Top Movies of 2021

As we approach the two-year mark of the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s easy to feel discouraged and wonder when or even whether it will be over. It’s especially hard to stay optimistic after that brief post-vaccination moment last summer when we thought we might be seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. Turns out we were just seeing the headlights of the oncoming variant train, driven by all the humans who couldn’t or wouldn’t get vaccinated.

Nevertheless, it’s important to remember that we are still so much better off than we were this time last year. Thanks to the vaccines, those of us who’d previously been in lockdown have been able to see our family and friends in person and move about with more if not perfect freedom. And for movie lovers, vaccines allowed us to look forward to a bumper crop of new movies and to venture to theaters again. This might seem trivial in the grand scheme of things, but it isn’t. At their best, movies aren’t just a distraction, they’re balm for the soul. Without being an actual religion, they can feel like one – and theaters are our places of, if not worship, then spiritual renewal, catharsis, and communion. I still remember the joy I felt last March returning to a movie theater for the first time in over a year, and have savored every trip I’ve made since.

Admittedly, with first delta and more recently omicron casting new doubts on the safety of going to the movies, I’ve been cutting back on those trips. As a result, I have not yet seen Licorice Pizza, Nightmare Alley, Jockey, A Hero, or Spider-Man: No Way Home, and as of this post, The Worst Person in the World, Compartment No. 6, Petite Maman, and Cyrano have not yet opened in theaters near me, even though I do want to see all of them at some point. I also missed Mass and Red Rocket in theaters (and King Richard in its initial HBO Max window) and am waiting for them to come to one of my streaming services or Netflix’s DVD program. Additionally, I have not seen (and frankly have very little interest in seeing) Annette, Titane, or House of Gucci. And – my usual failings – I have seen relatively few documentaries, foreign films, or animated films from 2021. With those many caveats, here are my top 15 films of 2021. It is probably not a coincidence that nine of them (and seven of the top ten) were films I saw in theaters rather than at home, though whether that was causal or correlative is difficult to say.

1. Tie:

THE POWER OF THE DOG

Jane Campion’s latest, based on the Thomas Savage novel about a 1920s rancher in Montana (Benedict Cumberbatch) who reacts...poorly when his brother and ranch co-owner (Jesse Plemons) brings home a wife (Kirsten Dunst) with a teenage son (Kodi Smit-McPhee), is a tense psychological drama in the handsome trappings of a Western. This is an “iceberg” film, in which everything is in the subtext, the gazes, the body language, and the words left unsaid. While Cumberbatch is superb as the anti-hero at war with himself, his three co-stars also play superbly off him and each other.

DRIVE MY CAR

More of an expansion than an adaptation of a short story by Haruki Murakami, Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s Cannes hit is an achingly poignant, empathetic film about people burdened with memories of complicated and fraught past relationships. Despite the three-hour run time, I found it completely engrossing from beginning to end. It helps that it’s centered both literally and thematically on one of my favorite plays, Chekhov’s Uncle Vanya, which the evolution of the film’s protagonist (Hidetoshi Nishijima) echoes in ways both obvious and not. Nishijima delivers an impressive, moving performance as Kafuku, the actor who suppresses as much as he projects, but I was equally struck by Park Yoo-rim, who’s luminous as the mute Sonia to Kafuku’s Vanya.

3. WEST SIDE STORY

No, it isn’t better than the 1961 version but it's right up there, striking just the right balance between respectful homage and thoughtful, well-conceived update. Commercial flop or no, it deserves to become a classic. And I say this as someone who ranks the 1961 WSS among my favorite movies of all time.

4. THE TRAGEDY OF MACBETH

Denzel Washington and Frances McDormand are very good as older, wearier versions of the murderous Scottish thane and his wife, but what really stands out about Joel Coen’s adaptation of Shakespeare’s shortest tragedy is its spare, minimalist, yet appropriately eerie staging, accentuated by the heavily chiaroscuro-ed B&W cinematography and 4:3 aspect ratio and the brilliantly spooky performance by Kathryn Hunter as the three witches-in-one. The film leans both into and away from its own theatricality, feeling less like a play and more like a Bergman dream.

5. SUMMER OF SOUL (OR WHEN THE REVOLUTION COULD NOT BE TELEVISED),

Questlove hits documentary gold with the 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival, aka “Black Woodstock,” which was filmed but astoundingly never picked up by any studios or TV stations at the time despite featuring a powerhouse lineup ranging from blues legend B.B. King and gospel queen Mahalia Jackson to then up-and-coming Mavis Staples, Gladys Knight, and 19-year-old Stevie Wonder to Nina Simone and Sly & the Family Stone at their peak. Their loss is our gain, as the performances are electric even half a century later. Questlove smartly edits and cross-cuts them with archival news footage of the period and present-day interviews with attendees, performers, and other commentators to underscore the historical significance of the event. But ultimately the concert footage speaks for itself, showcasing American history and black culture at an important inflection point via awesome live music.

6. PIG

One of the year’s best surprises, this offbeat, unexpectedly tender film about a recluse (Nicolas Cage) who’s forced to return to the city – and his past – when his beloved truffle-hunting pig is stolen rarely goes where you expect it to go and is ultimately all the better for it. It's also a welcome reminder that despite his, um, checkered filmography, Cage is a terrific actor – one of our best when he wants to be.

7. PASSING

A slow-burn, delicately crafted film directed by Rebecca Hall and based on the 1929 novel by Nella Larsen about two black women in the 1920s (played by Tessa Thompson and Ruth Negga), playmates as children, who reconnect later in life when one of them (Negga) is now “passing” for white. Thompson and Negga are both excellent, and the film is brilliantly shot in black and white, underscoring how many shades there are between black and white and how many ways to see both oneself and others.

8. DUNE: PART 1

World-building at its most mesmerizing. A capital-M movie with the kind of epic sweep and scale that epitomizes why we go to the movies in the first place.

9. C’MON C’MON

Mike Mills’ latest film, about a radio journalist (Joaquin Phoenix) who finds himself temporarily looking after his 9-year-old nephew (Woody Norman) is a characteristically low-key, quietly perceptive character study that derives most of its power from the wonderful performances. Its portrayal of how frustrating, bewildering, yet rapturous the experience of parenting can be will resonate most with parents, but I still found it affecting as a non-parent. Equally effective is its nuanced treatment of the complicated but loving sibling dynamic between Phoenix’s character and his sister (an excellent Gaby Hoffman). There aren’t enough movies about brother-sister relationships, and luckily this is a good one.

10. PARALLEL MOTHERS

Ostensibly a twisty melodrama about two mothers who give birth at the same time and how their lives become unexpectedly intertwined, Pedro Almodóvar’s latest is really about confronting history and heredity in a much broader sense. It’s a lot to take in – the time jumps are dizzying, and the narrative and emotional jumps even more so! – but it’s a gorgeous, absorbing film, and Penélope Cruz delivers a knockout performance.

11. SPENCER

A beautifully shot, oddly dreamy psychological horror show that I initially wasn’t quite sure how I felt about yet grew on me the more time passed. It’s too heavy-handed with the symbolism and is so ensconced in its fictionalized Diana’s perspective it doesn’t even try to humanize anyone in the royal family other than her two princeling sons. Nor was I ever really able to see Kristen Stewart as Diana so much as a Kristen Stewart riff on a Diana-like character. Still, it’s a strangely compelling watch so long as you’re not looking for mimicry or historical accuracy, and earns bonus points for the exquisite costumes and art direction and for Timothy Spall’s dryly hilarious supporting turn as the palace watchdog.

12. THE CARD COUNTER

Oscar Isaac is the reason to see Paul Schrader’s latest Dark Odyssey of a Morally Tormented Man. He delivers what is still, in my opinion, the best performance of the year in a powerful if flawed and overly schematic study of moral guilt, as I’ve detailed previously.

13. I’M YOUR MAN

This German rom com (really more of a rom-dramedy) about a woman (Maren Eggert) asked to try out a humanoid robot (Dan Stevens) who’s been programmed to be her perfect love match, is funny, sharp, more poignant and less predictable than it initially seems. It’s essentially a harder-eyed but still warm-hearted German version of Spike Jonze’s Her that explores thought-provoking questions about living in a society where you can have everything designed to fit your tastes and preferences. Stevens is perfect as a kind of Gigolo Joe 2.0 who evolves (or does he?) into something more complex, while Eggert is even better as his test-pilot, almost too cerebral and skeptical for her own good, who can’t help warming up to him even as she remains keenly attuned to the dangers of doing so.

14. ZOLA

Last year’s indie film sensation brings to life a viral Twitter thread about two strippers who took a, let’s call it road trip to Florida that went super-sideways. Its discomforting brilliance lies in how deftly it shifts between WTF, hilarious, horrific, and sometimes all three at once, without once losing its deadpan tone. Much of the credit goes to the perfectly calibrated performances by Taylour Paige, Riley Keough, and Colman Domingo.

15. THE LAST DUEL

I liked Ridley Scott’s “Rashomon in 14th century France” a lot more than I thought I would, despite the grim, somber visuals (medieval muddiness) and even grimmer subject matter (rape and medieval justice). Scott knows how to direct battles and other scenes of violence with unnerving effectiveness, and the ongoing relevance of the rape storyline is highlighted by the tripartite script by Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, and Nicole Holofcener, based on a historical incident and book by the same name. Damon and Adam Driver are fine as the two duelists, but the real MVPs of the cast are Jodie Comer as the accuser and Affleck as the higher-ranking lord who plays a key role in setting up the conflict.

Honorable mentions: Black Widow; The French Dispatch; Tick, Tick…BOOM!; The Green Knight; The Lost Daughter; The Hand of God; Bergman Island; Belfast; CODA; Don’t Look Up; In the Heights

Special commendation for documentaries (basically, all the docs I saw this year – admittedly not many – were excellent): in addition to Summer of Soul, cited above, I highly recommend Procession; The Rescue; Flee; and Gunda.

Movie-watching in Pandemia, 2021 edition: The "how had I never" list

Another year of staying mostly at home meant another year of catching up on more movies I should have seen ages ago. All – well, almost all – were worth watching, but this year I want to highlight five that especially impressed me. I don’t mean they were objectively the best five or that the others were disappointments – just that these five exceeded my expectations and really stuck with me.

Z (1969)

Hands down the best movie I saw in 2021. The Costa-Gavras classic begins with a tense lead-up to the assassination of a Greek opposition hero of the left (Yves Montand) before shifting focus to the efforts of a lone straight-arrow magistrate (a young Jean-Louis Trintignant) to unravel the right-wing military and police conspiracy behind the murder and its cover-up. Why did I wait so long to see this? Z is every bit as gripping and infuriating today as it was in 1969 and also still far too politically relevant, even half a century later.

Barry Lyndon (1975)

Still working my way through his filmography, but Stanley Kubrick’s range and precision of vision never cease to impress me. Keeping an ironic distance that’s 100% Kubrick but would have done Thackeray proud, the film somehow makes its titular hero (Ryan O’Neal, in an underrated performance) compelling even as he becomes increasingly unsympathetic in his actions. It’s also absolutely gorgeous to look at, calling to mind a series of Watteau paintings. While it may not have had the cultural impact of some of Kubrick’s other films, it’s still a masterpiece.

The Color of Money (1986)

Sharp, well-crafted, and highly engaging, Scorsese’s take on the sequel to The Hustler has the structure and vibe of a caper film, filled out with the substance of a character study. I’d always thought of Paul Newman’s Oscar win for this movie as an “it’s his time” award. Boy, was I wrong! He’s magnificent as an older, not necessarily wiser hustler who still has a few tricks up his sleeve.

Beetlejuice (1988)

Would Hollywood greenlight a movie like this today? Pure OG Tim Burton in all its glorious weirdness, Beetlejuice is a vivid reminder that a bigger budget and more advanced F/X technology do not a better film make. If nothing else, it will live in my mind forever for its inspired use of Harry Belafonte, Jr’s calypso hits – from the astonished expression on Catherine O’Hara’s face as she finds herself irresistibly compelled to belt out “Day-O” at her own dinner party to the ecstatic one on Winona Ryder’s face as she levitates and dances to “Shake, Señora” in what is now one of my favorite film endings ever.

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018)

Before there was No Way Home, there was Into the Spider-Verse. The MCU might be all about the multiverse now, but Sony got there first and set a ridiculously high bar with this wonderfully inventive and brilliantly animated adventure linking multiple alternate-universe Spideys, each one more delightful and surprising than the last. Easily the best of the Spider-Man movies I’ve seen.

And here are the rest – in order of the year they were released, not preference or the order I saw them:

Now, Voyager (1942)

Didn’t get as swept up in the romance as I wanted to be (maybe because I’m not really a romantic), but did love Bette Davis’ transformation from beaten down ugly duckling to attractive, glamorous, independent woman. Also, who knew lighting two cigarettes in one mouth could be so seductive?

The Best Years of Our Lives (1946)

A nuanced and perceptive look at the difficulties of adjusting to post-war life, William Wyler’s multiple Oscar winner is a classic for good reason. A strong three-hander by the three leads, though it’s Frederic March as the oldest veteran whose melancholy demeanor lingers longest in my memory.

The Heiress (1949)

Another Wyler winner. Talk about actress transformations – Olivia de Havilland’s is even more impressive than Bette’s in Now Voyager, if also more devastating. An incisive adaptation of Henry James’ leanest and least forgiving novel.

The Searchers (1956)

A more shaded and ambivalent Western than I was expecting even if some aspects obviously haven’t aged all that well, including most of the attempts at humor and romance. That final shot, though – whew. Also interesting to see one of the myriad influences on Star Wars.

Imitation of Life (1959)

A hell of a weepie – in a good way. Juanita Moore is unforgettable in a role that verges on thankless; in her hands, though, it’s transfigured.

The Hustler (1961)

Watched this in conjunction with The Color of Money, to which it provided an intriguing contrast in both style and moral tone, although the final moral takeaway ultimately isn’t all that different. Still, maybe it’s just the more modern sensibility, but I preferred the later film and Newman’s more mature performance in it.

The Spy Who Came in from the Cold (1965)

Well made, and Richard Burton’s world-weary air is a good fit for the character of burned-out, disaffected Alec Leamas. However, it didn’t have quite the impact of the book, which is a knockout in how cleverly it’s constructed and deconstructed.

Two for the Road (1967)

Style to burn, in both fashions and automobiles, and Audrey Hepburn and Albert Finney have an appealing, if prickly chemistry. Was this the first film to do a non-linear depiction of a relationship gone sour?

The Lion in Winter (1968)

Rides hard on the powerhouse performances of its powerhouse cast. They’re good enough to make you forget the film is less historical drama than family melodrama (not that there’s anything wrong with that).

Easy Rider (1969)

A fascinating (counter)cultural snapshot and frankly a more compelling movie than I was expecting. I also wasn’t expecting it to be a Western. Yes, it’s totally a Western.

Klute (1971)

Pakula paranoia at its finest. Ostensibly about a serial killer, the film doesn’t seem all that interested in sustaining the mystery of the killer’s identity, yet remarkably manages to sustain its atmosphere of fear and suspense. Jane Fonda and Donald Sutherland make a hot odd couple.

Cries and Whispers (1972)

Oof, this was a punishing watch, even for Bergman. Can’t quarrel with the acting or the visuals, though. His use of the color red will haunt my dreams.

Taxi Driver (1976)

Yeah, yeah, I know. One of many giant holes in my cineaste credentials (I’m especially spotty when it comes to Scorsese). Liked it more than I was expecting to – or maybe “liked” isn’t quite the right word. It succeeded in getting under my skin, as it’s supposed to. The seediness of 1970s New York is effectively deployed, as is De Niro’s legendary turn as the troubled Travis Bickle. The film’s treatment of women, though, is squirmy, even if intentionally so.

Rocky (1976)

More ’70s seediness, this time in Philly rather than New York, and more squicky gender dynamics, although here they’re smoothed into a scrappy, irony-free underdog romance. It still holds up pretty well.

Killer of Sheep (1978)

Poetically filmed impressionistic sketch of black working class life in L.A. (Watts). Unfortunately I had a hard time focusing on it because I had a hard time hearing any of the admittedly sparse dialogue even with the volume turned way up.

The Elephant Man (1980)

One of the less weird entries in David Lynch’s filmography, though still keenly attuned to the grotesque and cruel side of human nature. I didn’t love John Hurt’s vocal affectations; Anthony Hopkins, on the other hand, is excellent.

Crimes of the Heart (1986)

The less said about this movie, the better. A few thoughts here.

Children of a Lesser God (1986)

A sensitively drawn romance with great performances by Marlee Matlin and William Hurt. Also surprisingly cinematic for being based on a play.

Dekalog (1988)

A justly acclaimed testament to the human condition, if a rather heavy watch. My favorites were One (idolization of science) and Eight (false witness).

Bull Durham (1988)

Of the two Kevin Costner baseball films I saw this year, this was the superior one. A genuinely sexy grown-up romance, which has become a sadly rare species. I may not care for Susan Sarandon’s politics, but she’s damn good in this.

Field of Dreams (1989)

It’s like mainlining nostalgia, which isn’t without its charms, though I’m not really the target audience for this one.

Mississippi Masala (1991)

Young Denzel Washington and Sarita Choudhury are very appealing in this under-the-radar Mira Nair gem about the kind of interracial romance and setting we don’t often get to see on screen.

Dead Man (1995)

A bit too meandering for my taste, even for Jim Jarmusch, though elevated by the evocative black and white cinematography and a dryly funny turn by Gary Farmer as Nobody, the unlikely spiritual guide for Johnny Depp’s doomed William Blake.

Bring it On (2000)

Not sure how I never saw this one before. A bit dated and rather slight, but still fun, with Kirsten Dunst at her most charming.

Pollock (2000)

A fairly meh biopic, notwithstanding strong performances by Ed Harris and Marcia Gay Hayden.

The Secret of Kells (2009)

The film that put Cartoon Saloon on the map, and for a reason: the hand-drawn animation is exquisite and its uniquely Celtic accents felt – still feel – like a breath of fresh air in a CGI-dominated era. It only pales in comparison to Cartoon Saloon’s subsequent films, especially Wolfwalkers.

Uncle Boonmie Who Can Recall His Past Lives (2010)

This one was a little too arcane? Abstruse? Impenetrable? for me. Think it might have played better in a theater.

Jiro Dreams of Sushi (2011)

A thought-provoking meditation on the implications of devoting one’s entire life to perfection of a single pursuit or calling. Very, very Japanese.