While attempting to assemble a satisfying list of my favorite films of 2024 I realized there was no film (let alone a handful) that truly stood out in a tumultuous year – a year more like a series of escalating shocks rather than discrete days followed by discrete weeks followed by discrete months into a discrete year. Not since the 2020 pandemic has a movie year felt so haphazard and patched together. This year isn’t quite that, I suppose, but there’s something missing, a lack, an absence that stymies me.
After nearly a year of COVID isolation anesthetizing me, I vividly recall watching Promising Young Woman in 2021 (it was released in 2020) and being shocked out of my numbness. Many friends whose opinions I respect did not care for the movie. Perhaps my own opinion was clouded by my visceral reaction to the film’s third act. For better or worse that film woke me up from my stupor. Since then there was 2021’s Drive My Car, speaking to emerging from isolation, there was 2022’s Tar, about the heady seduction of monsters, and 2023’s Anatomy of a Fall, about the unknowability of absolute truth. These films (and others in those years) spoke very specifically to me and to its particular year. The films of 2024 have eluded me thus far.
Could this be the aftereffect of the 2023 writer and actor strikes? Or is it a reaction to a world that has decided it’s time to move on from all the compromises, minor and major, forced on us by the pandemic. Dammit, we’re going to be normal again if it kills you!!! Perhaps it’s both. Whatever the reason, the year’s films don’t fit easily into my social, ethical or political narratives of 2024, at least as far as I can see. None provides a life raft in raging waters, a lamp in a moonless night, a rope on a sheer rock face. They feel, despite their many qualities, inadequate.
But there is still plenty worth watching. Strip away its operatic trappings and Emilia Perez effectively dramatizes how even good intentions are hollowed out by the corruption of money and power. Meanwhile Conclave confirms that cardinals are people just like us – petty, manipulative, back-stabbing. And Sean Baker’s romantic comedy Anora is, at its heart, about the working class -- be it sex workers, middle management, or muscle – doing their best to meet unreasonable demands of their clients or bosses.
The film which comes closest to capturing 2024 for me would be Walter Salles’ remarkable I’m Still Here. It speaks, more than any other film I saw, to the need for joyful perseverance in the face of oppression and fear. Likewise, Megan Park’s surprising My Old Ass, with its clever time-sharing conceit, reminds us to commit to our lives without apology or fear. Sounds hokey as I write it, but, believe me, the movie pulls it off.
Time to sign off for the year. Thanks to all of you for just being you and just being there when needed. It’s easy to forget how important that is. And remember to be kind. I promise to endure if you do (promise, that is). Until next year.
Brian Pope
February 28, 2025
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THE BEST OF 2024
THE TOP TEN
(in alphabetical order)
ANORA Writer/director Sean Baker’s freewheeling romantic comedy set in the world of sex workers, Russian oligarchs, and their henchman never turns as dark as one fears but sticks a landing of tender sadness, thanks to the exceptional Mikey Madison (as the vibrant Anora) and Yura Borisov (as melancholy muscle Igor).
CHALLENGERS Come to see beautiful people (Zendaya, Josh O’Connor, and Mike Faist) in various stages of undress. Stick around for a propulsive exploration of competition both on and off the tennis court. Director Luca Guadagnino’s most shamelessly entertaining film boasts a terrific score by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross.
CIVIL WAR Writer/director Alex Garland’s cautionary fable about a rogue president who turns United States citizens into battling armed factions seems more prescient by the day. Kirsten Dunst, as a cynical photographer, and Cailee Spaeny, as her protégé, are standouts, with a terrifying cameo by Jesse Plemons that’s difficult to shake off.
CONCLAVE The death of the Pope sets this Vatican-set thriller in motion. Screenwriter Peter Straughan navigates the labyrinthine twists effortlessly, while Ralph Fiennes, Stanley Tucci and John Lithgow (and a cavalcade of cutthroat cardinals) present as more polite versions of the Roy family from Succession or subtler versions of the Plastics from Mean Girls.
DUNE: PART 2 After the table setting of Part 1, director Denis Villeneuve finally gets to the uneasy, messianic heart of Frank Herbert’s beloved novel. Technical credits are exceptional, yet amidst the sand-swept visuals, the committed performances of Timothee Chalamet, Rebecca Ferguson and, yes, Zendaya, still manage to shine.
EMILIA PEREZ Part political thriller, part family drama, director/adapter Jacques Audiard’s Brechtian opera about a drug lord who disappears then returns in a most unexpected way, may be the most electrifying and surprising movie this year. Whatever your response to this controversial film may be, there’s little doubt Zoe Saldana’s riveting performance is one of the year’s very best.
I’M STILL HERE Director Walter Salles’ vibrant and harrowing drama about a family devastated by Brazil’s military dictatorship circa 1970 pulses with life and resilience. The film’s ensemble is excellent, but Fernanda Torres is the glue that holds the film together. I came away from the movie resolved and hopeful, and that’s an exceptional feat. See it if you can.
MY OLD ASS During a mushroom trip, a free-spirited young woman meets her 39-year-old self who imparts wisdom and warnings from the future. With this magical realism premise, writer/director Megan Park fashions a whimsical and warm-hearted comedy-drama about facing tough choices and coming to terms with inevitable loss.
A REAL PAIN On an historical tour of Poland, cousins Jesse Eisenberg and Kieran Culkin come to grips with the 20th century pain their Jewish grandmother suffered as well as their own uniquely 21st century pain. The script by director Eisenberg is often funny and sharply observed, while Culkin’s manic performance is sublime.
SEPTEMBER 5 The terrorist attacks during the 1972 Munich Olympics are retold from the point of view of the American sports broadcasters covering the events from inside the Olympic Village. Both suspenseful and permeated with dread, the film grapples with dilemmas both practical and ethical, and left this viewer drained and profoundly sad.
Runners Up
(in alphabetical order)
EVIL DOES NOT EXIST
HARD TRUTHS
NICKEL BOYS
SING SING
Honorable Mentions: THE BRUTALIST; FANCY DANCE; INSIDE OUT 2; THE SUBSTANCE; SUGARCANE; SUPER/MAN: THE CHRISTOPHER REEVE STORY; WICKED
THE BOTTOM THREE
(in alphabetical order)
KINGDOM OF THE PLANET OF THE APES Like processed cheese, this franchise just keeps going long past its reasonable shelf life. Bland to the taste and zero nutrition.
THE LAST SHOWGIRL Hyped as Pamela Anderson’s big dramatic showcase, the film lacks depth or compassion and leans heavily on pity. Not a compelling look.
LONGLEGS Osgood Perkins’ dreadfully dull, oppressively pretentious serial killer film doesn’t even have an interesting villain let alone a relatable protagonist.
