I have already written about quite a few films I watched this year, and so this isn't an inclusive list by any means, more of a brain dump of the recent movies that made an impression on me.
Saltburn
Lush and stylish with fabulous actors giving great performances. Just love Rosamund Pike in particular as the rich mother, and Jacob Elordi absolutely nails the effortlessly beautiful rich boy. The intended and actual star though is Barry Keoghan as Oliver and he is excellent throughout, keeping us on our toes with his motives, and deserves credit for keeping a straight face in some of his scenes! Giving Brideshead and Ripley vibes, despite a criminal underuse of Carey Mulligan I enjoyed this even though it’s not as clever or as deep as it thinks it is. It made me laugh quite a lot, mostly when I was supposed to, particularly with the couple of gratuitous scenes which anyone who has seen it will be able to identify immediately. I have never seen a bathtub or a grave loved as much. And the end was predictable and silly but again it was fun. It reminded me a lot of Triangle of Sadness in skewering the vacuity of the rich although probably not quite as brutally, but it similarly left me feeling that I had a fun if not deeply satisfying evening.
Silent Night (2021)
Set up as a Christmas movie with all of the usual tropes, a group of old friends all travel to meet for Christmas in a large house in the country. Middle class and middle brow, with a Richard Curtis vibe and a song about Christmas sweaters to match. There are plenty of light comedy moments and the infidelities and friendship dramas that are almost compulsory. I didn't know anything about the movie before it started but with a good cast including Kiera Knightly, Matthew Goode, Rufus Jones and Lucy Punch I thought it was worth a whirl as it is only 90 minutes long. Anyway there is a strange tone throughout and the reason for this becomes clear about 20 minutes in. This is a movie about a man made climate apocalypse that is being tracked on tv and social media and is due to land tomorrow. They have gathered together for a last party before they all take their government issued 'exit pill' which have not been provided to the homeless or 'illegal immigrants'. In the next hour and a bit we explore how much different human lives are worth, whether people could or should trust governments or scientists, how ethical is it to avoid suffering when others can't, and eventually how well or badly can humans behave when things go wrong. All through the lense of a lightly comic friends party.
I didn't love it, mainly because of the strange tone which I assume was intentional, but there were lots of great little moments too, particularly the insistence of the child twins on being treated the same way throughout, and even when being given their 'exit pill'. Obviously there is now a whole genre of movies dealing with the apocalypse in this kind of way (Eg Don't Look Up and Leave the World Behind) and this one fits nicely alongside. The final 30 seconds were a nice twist and a great ending which made me rethink everything, and then made me a bit cross. Possibly that was the intention though?
Maestro
A film that looks and sounds beautiful, and with impressive central performances from both Bradley Cooper and Carey Mulligan, this is a study of what it takes to be a Maestro and what being a Maestro takes from those around them. I gather this film has been authorised by the Bernstein estate, so I imagine that although there are plenty of unflattering things in here, there is probably more that could have been said. The black and white segment of the film, which are really before Bernstein fully hits his stride look gorgeous, and we see all of the strands that will grow in significance once he gets famous. The switch to technicolour in the sixties worked well as we see him fully develop what had been less coloured in before. Bernstein was apparently both a genius and a bit of a nightmare both privately and professionally, and this film particularly focuses on the relationship with his wife Felicia Montealegre (Mulligan in a finely tuned performance which ought to get a few awards nods). His infidelities and dissembling are explored, as is the fact that his self confidence never seems to waver, apart from when he is faced with the loss of his wife. Cooper is totally convincing despite the fake nose and balances the flaws and genius in a way that drew me in. The cinematography is beautiful, and the music is used so powerfully throughout, this is a well made film and so is actually rather lovely. My hesitations come firstly from the fact that it seems just a touch self satisfied and maybe a tiny bit smug, and secondly that in the end I think we are expected to forgive and accept Bernstein's own view of himself despite the harm he did to those he loved. And I struggled with that a bit. Despite that, I can see why it is being lauded, it is beautiful and so I might go and watch it again.
Fingernails
A great cast of Jessie Buckley, Jeremy Allen White and Riz Ahmed, this film is a little exploration of what is love anyway? Can it be measured, quantified, grown?
Set in a world where a test has been developed to confirm if a couple love each other, there's a pressure to take the test, and then whole courses to train for taking the test. What happens if the test doesn't give the answer you expect? How much should you rely on others for your own experience? Well the answer should be obvious I think but it takes two hours for Anna (Jessie Buckley) and Amir (Riz Ahmed) to work out that they probably know better than the tests that they run after their courses at the Love Institute. Jeremy Allen White has a fairly thankless task here as dull Duncan that despite his best efforts, cannot give Anna what she needs, regardless of the bit of paper that confirms that they are really in love.
In true romcom style it is clear to us within the first five minutes who should be with who. There are some funny little vignettes along the way, as obviously unsuited partners try hard to learn the lessons about communication, sharing, and even trying shock therapy to create a traumatic association with a partner leaving the house. The Fingernails of the title is to do with the test - a fingernail is removed to do the test, which suggests that you have a limited number of tries too.
The premise of the film doesn't last long under scrutiny, and the play The Effect by Lucy Prebble (I wrote about that here) covers much of the same ground more effectively but the quality of the actors involved in this meant I still enjoyed the journey to get there.
A Strange Way of Life
The names attached to this project are what got me over my aversion to westerns. It was the genre for my Film Studies course at school and I thought I was over them for the rest of my life. Turns out Pedro Almodóvar, Pedro Pascal and Ethan Hawke were all it took. This is a short and playful western about love, making full use of all the metaphors you can think of linking guns with sex. There are so many obvious winks to the audience with this, but it doesn't stop it being fun or beautifully made. The basic premise is that Silva (Pascal) rides into town after a 25 year absence to meet with the Sheriff (Hawke). It turns out Silva's son is accused of murder, and Jake is on his trail. A night of rekindled passion doesn't stop Jake wanting to catch his murderer, so in the final half of the movie we have a chance to think about law, freedom and the wide open spaces before we get to the gunfight and fallout from that. This is a bite size story from Almodóvar and I would love to see the full version. But even with this tiny story, so much is packed in, it looks gorgeous and the performances are subtle and moving. As always with this director less is more. However, I would like more please.
First Cow
After breaking my drought of westerns I dived into this one next. Two men, a pair of outsiders, meet in the forests of Oregon, one, "Cookie" Figowitz (John Magaro) a cook for a party of trappers, the other, King Lu (Orion Lee) an itinerant chinese worker with big entrepreneurial dreams. After running away from the trappers, they spend some time wandering through forests fairly incompetently (no wide open spaces in this western), then they eventually hit on an idea of making and selling delicious scones in the nearby town. Trouble is they need milk to make the scones, and the First Cow in America has just been imported by the effete and foolish Chief Factor, an Englishman played mischievously by Toby Jones. The double act work out they can make enough money to start their own hotel business if they can sell enough cake and so start stealing the milk. Obviously sooner or later the plan goes to ruin and our boys go on the run. The joy of this is in the developing friendship between the two men - a classic buddy movie after Butch and Sundance, and the staples of the western, civilisation and law and order vs freedom to do as you like. And we also get the revenge narrative too, multiple times dotted throughout. Despite the focus on hard cash and the need to get rich quick (we are talking about the American Dream after all) this is a sweet and sad little fable about how America was made. Loved it.
Tomorrow Ever After
This is unusual in that it is an optimistic sci fi movie looking at what happens after the apocalypse and it made an interesting change. Shaina (Ela Thier) is accidentally transported back in time from 2592 to the present day. In the future, national borders have been abolished, communities look after each other and individualism and selfishness seem to have been abolished. Shaina hugs everyone she meets even in New York, and still has her 'implement' which is a device which despite being credit card sized can morph into any gadget you need, including one to get money out of cash machines. Shaina finds herself tricked, taken advantage of and locked up because of her inability to understand the cultural mores and ulterior motives of the people around her, but after a rough ride there is a (somewhat) happy ending. One of the things that did make me think though, was that she has no idea of how things worked after mid 20th century, because there was an event which wiped all digital records. That feels a bit too likely for comfort.
The film doesn't explain how the world got from the mess it is in to the utopian future, but when you consider that this film was made in 2016, just as it became clear we were all going to hell in a handcart, maybe this is just whistling in the dark.
Leave the World Behind
Yet another apocalypse move, this time with Julia Roberts and Ethan Hawke. Roberts is Amanda, a cynical advertising executive, and Hawke is her underperforming academic husband. She and her two children take a weekend break on Long Island, just as strange things start happening. Firstly a Black man and daughter knock on her door in the middle of the night saying this is their home and they want to cancel the rental and move back in, then all social media and communication goes down after what appears to be a hacking event. This is a world where everyone is suspicious of everyone else, and even the prepper (Kevin Bacon) isn't interested in helping anyone out - look after your own first.
Produced by Michelle and Barak Obama, this takes a gripping but cynical and depressing look at what a cyber attack might mean for America. The take on America as a country that has run out of friends due to its previous 'America First' behaviour hits home but also doesn't leave much hope there either. The message is clearly ‘start working together or die’, but it's a fairly blunt instrument they are using to get that message to us. There were some great cinematic disaster moments here, as well as more unsettling ones like the animals appearing to know something, Shyamalan style and there are some great moments but overall it didn't really hit the spot for me.
The Sense of an Ending
I know this is old but I only watched it this year. With Jim Broadbent in the leading role, he puts in an affecting performance as Tony, a man who is only just realising that his grouchiness and bad behaviour has always had consequences. The film uncovers the impact of an action taken in anger and spite as a young man, which only comes to light after the death of an old school friend. Themes of memory and particularly the reassessment of those memories as new information comes to light, and the enlightenment of a man who has been self righteously sour since his youth gradually realising how wrong he has been. Probably appropriately, the ending is a bit underpowered, but does give the sense that although it's late, it might not be too late for everything, I have read the book too, and the film only really scratches the surface. I found the slow pace a bit frustrating, given that there is lot more to show than actually surfaces here. Despite that, the main performances make this worthwhile
Scrapper
Georgie lives by herself after her mum dies. A sad but also heartwarming story about a tough 12 year old who has been living by herself while pretending to 'The Social' that she is living with an uncle called Winston Churchill. She gets by with petty crime and persuasion, with the help of her best mate Ali, and the guy from the corner shop who records phrases for her to play over the phone in the welfare calls from her social worker. She's a kid with attitude, building something strange in what used to be her mum's bedroom. Then one day Jay appears at her door, telling her he is her dad. The rest of the film is a little odd couple romance between two difficult and prickly characters and it melted my heart. Great performances both from Lola Campbell as Georgie and Harris Dickinson, the script is a little bit flaky, and the low budget shows, but actually I thought overall this was a sweetly enjoyable little rags to happiness fairytale.
And while I am here I thought I would do a reminder as well about movies I already wrote about and enjoyed, starting with probably my favourite movie of 2023 (although on UK release in 2024)
All Of Us Strangers
I don’t want to give any spoilers because I would like everyone to see this film, but this is just beautiful with sensitive and moving performances from all four actors. I just love Andrew Scott and Paul Mescal together - the energy each can create on a screen by themselves could power small towns and so together they are stunning. And Claire Foy and Jamie Bell are just so delicate in creating a pair of parents from the eighties. Great soundtrack too. Scott plays a lonely writer living in an almost empty block, except for one other resident played by Mescal. After an interaction one dark night, Scott goes back to visit his childhood home and finds his parents still living there. A film about love, loss, grief and loneliness, full of heart and a tangible sense of melancholy. In my practical head though I am wondering what happens after the film ends.
Foe
Another Paul Mescal movie this time with Saoirse Ronan as the other half of an unhappy couple living through the climate crisis 40 years in the future. Into a house and landscape that looks mid 20th century comes the future, in the form of Terrance (Aaron Pierre) making an offer they can’t refuse. Lovely cinematography of bleak dying landscapes and, of course, amazing talents on screen. Unfortunately the sci-fi story behind it is a bit superfluous and doesn’t stand up well against some Black Mirror episodes. Leaving aside my grumbles though, the study of the relationship in breakdown is great, as are the scenes between Mescal and Ronan; they both do intimacy and subtle emotion on screen so well. Sadly though the empty story with a bit too much melodrama, obvious symbolism and clunky dialogue gets in the way. So, in summary great cast doing a good job with some less than perfect material but it all looks beautiful and it is worth watching for those central performances anyway.
Barbie
Thoroughly enjoyable, although I thought a bit too long - this should have been a 90 minute movie. The basic premise is that all is well in Barbieland with all those women in the Supreme Court, being lawyers, doctors and having a girls night every night, while the Kens are there to ‘beach’ and look pretty. Then the real world creeps in and Barbie and Ken set off to fix things. I did enjoy the ‘Kenergy’ from Ryan Gosling and they have a lot of fun with bringing patriarchy to Barbieland, and maybe softly raising feminism with all of those girls, guys and they's dressed in pink in the audience. I don’t want to forget that Michael Cera as an eager but a bit sad Allan, is perfect too.
Greta Gerwig has done a great job. The sets and overall production were amazing and very pink, producing a visual treat from start to finish. Of course, Mattel is having its cake and eating it a bit, highlighting the love/hate relationship women have with the dolls and acknowledging Barbie’s problematic and undesirable side while making sure we don’t forget the positive. But that’s not quite the whole story. A few more young men might have seen some of their assumptions played back to them, and the young women will have had a bit of a laugh and then a sigh and might remember a bit more about how patriarchy works. I originally thought it wouldn't make anyone angry, but it did make quite a few of my less reconstructed male colleagues pretty cross, so maybe it hit harder than I thought.
God's Creatures
I saw this early in 2023 and loved it, bleak Irish landscapes and fantastic subtle performances from Emily Watson and Paul Mescal. I wrote about it
here and you should see it if you can
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