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Well, that is a wrap on 2024. On a personal level, I am preparing to finish up grad school; and, while I balance working on set, writing reviews, teaching classes, taking classes, and interning in LA, I find myself wondering what comes after this degree. In truth, this feels like a question for a Clayton three months in the future. So, instead of pondering career paths, I think it would be more fun to recap the year.
2024 has been a strange year for films. As the industry regained its footing between the pandemic and last year's strikes, there was a bit of worry coming into the year regarding the quality of films we were going to see. Despite this worry, there was no shortage of great films to watch his year. With no “Barbenheimer” to speak of, the awards season still feels largely in the air, so rather than spending this list predicting Oscar wins (or Oscar nominations, for that matter), I wanted to break down some of my favorite films of the year. As the title of the article alludes to, many of these films may have had limited or strange release schedules; rest-assured, a number of them are streaming, and a few of them are in theaters now, so chances are its not too late to catch them if any of them catch your eye! Let's get to it!
HONORABLE MENTIONS: ANORA, MEMOIR OF A SNAIL, FURIOSA: A MAD MAX SAGA, LOVE LIES BLEEDING, FLOW
10. HUNDREDS OF BEAVERS
Let's start with one of the most energetic and entertaining films of the year as, after this, I'm afraid the amount of fun one can have with these films feels a bit limited. Mike Cheslik's zany 1920's inspired slapstick comedy is a hoot and a half. Acted in the same style as Keaton or Chaplin's most compelling films, Cheslik transports audiences to a frozen frontier populated by… well… hundreds of beavers. These cunning rodents prove to be more than capable of putting up a fight against Ryland Tews' Jean Kayak as he attempts to become the very best fur trapper he can be. As he navigates a Loony-Tunes-style frontier world jam-packed with beavers paying homage to some of American cinema's most beloved works, audiences are reminded why clowns like Lloyd, Keaton, and Chaplin are some of the most beloved figures of 1920s cinema. The slapstick humor featured throughout feels genuinely timeless, and its willingness to play with such motifs, mixing them with contemporary ideas present in video games and meme culture offers one of the wildest cinematic experiences of the year.
9. ALL WE IMAGINE AS LIGHT
All We Imagine As Light may well be the most impressively directed film of the year. Mumbai has likely been depicted on the big screen just as often as any other city. Like the difference between Los Angeles in Singing In The Rain versus Babylon, Mumbai feels like a new city each time it is depicted, reflecting the characters' actions and the director's feelings. Payal Kapadia crafts a cityscape that yearns to be escaped from. Crowded, cramped, and, despite it all, a bit lifeless, Kani Kusruti's Prabha escapes the city on a trip and finds meaning in the relationships she fosters on the beach. Perhaps the most subtle film on this list, All We Imagine As Light is filled with intimate moments, which make this one of the most heartfelt films of the year.
8. THE BRUTALIST
Perhaps the only film on this list that I do not love but rather have much respect for, The Brutalist is certainly the three-and-a-half-hour epic it promises to be. There is a whole lot of movie going on here. As with many of the films on this list, the score in The Brutalist may be what sticks with you the most after leaving the theater. The Brutalist is a film that feels like it should have come out forty years ago… but it didn't. It came out in 2024, and for all the better. Brody, Jones, and Pearce give some of the most defined performances of the year as they navigate the American dream. A true testament to the "we're back" mentality plaguing Letterboxd reviews and film Twitter for the last few years, The Brutalist will have you wondering if we ever really left.
7. QUEER
Luca Guadagnino's second feature film of the year is a strange and surrealist ride of self-discovery through South America… or a South America anyways. This film features some of the most well-crafted set pieces of the year, along with some stellar performances from Daniel Craig and Drew Starkey. In so doing, Queercreates a thoroughly engaging world and atmosphere of its own. With an ending that is, this year, likely only rivaled by that of I Saw The TV Glow, Queer is a film that begs viewers to meditate on its themes and messages long after the credits finish rolling.
6. SING SING
Many of the remaining films on this list tell incredible stories; however, a few have stories behind those stories, which enhance the film's overall impact. I am not referring to an awards race angle like "Demi Moore's long-deserved comeback." While that is all fine and good for the sake of winning an Oscar and rejuvenating a career (which, by the way, is long-deserved and probably Oscar-worthy), here, I am referring to the story of making a film more holistically. Sing Sing fictionalizes events that really happened to its lead actor, Clarence Maclin. In this way, it is more than just another "based on a true story" film. Sing Sing casts formerly incarcerated men who utilized the RTA program to craft a deeply personal, almost documentarian story. Because of this, there is an authenticity that can be felt throughout Sing Sing, which few other films can boast. It is frequently heart-wrenching but all the same comical and heartwarming when it needs to be.
5. A DIFFERENT MAN
Easily one of the funniest films of the year (the only film I can think of which I laughed more in would likely be Nightbitch). A Different Man is a comedy disguised as a rather bleak drama. There are certainly moments of bleakness, but in each case, the film underscores these moments with equally absurd character actions or cinematic decisions. Whether it is long takes on Abraham Lincoln's still face or Adam Pearson's naturally suave Oswald accidentally one-upping Sebastian Stan's Edward, A Different Man guarantees plenty of laughs while still engaging a remarkable story of acceptance and jealousy.
4. THE SUBSTANCE
One of the most stylized films of the year, The Substance pulls no punches. Demi Moore and Margaret Qualley battle for control of their shared life in what has to be the most fun (and disgusting) critique of beauty standards and the Hollywood star system in years. This is body horror at its finest: it is gross, hilarious, and incredibly poignant. Despite all of the body horror and the upsetting physical transformations on the screen, frequently the most disgusting characters are Denis Quaid's Harvey and his gaggle of studio executives: the embodiment of greed and chauvinism in the entertainment world. Whether you're looking for an intense critique of the industry or an absurd and highly stylized gross-out body horror flick, The Substance manages to balance both with grace.
3. NOSFERATU
I think it is in society's best interest to let Robert Eggers make whatever film he wants. Nosferatu does everything you want an Eggers movie to do: great costumes and dialogue to transport you to whatever time he decides to capture; brooding monsters; and, of course, freaky psycho-sexual situations. In many ways, it captures these themes and motifs more prominently than his other films. Still, doubling down on what you know isn't enough to earn a spot on a top ten of the year list. Rather, Nosferatu depicts its titular character as we have never seen him before. No doubt indebted to Murnau and German expressionist techniques, Nosferatu (2024) updates the vampire's look and places the focus of the story on Hutter's Wife. With an incredibly physical performance from Lily-Rose Depp, this story comes alive as Ellen Hutter navigates her demons and recognizes her responsibility to the dark forces that haunt her.
2. NICKEL BOYS
Usually, I find films shot entirely in POV to be somewhat distracting. Because of this, it is miraculous that Nickel Boys doesn't feel like the most gimmicky movie of last year. In the capable hands of Director RaMell Ross, Nickel Boys, a film shot entirely in the POV of two young men in the Jim Crowe South, utilizes some of the most remarkable cinematography in years. From capturing childlike wonder at the sight of the mundane to creating a guardian angel effect in the face of tragedy, Nickel Boys' POV camerawork consistently serves up some of the most beautiful sequences of 2024. No other film was released last year that demonstrates such a level of commitment to the art form or understanding of the filmmaking and adaptation process.
1. THE SEED OF THE SACRED FIG
Well, we made it. In truth, I had a bit of difficulty ordering this list, but from the beginning of the process, I knew what my number one film would be. This three-hour Iranian political/domestic thriller is likely the boldest and most relevant film to release in 2024. Premiering at the Cannes Film Festival just days after Director Mohammad Rasoulof illegally fled Iran and the eight-year prison sentence he was facing for making the film, The Seed of The Sacred Fig is an unapologetic masterwork of political filmmaking. In no way subtle or coy, the film opens with a shot that begs the question of whether the pen or the gun is mightier, and in utilizing actual footage of protests, Sacred Fig effectively negotiates the real-life stakes portrayed in the film. These events are then translated into some of the most upsetting scenes of the year. Despite the tragedy, Rosoulof still finds moments of beauty in resistance. In a third-act shift that removes the story from the otherwise grounded exploration of resistance in a viscerally real urban setting, the film shifts to a more abstracted and distilled view of a very literal and very frightening patriarchy. Relevant at an international level, The Seed of The Sacred Fig urges viewers to consider ideas relevant not only to the Iranian political system but also to explore these themes as they can be applied to the world's stage. More than that, it is a deeply personal film indebted to a daughter from a father who was imprisoned for his craft.