This is NOT a ‘best of 2019’ list. For one thing, I find most ‘best of’ lists annoying and more suited to conversations in high school with your smart-aleck friends while you all are smoking weed. A few of these, to be honest, are probably not ‘best’ anything; I just found them interesting and enjoyable in their way. Plus I’m not in any position to create a thorough list, my film viewing is erratic; I still haven’t seen Jo Jo Rabbit or Parasite or Uncut Gems, for example. So consider this my response to the question, “What movies from 2019 have you seen that you would recommend I catch on streaming video?” They are presented in no particular order.
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. I took so much pleasure in all the in-jokes about 1960s western TV shows I really hope the film works just as well if you don’t understand them. But at the very least revel in the terrific performances by Leonardo DiCaprio as an actor of limited talent and even less confidence who knows he’s on the wrong side of the Ferris wheel of success, Margo Robbie as a Sharon Tate who is not entirely a part of the corporeal world, and Brad Pitt as a character who is effortlessly cool while simultaneously being the most dangerous person in the room. Quentin Tarantino’s little touches like the Great Escape clip, the historical specificity of Manson’s family at the ranch, Robbie-as-Tate watching Tate-as-Tate on the screen, and the Hollywood storefronts are brilliant. The ending is not the first time he’s altered history, of course. I have no problem with that. Written and directed by Quentin Tarantino; with Leonardo DiCaprio, Brad Pitt, Margot Robbie, Margaret Qualley, Bruce Dern, Timothy Olyphant, Luke Perry, Al Pacino.
The Irishman. I grew up outside of Philadelphia and I remember reading about a lot of these guys in the papers, and hearing about it when one of them was killed somewhere or another. Angelo Bruno being the biggest name. So my fascination with the story is a bit mixed with the nostalgia that comes when your locale has its own organized crime dramas and you see them portrayed by Martin Scorsese. The length of the The Irishman allows Scorsese to indulge in telling, meaningful moments, such as when Pesci and De Niro speak Italian and dip their bread in wine. Run time also enables Scorsese to explore how the most successful American mobsters can be so smart and so dumb at the same time, and so amoral while adhering to strict guidelines of behavior. Organized crime is a strange realm. The real performance standout, by the way, is Pesci who plays Russell Bufalino with a reserve and control and subtlety that shows what Pesci could have been capable of had his career taken a different path. Directed by Martin Scorsese; written by Steven Zaillian; with Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci, Al Pacino, Ray Romano, Harvey Keitel, Bobby Cannavale, Stephen Graham, Anna Paquin.
Little Women. Greta Gerwig’s version of this classic takes an unexpected approach to the structure, moving across time to tell the story in an episodic way that enables her to contrast incidents and also, in at least one important story line, nearly blur them. It works remarkably well, both intellectually and emotionally. One key decision is how Gerwig’s script and Florence Pugh’s performance expand Amy into arguably the most pivotal character with the most complex arc. This is exceptionally well-cast, which feeds directly into the old-school type of filmmaking, with a very careful and assured approach to dialogue, blocking, and camera position. Gerwig is channeling Mankiewicz and Hawks and Capra here, and I have no problem putting her in that group. I always found Gerwig a phlegmatic, uninteresting actress. Now we realize, with Lady Bird and this release, that she was actually a brilliant writer-director all along, waiting to be given an opportunity. Written and directed by Greta Gerwig; with Saoirse Ronan, Florence Pugh, Emma Watson, Timothée Chalamet, Eliza Scanlen, Laura Dern, Bob Odenkirk, Chris Cooper, Meryl Streep.
Dolemite is My Name. Rudy Ray Moore was a character and a half, and this biography does a good job of capturing just what a strange combination of mediocre talent and compelling entertainer he was. I love how they recreate specific scenes from his first movie, which are so inept and comical that I had to assure my wife that yes, this or that absurd scene is an extremely faithful adaptation of Moore’s original. The movie is hilarious and fun, yes, but it is also a testimonial to the importance of commitment and the power of friends and the value of not giving up. I also appreciated how accurate they were about the difficulties of creating and distributing an independent feature in those days. Most films about making a film are not nearly as fun as this one is. All that talk about short ends and release prints and four walling brought my past back like the snap of a wet towel. Directed by Craig Brewer; written by Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski; with Eddie Murphy, Keegan-Michael Key, Tituss Burgess, Snoop Dogg, Wesley Snipes, Craig Robinson, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, Mike Epps.
Knives Out. Intricately plotted whodunnits full of family members with complex motives, and old houses with creaky stairs, and eccentric investigators, and secrets everywhere, and last-act revelations, featuring a deep cast of highly skilled actors capable of spewing out precise line readings that convey both dramatic import and comic nuance, with all of it directed like a precise dance recital, is the sort of cinematic pleasure we just don’t get enough of. This is a lot of fun, in other words. You also won’t figure it out but by the end it will, indeed, make sense. Written and directed by Rian Johnson; with Daniel Craig, Ana de Armas, Jamie Lee Curtis, Christopher Plummer, Chris Evans, Michael Shannon, LaKeith Stanfield, Toni Collette, Don Johnson.
Midsommar. This can accurately be described in a lot of ways. It is a pagan cult horror film in the vein of Wicker Man that takes place in the full light of day. It is a genre-bending psychological study of creeping terror. Like Ari Aster’s previous film, Hereditary, all the really bad stuff happens after a specific moment in the film that could be interpreted in such a way that everything that follows may or may not be imagined or dreamt, rather than actually happening, which throws the entire experience askew. And finally, it can be seen as a drawn-out depiction of Florence Pugh’s character’s very difficult breakup with her boyfriend. Although to be fair the breakup is more difficult for the boyfriend. The tension is carefully managed, and full understanding of what you’ve been witnessing is parceled out a little at a time, so eventually all is understood. You already knew to avoid dark old mansions, now you have to avoid sun-dappled fields in Scandanavia. Written and directed by Ari Aster; with Florence Pugh, Jack Reynor, William Jackson Harper, Vilhelm Blomgren.
Alita: Battle Angel. I generally have little interest in what Robert Rodriguez is doing and I’m not a big fan of Japanese graphic novels, so Rodriguez adapting the Yukito Kishiro series Gunnm from the early 1990s was not something I would normally watch. But I had been hearing good things about this and decided on a whim to check it out one evening. I was not at all expecting to like it as much as I did, not at all expecting it to be as interesting and well-crafted as it is. The pace is fast but not frenetic. The staging keeps you aware of where you are and what is going on, without the horrific rapid cutting that mars so many action films today. The CGI walks a fascinating line by not actually trying to be completely realistic, acknowledging in its way the manga roots of the story. The film is anchored by an energetic and compelling performance by Rosa Salazar, despite that her appearance is completely altered by digital effects. She is supported by top-level character actors like Christoph Waltz, Mahershala Ali of all people, an unrecognizable Jackie Earle Haley, and an uncredited Edward Norton. Directed by Robert Rodriguez; written by James Cameron and Laeta Kalogridis; with Rosa Salazar, Jennifer Connelly, Mahershala Ali, Christoph Waltz, Jackie Earle Haley, Ed Skrein, Keean Johnson.
Ready or Not. An extremely dark and violent comic satire about class struggles, the challenges of maintaining a family business, and just how difficult it can be to get along with your new in-laws. Most wedding nights are not this bad. Mix Rules of the Game with The Most Dangerous Game and add a scoop of Crimson Peak along with the feisty heroine from your favorite slasher film and you start to get the idea. I really didn’t see the end coming which just made it more shocking and fun. Directed by Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett; written by Guy Busick and Ryan Murphy; with Samara Weaving, Andie MacDowell, Henry Czerny, Adam Brody, Mark O’Brien.
Ad Astra. At first glance you would think this is a typical modern sci-fi in the arena of The Martian or Interstellar or Passengers. It certainly has all the trappings. But as the film unfolded, laying out its primary story objective, then taking a few weird side-trips involving action and danger seemingly unrelated to the main narrative thread, I realized I was watching an adaptation of Heart of Darkness laced with serious family issues. Which is fine, though that did sort of take away any narrative surprises. But the film sells it, and Brad Pitt’s performance really sells it. His character tries so hard to be stoic but his eyes show everything. While I’m not sure what I think about the ending – I’m not sure if I believe the ending, actually – the film is a fascinating journey. Plus space pirates and space apes. Directed by James Gray; written by James Gray and Ethan Gross; with Brad Pitt, Tommy Lee Jones, Ruth Negga, Donald Sutherland.
Bombshell. Written and produced by Charles Randolph, who wrote The Big Short, Bombshell uses many of the same techniques as the earlier film to explain complex situations and orient the audience, including documentary-style onscreen text labels and characters breaking the fourth wall to provide backstory. A lot of people find it annoying that Fox News divas who had for years done so much to perpetuate the trademark Fox sexism and anti-woman stance are now being portrayed as feminist warriors, but that is very much the point. The film makes the awakening of sexual politics, albeit personal and not societal, as well as grappling with past assumptions, part of the character arcs of several of the women portrayed here. And even if we know how it all turned out the unfolding of the story still plays like a tense thriller. And for crying out loud how did they get Charlize Theron to look like that? Directed by Jay Roach; written by Charles Randolph; with Nicole Kidman, Charlize Theron, Margot Robbie, John Lithgow, and an incredible parade of high-profile character actors in bit parts as real-life players in this soap opera.