-- Taylor Swift
2019 was a very emotional year for me. I spent my last two quarters of college making films and honing my voice as a filmmaker, I graduated summa cum laude from DePaul University with a degree in Film & Television, I had a fantastic summer working as a Video Counselor at an amazing summer camp in Maine, and I began collecting my first film industry paychecks doing day gigs on film sets in Chicago. And on top of all of that, I saw a lot of really, really great movies this year. Granted, because of my summer camp job and the fact that I moved back home to Crown Point, Indiana after living in Chicago for four years, I didn't get to see as many films as I have in recent years, but a lot of the ones I did see were really powerful films from unique, diverse voices, the kind that are all too often sidelined by multiplexes and the moviegoing public in favor of billion dollar "theme park films," to quote a certain Mr. Scorsese. And while I did have a hard time ranking some of these films, I do feel like this is a very strong top 15 that represents both the diversity of films that spoke to me this year, as well as the different ways that said films spoke to me.
Before I get into my top 15, here's a list of 10 films from 2019 that I have NOT yet seen but definitely want to as soon as possible:
Honey Boy
A Hidden Life
The Souvenir
Ad Astra
Climax
Apollo 11
Richard Jewell
The Lighthouse
I Lost My Body
The Last Black Man in San Francisco
Now as I say every year now, these 15 films I'm about to list (and the order in which I list them) may not be what some would consider the BEST films of 2019; but rather, they are my personal FAVORITE films that, for one reason or another, impacted me as a student of film and as an aspiring filmmaker and that, in my opinion, speak in some way to the broader world we all live in. So, without further ado, here are my top 15 favorite films of 2019 from 15 to 1:
#15. The Farewell -- One of the most unabashed crowd-pleasers of the year, this is a really special, deeply personal film for its creator that succeeds in telling its very specific story in a way that is universally relatable. I've seen this film twice now, the first time at the Chicago Critics Film Festival back in May, though it wasn't until the second time that it really hit home for me. For those who don't know me too well, I lost my grandmother to cancer almost two years ago now, and watching how the family in this film attempted to enjoy their final days with their matriarch reminded me of how, in different ways, my family attempted to keep things as normal as possible in the last month of my grandmother's life, including having her fill out an Oscar ballot for our family pool. So while this film is definitely informative in terms of showing how this specific culture deals with death and grief when it comes to family, it also is a great, much-needed reminder that we aren't all that different from one another. Anyone who's ever had to deal with the loss (or impending loss) of an older family member will be able to relate to this story. But far from being a depressing story about grief and death, The Farewell is also one of the heartwarming films I've seen this year. The family dinner scenes, the family's numerous interactions with Nai Nai, the grandmother and matriarch at the center of the story (played exquisitely and hilariously by Zhao Shuzhen, who absolutely deserves a Best Supporting Actress nomination), as well as the granddaughter Billi's internal struggle with the Eastern and Western cultures she's torn between, are all portrayed with such warmth, grace, and humor that it made me wish the film was a full hour longer just so I could spend more time with this family. So yes, I adore this movie, and I honestly cannot see why anyone wouldn't like it, so please do yourself a favor and see this immediately if you haven't already.
#14. Luce -- Speaking of films that I first saw back in May at the Chicago Critics Film Festival, here's one that completely took me my surprise and knocked for a loop when I first saw it there. I had not read anything about this film before going to see it on closing night, and that is definitely the best way to watch it. All I'll say here is that, of the many films that have come out in the last few years that deal with race, this is easily the most nuanced, insightful, and deeply intelligent of the bunch. The screenplay, co-written by director Julius Onah and JC Lee (and adapted from a 2013 stage play by Lee), is one of the best of the year in the way it slowly builds tension, constantly subverts the audience's expectations at nearly every turn, and ultimately leaves the audience with no easy answers. The performances by all four leads are great, but Kelvin Harrison Jr. and Octavia Spencer in particular are absolutely phenomenal. The range that Harrison Jr. displays in his performance is near-breathtaking without ever feeling showy, and Spencer continues to be one of our greatest working actresses, portraying a concerned teacher dealing with her own inner turmoil in a way that's quietly powerful. I really hope more people discover this film (it doesn't appear to be streaming anywhere unfortunately), if only because of the conversations and debates that it's sure to stir up. And I personally can't wait to hear (and participate in) some of those conversations and debates.
#13. A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood -- This is now the second year in a row that a film about Fred Rogers has made my top 15 (Morgan Neville's beautiful documentary Won't You Be My Neighbor? was #4 on my list last year), and while Marielle Heller's narrative film A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood isn't quite as powerful as Neville's documentary was, it is still a great film in its own right, mainly because of how it takes a completely different approach to Rogers than the documentary did. Rather than doing a straight-up biopic about his life and career, Heller instead chose to do a film showing the impact that Rogers had on the life of one man, in this case a fictional journalist named Lloyd Vogel, who is a composite character based on both Tom Junod and Tim Madigan, two cynical journalists who profiled Rogers on separate occasions and were given new perspectives on life. While there have been other films that have been told from the point-of-view of a journalist to varied results, I thought the approach worked exceedingly well in this film, mainly because of how well-written the Lloyd character is. He is a man that is clearly struggling with pain and trauma and he has every reason to be skeptical of Rogers, and yet he finds himself completely taken by Rogers when he is exactly who he presents himself to be on his show. And because of this, Lloyd is able to open himself up to Rogers and even strive to become a better person because of him. Part of the reason this arc works so well (other than because there are at least two other instances of this arc actually occurring in real human beings) is because of how the movie is framed. Heller has stated that she intended this film to be a feature-length Mister Rogers' Neighborhood episode for adults, and it very much is that, all the way from the use of miniature sets of Pittsburgh and NYC during transition scenes to the film's bookend scenes when Rogers talks and sings to the camera as he did on every single episode of his show. And speaking of Rogers, there really was no more perfect person to play him in this than Tom Hanks. While they don't exactly look or sound alike, Hanks nevertheless beautifully captures the essence of who Rogers was, and that alone should be enough for most people to see this film if they haven't already. It serves as both a great companion piece to Won't You Be My Neighbor?, and a heartwarming, inspiring film in its own right.
#12. Knives Out -- Ever since I saw Rian Johnson's first three films (Brick, The Brothers Bloom, and Looper) during my freshman and sophomore years of high school, he has been one of the filmmakers I've been most intrigued by, mostly because of how he can create his own unique stories out of genres as disparate as neo-noir, caper, and science-fiction. He even did that with The Last Jedi in a way, creating his own unique story in the Star Wars canon (which is really good by the way, you can fight me on that). But with Knives Out, he's arguably created his masterpiece, taking the whodunit genre and crafting a unique story that is both smart, unpredictable, timely, and just damned entertaining. The entire ensemble cast is terrific, with Chris Evans and Don Johnson giving two of their best performances as particularly despicable characters, but the two absolute standouts in this film are Daniel Craig and Ana de Armas. Craig is an absolute joy to watch as private detective Benoit Blanc, a hilarious cinematic creation that is familiar but at the same time wholly original. But Ana de Armas as Marta, the true heart and soul of this film, is absolutely outstanding. She is not only by far the most sympathetic character in this story, but like Benoit Blanc, she's just a lot of fun to be around, and she even has some great comedic moments that I won't spoil here because you really need to see them for yourself. In addition, the film's production design is absolutely exquisite, paying homage to other films and plays of this sort (one of the characters even calls it a giant Clue-board) without ever distracting from the story, and the cinematography and editing provide a great, propulsive rhythm that makes the film feel much shorter than its 130 minutes. I am so glad that this film is doing so well at the box office, and I hope and pray that its success leads to more films like this being made and released in theaters, because this is a truly fantastic piece of entertainment, and one that makes me ecstatic to see what Rian Johnson does next.
#11. Jojo Rabbit -- Speaking of filmmakers I'm constantly intrigued by, Taika Waititi has been a big presence on my cinematic radar ever since I saw his wonderful Hunt for the Wilderpeople at the Chicago Critics Film Festival in 2016 (I still have yet to catch up with Boy and What We Do In The Shadows). And even though I'm not a Marvel fan, I still appreciated how he at least made the character of Thor interesting in Thor: Ragnorak. But with Jojo Rabbit, his self-described "anti-hate satire" set in Nazi Germany toward the end of World War II, Waititi has created his boldest piece of filmmaking yet, one that is audacious, hilarious, and surprisingly emotional. In tackling the coming-of-age of a ten-year-old boy named Jojo who idolizes Adolf Hitler (who is portrayed as Jojo's idiotic imaginary friend in a wonderfully comedic performance by Waititi himself) and views Jewish people as inhuman monsters, Waititi walks a very fine line, but manages to succeed in showing just how stupid and childish these beliefs are, and also how easy it is to fall into this way of thinking when it's all you know and when you so desperately want to fit into a group. And later, when Jojo discovers that his mother is secretly hiding a teenage Jewish girl named Elsa in their attic, his entire worldview is turned upside down and he begins to form a friendship with her that is one of the sweetest friendships you'll see in any film this year. Thomasin McKenzie follows up her breakthrough performance in last year's Leave No Trace with another remarkable performance as Elsa, and she brilliantly plays off of newcomer Roman Griffith Davis's Jojo, whose sweetness and naiveté make him lovable in spite of his warped belief system and make it all the more exciting when he finally renounces it. Waititi's writing and visual style has been rightly compared to that of Wes Anderson, and while there are definitely some flashes of Anderson here, the film is still uniquely Waititi's, and there are more than a few deeply shocking and tragic moments in this film that Anderson could never attempt. In all, Jojo Rabbit is a wonderful satire that is equal parts hilarious and unexpectedly moving, and like Knives Out, it makes me incredibly excited to see what its filmmaker does next.
#10. One Child Nation -- And now we go from a satirical portrait of horror and tragedy to a shocking and devastating one. From the moment I learned that this documentary existed last year, I made it a personal goal to seek it out and tell people about it, because China's old child policy is not just some distant thing or piece of trivia for me -- it has had a direct impact on my family. In 2013 (exactly two years before the end of the one-child policy), my aunt and uncle adopted a baby girl from China. Reading later about the prevalence of sex-selective abortions and female infanticide in China under the one-child policy made me realize just how lucky my cousin was to (a) be born in the first place, and (b) actually have a chance at life after birth. So I already had a strong personal connection to this film before I even saw one frame of it, and as expected, that connection was only strengthened further upon seeing the whole thing. This is a painfully grim yet powerful portrait of not only the human rights travesty that was China's one-child policy, but also of what happens when a society loses all respect for human life. Two of the most gut-wrenching sequences in this film involve an elderly midwife who atones for her past participation in forced sterilizations and abortions (many of them very late-term abortions) by helping couples with infertility issues, and a Chinese artist who made it a point to photograph aborted babies he found in garbage dumps and alongside the road as a testament to the human cost of the policy. Later in the film, it is revealed that, once China opened its borders for adoption in the early 90s, Chinese government officials began abducting "extra children" from their homes and placing them in government-run orphanages to be adopted by Western families. This was especially troubling for me thinking of my cousin and the circumstances that possibly lead to her being adopted, and I can only imagine the feelings and questions that would provoke in any family that has adopted from China. Although there were some consequences of the policy I wish could have been explored a little more (i.e., the massive gender imbalance in China), this is still a haunting and remarkable film and easily the best documentary I've seen all year (it thankfully has made the Oscar shortlist for Best Documentary Feature, and if there's any justice at all, it will get nominated and win). It certainly is not an easy watch, but it's a gravely important one, and one that you owe it to yourself to see (it's currently streaming on Amazon Prime).
#9. Blinded by the Light -- So people who know me know that I am, to put it mildly, a die-hard Bruce Springsteen fan. His music has meant so much to me throughout my entire life, the experience of seeing him in concert is almost-religious for me, and his lyrics have provided inspiration for a number of my short films and screenplays. So, naturally, when I saw the trailer for Gurinder Chadha's Blinded by the Light, it immediately became the most anticipated film of 2019 for me. Soon afterward, I had the distinct privilege of getting to see it at the Chicago Critics Film Festival with a group consisting of family and friends (in addition the rest of the large crowd), and that is where I first experienced this profound, joyous, and magical film. And while it certainly is a must-see for fans of Bruce Springsteen like myself, at its core it’s really a fantastic portrayal of the power of great music and art to transcend cultural boundaries and make a significant impact on the most individual of levels. From the moment that Javed (the protagonist of the film) puts the cassette tape of Born in the U.S.A. in his Walkman and hears the lyrics of "Dancing in the Dark" (which appear around him on the screen), I openly wept in the theatre, because I get that feeling when you first hear the music that changes your life, and when you hear those individual lyrics that feel like they were written for you. But in addition to all of this, the film is also a deeply moving portrait of race and identity in 1980s Britain, the conflict between fathers and sons, first love, and friendship that should resonate with everyone regardless of their musical taste. And while I can see this film's flaws more clearly now than I did back in May (when I prematurely named it my favorite film of 2019), I still absolutely love this movie, it brings me pure joy every time I watch it, and I cannot see why anyone would not like this film...unless, for some reason, they hate joy. ;)
#8. Brittany Runs a Marathon -- This is now the fourth film mentioned on this list that I saw at the Chicago Critics Film Festival back in May (in case you haven't figured it out by now, it's a really awesome film festival), and it is easily the biggest surprise of the year for me. Going into it, I just assumed it was going to be a fine, generic indie comedy about someone trying to lose weight and feel better about herself, but this is so, so much more than that. Not only is this movie hilarious, sometimes painfully so, but it's also really sweet and, by the end, unexpectedly moving. The character of Brittany (based on writer/director Paul Downs Colaizzo's close friend and roommate) is one of the most fully-realized and three-dimensional protagonists that I've seen in a movie of this sort, never once coming off like a stereotype and always feeling real. This is in large part thanks to Jillian Bell's brilliant, empathetic performance as Brittany. I had never seen Bell in anything before this, but for her to be given her first lead performance in a film and knock it out of the park like this is really a joy to watch. The supporting performances are great too, with Utkarsh Ambudkar and Lil Rel Howery (who I love in just about everything I see him in) playing off of Bell in ways that are both funny and really touching. But the main reason I ended up loving this film so much is because of how beautifully it earns its ending. I won't spoil it, but I'll just say that I was crying really hard both times I saw this in the theatre. It's so cathartic and moving and a brilliant payoff to the previous 90 minutes, and it really reinforces the beauty of actually working toward self-improvement and taking responsibility for yourself. That certainly spoke to me on a lot of different levels, and if you've ever struggled with self-improvement and taking responsibility for yourself, this film will almost certainly speak to you, and it might even inspire and motivate you to pursue that more. It's currently streaming on Amazon Prime, and I cannot recommend this highly enough.
#7. The Peanut Butter Falcon -- Speaking of films that surprised me when I first saw them, here's another example of a movie that just came out of nowhere and knocked me out emotionally in all the right ways. I literally had no idea what to expect when walking into Tyler Nilson and Michael Schwartz's The Peanut Butter Falcon. I knew the basic plot and that the lead was a young man with Down syndrome, but that’s about it. But...wow, did I absolutely LOVE this movie. It is earnest and sweet without ever being saccharine or condescending, it’s beautifully shot in a way that grounds its story in reality while still evoking a sense of childlike wonder, and its use of the Southern locale is remarkably authentic and never resorts to degrading cliches. I don't think Shia LaBeouf has ever been better than he is here (although that might change once I get around to seeing Honey Boy), and Dakota Johnson continues to be beautiful and lovely and awesome in everything she’s in (no, I have not seen and will never see the Fifty Shades movies). But the true star of this movie is newcomer Zack Gottsagen, who is so outstanding and lovely to watch playing a role that was clearly written to highlight his gifts as an actor. And he plays an actual full-bodied three-dimensional character, not Hollywood’s normal idea of what someone with Down syndrome is like, which is so important and such a joy to watch. There are so many ways this story could have been screwed up in the hands of lesser filmmakers, but Nilson and Schwartz (first-time feature filmmakers, no less) really pulled off a beautiful miracle of a film here, one that I cannot wait to experience again. So yeah, this is absolutely a masterpiece of American independent cinema, and an important milestone in representation of people with disabilities that will hopefully open the doors for more films like this.
#6. Uncut Gems -- A couple years ago, I wrote an essay for a Cinema Studies class at DePaul on the film Punch-Drunk Love. In it, I briefly discussed how bold of a move it was for Paul Thomas Anderson to cast Adam Sandler in that film, since Sandler was coming off of films such as The Wedding Singer and was widely known as the king of juvenile humor, while Anderson was just coming off of the critically-acclaimed prestige dramas Boogie Nights and Magnolia. In the seventeen years since Punch-Drunk Love, Sandler has continued to make several critically-reviled juvenile comedies while occasionally doing an interesting dramatic film like Jason Reitman's Men, Women, and Children or Noah Baumbach's The Meyerowitz Stories. But I sincerely hope that Uncut Gems marks a turning point in his career, because he gives an absolutely astonishing performance in this film, one that deserves to be compared to Al Pacino's performance in Dog Day Afternoon. But beyond Sandler's performance, Uncut Gems is an absolute masterclass in suspense filmmaking, one that barely allowed me to breathe for the entirety of its 135-minute running-time (which absolutely flies by) and one that is genuinely unpredictable. The second you think Sandler's character is realizing the error of his ways, he decides to dig himself in deeper, and I don't think I've ever heard a louder collective groan in a movie theatre than when that happens here. And the final twenty minutes of this film (which, again, I won't spoil) are absolutely extraordinary, and set a new creative bar for the Safdie brothers that I'm not sure they'll ever top (although I'd love to see if they do). And I haven't even mentioned Julia Fox, who turns in a brilliant debut performance as Sandler's mistress, one that makes me really excited to see what she does next. So yes, this was one of the most unforgettable moviegoing experiences I've had in several years, and definitely make sure to see this one on the big screen. You will not regret it.
#5. Marriage Story -- And now we transition to a movie I really wish I could have seen on the big screen but wasn't able to (I missed it at the Music Box Theatre last month but I'm really hoping they bring it back after the Oscar nominations come out). Noah Baumbach's Marriage Story is easily the best film I've ever seen about divorce, and one of the most emotionally devastating films I've seen this decade. As someone who's lucky enough to have never had to endure being a child of divorce, watching this film gave me a real and visceral understanding of the horrible and insidious nature of divorce, especially when there are kids and lawyers involved. Perhaps the most brilliant thing Baumbach does in his screenplay is give equal time to both Charlie (an Oscar-worthy Adam Driver) and Nicole (Scarlett Johansson in a career performance) and their respective sides in the divorce proceedings, so that the audience is never implored to side with either of them over the other. And while I'm sure some people will still side with one over the other, especially if they've been through something similar to what these characters are going through, what Baumbach beautifully illustrates in this film is that the true villain in stories like this is the system that pits people against each other and causes irreversible damage to the men, women, and children involved. There is one scene in particular where the tension that has been building throughout the film explodes in the most painful and gut-wrenching way imaginable, and by the end my heart was broken for both Charlie and Nicole. So while this is far from a comfortable, escapist watch on Netflix, it's also one of the most deeply moving and rewarding things you will find on that streaming service right now (although if any of you reading this find an opportunity to experience Marriage Story in a movie theatre rather than in your living room or God forbid on your smartphone, take it without thinking twice). It's just a magnificent character study with some of the best acting you'll see this year, a quantum leap for Noah Baumbach, and I firmly believe it will be remembered years from now as one of the greatest cinematic depictions of divorce.
#4. Those Who Remained -- While I know that this film has still not been given a proper release in the U.S., it has been (rightfully) included on this year's Oscar shortlist for the Best International Feature Film category, so I am counting it as a 2019 film. It's been almost two-and-a-half months now since I saw this film at the Chicago International Film Festival, and it continued to stay with me and haunt me throughout the entirety of those almost two-and-a-half months, because this is absolutely one of the most beautiful and haunting masterpieces I've seen this year. As someone who has been fascinated by this period of history ever since reading The Diary of Anne Frank in middle school (which is still one of the most powerful things I've ever read), I was deeply moved by how this film depicts the devastation in Budapest after World War II on the most personal of levels, and how it's able to communicate the collective trauma without resorting to flashbacks or anything of the sort. The father-daughter relationship between the two leads is one of the best I've seen in a long, long time, one that conveys their own need to fill the voids left by their lost family members as well as the broader societal struggle to try and achieve some sense of normalcy as a way of coping with grief. The performances of the two leads are outstanding as well, especially Abigél Szõke, who absolutely knocks it out of the park in every single scene (there's a scene in particular when she's looking through two old photo albums that nearly destroyed me). I could go on about how this is a nearly perfect movie on every single level, from the pitch-perfect cinematography to how the score is sparingly used to great effect, but I'm just going to say to please keep an eye out for this movie. As I mentioned above, it is on the Oscar shortlist for the Best International Feature Film category this year, and if there is any justice in this world whatsoever, it will absolutely be nominated. And when it is, it will be released in the Chicago area (and hopefully most major metropolitan areas), and when that happens, it will be everyone's civic duty to see this movie and then get their friends to see it. So please do your civic duty when it comes time to do so.
#3. Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood -- I have been an admirer of Quentin Tarantino's work ever since my parents took me to see Django Unchained on Christmas Day 2012, but it was really when I watched Inglourious Basterds for the first time that I truly saw him for the genius and visionary that he is. Having seen this film twice now (the second time at the Music Box Theatre on glorious 70mm), I can safely say that is absolutely one of Tarantino’s best films and one of the greatest movies ever made about Hollywood and L.A. in general. Not only was it so cool to see a lot of the places I went to a lot during my time in L.A. (Musso and Frank’s on Sunset, the Cinerama Dome that’s now a part of ArcLight Hollywood, the Bruin Theatre that I sat across from every week), but this is really just a beautifully layered, ambitious, surprisingly funny and oddly melancholy film that manages to pay tribute to the time period it depicts while also examining its darker aspects in classic Tarantino fashion. Leonardo DiCaprio is perfectly cast in his role, and Brad Pitt hasn’t had this much fun in a movie since at least Burn After Reading (and I do believe he will win the Best Supporting Actor Oscar). Even Margot Robbie is great here, even if the Sharon Tate character is treated as more of an idea than a person. There are just so many great scenes and lines of dialogue that are a joy to revisit, in particular an extended sequence involving Pitt's character at Spahn Ranch that is both hilarious and unbearably tense, and a scene involving DiCaprio's character talking with an extremely precocious eight-year-old actress played by Julia Butters, who is out-freaking-standing and gives the best child performance in any movie this year (and she's in one scene!). And this is also the fastest two hours and forty-five minutes I’ve ever experienced, without a single second wasted (unlike a certain three-and-a-half hour movie that, in my opinion, has several wasted seconds). So yes, I loved this movie, like really, truly loved this movie, and this is absolutely a must-see if you’re a Tarantino fan, or a fan of movies in general, or a human being.
#2. Parasite -- From the moment the credits rolled on this film back in October when I first saw it (funny enough, just a few days after I saw the other foreign-language film in my top 5, Those Who Remained), I knew I had witnessed something truly special, a film that is literal definition of cinema, a film from a master filmmaker in complete and utter control of his craft, and a film that will become regarded as one of the greatest films in world cinema. These are not phrases I use lightly, but I feel that they are ones that accurately apply to this film, a hilarious, terrifying, almost-unbearably tense, and relentlessly biting satire on Korean society, class and the human condition that I truly cannot wait to experience again and again. Much like Marriage Story, Parasite is a film that allows you to see both the good and evil in the two families at the center of this story, families that are beautifully brought to life via the outstanding ensemble cast at this film's center. Just a few of the standouts from this cast include Park So Dam as the daughter of the poor family, a chain-smoking document forger who poses as "Jessica the art therapist," Cho Yeo Jeong as the wife of the rich family, whose kindness and naiveté go a long way towards humanizing her family, and Song Kang Ho as the patriarch of the poor family, who is unquestionably the heart and soul of this film and who becomes the film's tragic hero by the end. And just from a cinematography and production design standpoint, this film is one of the best of the decade. The majority of it takes place in a house that was built from the ground up specifically for the film, and it very much becomes a character in the story, giving off different vibes as the film twists and turns. And I know I've already used the term "unpredictable" twice in this post, but nowhere can it be more accurately applied than to this film. I honestly had no idea where this story was going to go, and please for the love of God, do not read anything about the plot of this film before going to see it, because the best way to see it is how I first saw it: knowing as little about it as possible. This is a film that needs to be experienced in order to really understand what an absolute masterwork it is. And although I've only seen it once (so far), I personally cannot wait to see this again and again, and pick up on the little bits of social commentary I may have missed the first time. This film deserves every bit of praise and Oscar buzz it's been getting, and I sincerely hope the Academy recognizes this across the board like they did with Roma last year, because this film is truly that special.
And...#1. Little Women -- And just when I thought that no other 2019 film could ever top Parasite as my #1 of 2019, I saw Greta Gerwig's Little Women on Christmas Day with my family and it almost immediately overtook the #1 spot. Now, full disclosure: I had never read or seen any incarnation of Louisa May Alcott's Little Women before walking into this movie, so I had absolutely nothing to compare this film to. But what I got out of seeing Greta Gerwig's Little Women is that it is an absolute masterpiece and the best film of 2019. It is a beautiful, brilliantly-crafted, funny, joyous, but also heartbreaking and profound film that encapsulates pretty much everything love about cinema and storytelling. The way Gerwig structures this classic story to make it a meditation on the loss of innocence and loneliness and regret is absolutely remarkable and it totally speaks to me as a young adult in a turbulent stage of life. All four of the actresses who play the March sisters are terrific and perfectly cast, but the performances of Saoirse Ronan and Florence Pugh are extraordinary and absolutely deserving of awards attention (if it were up to me, Pugh would win Best Supporting Actress because she's that good). And even the supporting performances by Timothee Chalamet (who continues to be one of the greatest actors on the face of Planet Earth) and Meryl Streep (who hasn't been this much fun to watch in anything since Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events) are excellent and helped to round out a world that I wanted to stay in long after the credits rolled. In many ways, watching this film reminded me of the first time I read L.M. Montgomery's Anne of Green Gables (which still remains my favorite book of all time), and not just because of the lovely female characters and period setting, but also because of how it created a world that is both joyous and comforting while never feeling shallow or phony. Much like I tend to go back to Anne of Green Gables when I'm depressed and need something that is going to fill me with sheer, authentic joy, I can imagine myself going back to this film when I'm feeling down in the future, which is not something I can say about many other films from this decade. So yes, this is a really, deeply special film, one I cannot wait to see again (I still have only seen this once, darn it!) and one that every single person on Earth should see. This is absolutely the best film of 2019, and one of the most joyous moviegoing experiences I’ve ever had.
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And, for anyone who's curious, here's a list of 15 runners-up, i.e. films that are really good (and, in some cases, great) that just missed the cut for my top 15, listed in alphabetical order:
Abducted in Plain Sight
Dolemite Is My Name
El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie
Dolemite Is My Name
El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie
Ford v. Ferrari
Her Smell
The Irishman
Midsommar
Pain and Glory
Portrait of a Lady on Fire
Rocketman
Toy Story 4
The Two Popes
The Two Popes
Us
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