10. Nosferatu
Robert Eggers’ gothic retelling of Nosferatu is an excellent exploration of genre. Eggers is incredibly skilled in bringing dread and suspense to the screen. Eggers leans in hard into the psycho-sexual gothic aspects of the story. Lily-Rose Depp plays the haunted Ellen Hutter and gives a spectacular performance. She successfully sells her ever-present attraction and repulsion to the vampire. The use of shadow throughout the film is incredibly successful in building the suspense and adds to the horror of the film.
9. It’s What’s Inside
It can be hard to know what to expect from movies that get snatched up and released on Netflix. I was skeptical of It’s What’s Inside but was surprised by how effective it is. The night before his wedding, a groom invites a group of his college friends for a reunion at his family’s estate. The group is a diverse representation of races and economic status. Everyone is surprised when their former classmate Forbes shows up at the party with a large, old-fashioned suitcase. Forbes had been kicked out of school and his path since then was mysterious. After some body-switching, It’s What’s Inside explores the freedom that comes when we “put on a mask” and also what we can learn about others when we are not strictly ourselves. The film uses the motif of colored lenses to show who people really are and the consequences that come when they free themselves of their daily constraints.
8. Will & Harper
Will & Harper is a documentary about comedian Will Ferrell and his friend Harper Steele taking a road trip across America together. Harper is a trans woman. Transitioning in her 60’s, this was a big change for her and the people in her life. Will and Harper worked together on SNL and have a long-lasting friendship. After she came out as trans, Harper was worried about how her new identity could impact her ability to move through the world. They decide to take a road trip together to get reacquainted and help Harper navigate the world as a woman. Two comedians on a road trip leads to some very fun moments. But the film also takes the new dangers and fears that Harper faces seriously and does not shy away from some of the more difficult moments. It also shows how Will is learning to be a better ally for the trans community. I was deeply moved by the feelings and experiences Harper shared. But there is plenty of levity as well along the journey.
7. The Three Musketeers: Milady
I base my list off US wide release dates, allowing me to include the second installment of director Martin Bourboulon’s The Three Musketeers series on my list. The story of the musketeers has always been interesting to me, but I have exclusively seen American adaptations. It was exciting to see a French adaptation. With the exception of some overly-flashy camera work, Bourboulon shows a deft hand at directing a large-scale historical epic. Eva Green stands out as the titular Milady. Milady leverages her beauty and sexuality to save her life many times, but wielding that power also comes with dire consequences. I found both parts of The Three Musketeers exciting but Part 2: Milady is the superior half.
6. His Three Daughters
Aging parents is a reality of growing up. Another reality is that family is always complicated. His Three Daughters looks at how the three children of a blended family deal with losing their last remaining parent, their father. While the highly stylized dialogue delivery took a little adjustment, the film is deeply moving. Carrie Coon (Katie), Elizabeth Olsen (Christina), and Natasha Lyonne (Rachel) each embody a lifetime of feelings, memories, and experiences in their performances. The film shows how grief can begin even before someone dies and that everyone feels those feelings of loss in their own way.
5. Conclave
Conclave begins with the death of the pope. I did not grow up Catholic, so the rituals and traditions of the Catholic church often feel mysterious to me. The selection of a new pope has only happened twice in my lifetime. In what feels like it should be a time of great reflection and seriousness, Conclave depicts a time of pettiness, in-fighting, and backstabbing. It also raises a lot of very important questions about faith in a modern time. The divide between “traditional” values and more modern views on minorities, women, and the LGBTQ+ community are all raised and debated throughout the film. But the film is most successful in examining is the fact that they are electing a mortal person with flaws and blind spots to lead a faith-based organization.
4. Civil War
Civil War drops you right into its reality and trusts its viewers to put enough exposition together to understand what happened to lead to a modern civil war. Leads Kirsten Dunst (Lee) and Wagner Moura (Joel) depict seasoned journalists, carefully walking a knifes edge between cold and hardened and journalistic drive. Newcomer Jessie (played by Cailee Spaeny) reignites their motivation to do their jobs as war-time journalists and get the story or the picture of the most important moments in the war. Dunst stands out through her performance, finding the pitch perfect moments to turn on the detachment needed for war time photography, and also the moments of sensitivity and fear.
3. Lee
What I like so much about Lee is that it’s a war story about the impact and role of women in World War II without being in the context of men or male heroism. So often with WWII movies you only see women as nurses or maybe a secretary but almost always within the context of a story about men. Lee tells the story of Lee Miller a former American model who becomes a war time photographer on the front line. I appreciate that the film shows that acts of heroism are not exclusively male. Women did more than just fight the battle on the home front, they fought, bled, and photographed some of the worst events in modern history.
2. Ghostlight
Ghostlight is about a middle-aged father who is a construction worker (Keith Kupferer as Dan) navigating the turbulent waters of raising a dramatic teen daughter. He gets pulled into working with a local community theater as they rehearse Romeo and Juliet. I have done a lot of community theater and was charmed by the verisimilitude of my lived experience. Theater communities can be strange, challenging, frustrating, healing, and freeing spaces. Kupferer gives an amazing performance as Dan experiences all those things while also processing the challenges and grief in his personal life. I have to call out Dolly De Leon who plays diminutive, firecracker Rita. Rita is the one who recognizes that Dan needs an outlet and believes in him as a first-time actor.
1. The Taste of Things
There is something so appealing about seeing people who are very good at doing a specific thing, doing that thing on film. The first ten minutes or so of The Taste of Things is a nearly silent ballet of a kitchen crew preparing an extravagant multi-course meal. They move around and with each other to cook dishes that are not only a feast for the stomach but for the eyes. The film explores the professional and personal relationship between cook Eugénie (played by Juliette Binoche) and celebrated gourmet chef Dodin (played by Benoît Magimel. In the late 1800’s women still had very little power, but the kitchen is one place they could actually have control. Even when love and a good marriage is available to Eugénie, the fear of losing what little power she has makes her cautious. Writer and director Anh Hung Tran is the definition of “show, don’t tell” filmmaking, making The Taste of Things a quiet and beautiful masterpiece.
