Split Deicision: Favorite Movies of 2021
I watched The Green Knight on Christmas Eve for the first time since theaters (the 4K disc looks incredible by the way), and was mesmerized all over again. The way that David Lowery and Dev Patel humanize Gawain is deeply moving to me, and to combine that with episodic storylines that share a deep thematic throughline about ethics, decay, and fear makes it exactly the kind of movie I love. Catch the rest of my list here. –Ryan Silberstein, Red Herring
I generally don’t rate any one film as “best” as I prefer to rank my favorite(s) because I can absolutely appreciate a low-budget B-movie as much as the latest experimental arthouse masterpiece. (And this year I enjoyed both–see Haymaker and Memoria). I also thought there were some incredible documentaries this year (Flee, The Velvet Underground, The Rescue, and Summer of Soul, among them). And then there are films like Mascarpone, that play once at a fest in Philly that may never come around again, but I loved it. This year I’m all in for Limbo, Ben Sharrock’s heartbreaking comedy/drama about men seeking asylum. This film snuck up on me and made me cry. Who You Think I Am, was a fantastic drama starring Juliette Binoche about a woman, rejected by her younger lover, who assumes an online identity for reasons that eventually become clear. Both films shifted tones and revealed much about their characters living double lives, and on that same theme there is the exquisite Passing, which does the same thing. Don’t make me choose. (See Gary’s full list here.) –Gary M. Kramer, Staff Writer
My favourite film of the year is The Souvenir Part II, which I was worried couldn’t possibly live up to Part I, but may have even exceeded it. We have been lucky to have had two excellent films this year about women filmmakers - this and Bergman Island - and both are brilliantly creative, inventive and feature films-within-films. My runners up are The Green Knight, The Power of the Dog and Cyrano. I also want to shout out House of Gucci which is a five star banger for me and I can’t understand the hate. It was pure entertainment from start to finish, I was enraptured. –Fiona Underhill, Contributor
My usual excuse for not seeing all the movies I want to see by year’s end is that it usually takes until April for all the stuff I wanted to see to make its way to the Heartland. This year a lot of stuff came through, but my excuse was having a kid too young for vaccination at home and not wanting to mess around. So I have settled on Bo Burnham’s Inside as my favorite movie of 2021. I guess it’s technically a stand up special, but given Burnham’s directorial bonafides I consider this his follow up to Eighth Grade. It’s the pure pandemic art filmed in lockdown, consisting of an hour and a half of Burnham designing a nervous breakdown (with some of the year’s catchiest songs to boot). Considering that the pandemic is still raging and we are all more isolated than we have ever been, Inside feels as relevant as ever. —Ian Hrabe, Staff Writer
Ian and I remain on the same page, as Bo Burnham’s Inside was my favorite piece of visual media this year. And it’s one that I’d argue is a film, while also being a “stand-up” special. Whatever that means in the pandemic and beyond. Earlier this year, I made a big personal video about Bo Burnham. While I was editing, and literally about to put it up, he posted the photo that was the tease for this special. Which, like many things about Bo Burnham’s career and my life, felt like serendipity. But part of the conversation that he’s been having since his first special (even the Comedy Central Presents… one) is this idea of media and shaping your self-image into something you’d rather project, than what you actually live. It’s the crux of his feature debut Eighth Grade, which I wrote about for my teen column this year, as well. It’s something we’re all trying to live through, but that got even worse (and more specific) during COVID. And something that’s so wonderful about Inside, other than all the commentary on our present predicament, physically and mentally, is how it is so completely a performance. It’s why I feel comfortable calling it a film. It’s basically a mockumentary and it’s so clear from the ways that Burnham sets up the story of a breakdown, including shots and staged moments. It is clearly scripted in a way that Burnham’s work always has been, something he plays with often in older specials, but without the live audience element? Well, that’s just a film, baby. And it’s a film (along with wonderfully catchy songs) that continues to get me through all of this. –Emily Maesar, Staff Writer
I think I gotta say Gunpowder Milkshake was my favorite of the year. Is it gonna win any awards? Nope. Is it all the lady-led action I’ve always wanted? Hell to the yes. It was exactly the level of fun I needed in this hellscape of a year, and cinematically, it’s stunning. It was a year to turn the brain off and just enjoy explosions. –Whitley Albury, Staff Writer
I almost hate to be this guy but, for me, it has to be Dune. I felt that there was so much working against my liking this film going in: I’ve read the novel more times than I can remember, to the point where the plot has become almost a sense memory. David Lynch’s 1984 adaptation, despite its flaws, remains a personal touchstone. All the ridiculous discourse surrounding theatrical vs. home release (I watched it at home). But, by about halfway through, it had won me over. It’s gorgeous on just about every level: the cinematography, the production design, the art direction, the costuming, everything! The performances were, likewise, wonderful (even if I wasn’t on board with Stellan Skarsgård’s Baron Harkonnen), and I was particularly impressed with Timothée Chalamet. I was skeptical he could believably pull off Paul Atreides but (to me) he absolutely did. Just a fantastically enjoyable film any way you come at it. –Clayton Hayes, Staff Writer
I hate to say this but I didn’t love a lot of movies this year, which is something I very rarely experience. That being said, while there are definitely movies I enjoyed (Nine Days, C’mon C’mon, Passing, Petite Maman, Beanie Mania), the one that really did me in was Dune. I’m a bit of a Dune newbie; unlike Clayton, I’ve tried unsuccessfully to read the books for years and stilllll haven’t gotten around to watching the Lynch Version (but thoroughly enjoyed Jodorowsky’s Dune). Needless to say, after my first viewing of Denis’ Dune, I was hooked. Huddled in a dark theater on a random Sunday morning in October, I was awed within the first few minutes and just knew in my bones that Denis Villeneuve and the entire cast and crew managed to pull off a remarkable feat of filmmaking. I went and saw it again days later and I’ll be seeing it again, just as soon as I get my hands on that Blu-ray. –Jaime Davis, Staff Writer
I wrote about this in the list of my favorite movies of the year, so I won’t go into too much detail, but my number one is absolutely Coming Home In The Dark. It’s a film I knew nothing about and only caught because it was an unlisted secret screening at the online Chattanooga Film Festival. I could have been tuning into anything when I clicked play. I’m lucky, then, that I got the most intense experience I’ve had with a movie in years. Coming Home In The Dark is a 90 minute panic attack that people will recommend to each other with reverence for years. - Alex Rudolph