly boiling water is to a frog; you don’t know what you’re in for until it’s right and front of you, and by that time, you’re cooked to death with the power of pure cinema. It instantly hooks you with its natural humor, compelling characters, and timely social themes, and it sinks its hooks deeper and deeper the more its blissfully surprising and exhilarating story unfolds. It effortlessly slides into different shapes, seamlessly inhabiting the body of different genres and flawlessly juggling tones, quietly ramping up the tension and atmosphere until it breaks in a delightful swerve that bars its teeth and reveals its savage intentions. The film never ceases to amaze, even when you think you’re a step ahead — a feeling which is exclusive to its first half only. It flows like water, wasting no time and moving at such a rate that it’s impossible to be bored. And right when you think you’ve got it figured, it takes an unexpected turn and things become deliciously demented and surprisingly brutal, climaxing in a birthday party that you will not forget.
3: Marriage Story
Marriage Story may just be the greatest achievement of Noah Baumbach’s nearly 25-year career. The film is brilliantly acted, masterfully directed, and wonderfully written, offering incisive, heartbreaking and heart-mending takes on love, life, and the dissolution of the ties that bind us. The film is gracefully genre-fluid; it’s a courtroom drama, it’s a love story, it’s a comedy, it’s an informative and incisive break-up film, it’s a piece of theater, and at one point, it sort of becomes a musical. (Adam Driver sings “Being Alive” and it is absolutely wonderful). It effectively and viscerally takes the viewer through the proceedings of a divorce to the point that you feel right there with the characters. Featuring incredibly raw and personal career-best performances from Adam Driver and Scarlett Johansson that, when coupled with Baumbach’s focused direction and acute writing and add on Newman’s score, culminate to a unique masterpiece that will warm your heart and punch you in the gut. We’ve watched it a few times now, and it honestly just keeps getting better.
2: The Lighthouse
With The Lighthouse, Robert Eggers creates a salty sailor fever dream descent into madness that builds and builds and builds until it eventually crescendos and crashes down on its audience with the power of a stormy wave. It can easily make a viewer feel like they’ve been struck in the head and lost at sea, but it rang our bells in all the right ways. It’s a challenging watch, full of open-ended questions/possibilities and heavy period dialogue, but its impecable craftsmanship, faultless performances from Dafoe and Pattinson, and singular vision make it a highly rewarding treat, whether it fully lands for you or not. There’s just something magical and mesmerizing about The Lighthouse’s mystical qualities, volatile interplay between characters, and surprising humor that make it an unpredictable delight. In our eyes, Eggers has outdone himself and gifted audiences a truly special film that will hopefully stand the test of time. With its mystery left unexplained and its meaning fairly elusive, it’s a film that could quite literally drive an audience mad searching for the enlightenment in the light, but its profoundly visceral and unsettlingly feral experience is too fantastic to really ignore. Everything lands with the force of a crashing wave, which will stun and baffle many, but as the fog clears, this nautical nightmare won’t wash away easily.
Before we cruise to our #1 pick, here's a few honorable mentions that just missed the cut:
And our #1 pick of 2019 is…
1: Uncut Gems
Uncut Gems has been a 10-year journey for the Safdie brothers — one that involved 160 script rewrites, a few initial passes from the Sandman, and several other projects (Lenny Cooke, Heaven Knows What, Good Time) in the interim — and their passion and dedication can be deeply felt in the finished product. In many ways, the film feels like a perfect amalgamation of everything they’ve worked toward so far and all the things they’re passionate about; it seamlessly blends the real with the fictional (Heaven Knows What), uses basketball as a pivotal plot point (Lenny Cooke), engrosses you with its gripping adrenaline-fueled debauch (Good Time), and also has ties to their father (Daddy Longlegs). It also reaffirms the Safdies as an exciting, commanding, and vital young voice within the industry and solidifies them as masters of their craft. Pulsing with energy and uplifted by a Herculean performance from Adam Sandler, who is absolutely incendiary (and totally deserving of an Oscar), the Safdie’s latest is the real deal; a satisfying, unexpected, and breathless journey full of adrenaline and emotion that should not be missed, which is why it’s our favorite film of 2019.
Did we leave any of your top picks off our list? We want to know. Share your thoughts and feelings in the comments section below, and as always, remember to viddy well!