REEL STARS OF 2020
IF it hadn’t been for Wonder Woman 1984 and Tenet, multiplexes would have been superspy- and superhero-free zones last year. Thankfully, while the pandemic saw off most of the blockbusters, it didn’t kill off cinema. In fact, in many ways it thrived.
Without the big studios hogging all the attention, smaller productions managed to find audiences on home-streaming and in socially distanced theatres.
These are my favourite films of the year…
1. THE PERSONAL HISTORY OF DAVID COPPERFIELD
THE Thick Of It writer Armando Iannucci provided much-needed laughs with a riotous adaptation of Charles Dickens’ most life-affirming story.
Shot more like a TV sketch show than a dusty Victorian novel, it follows ambitious orphan David (Dev Patel) down a very winding road to success.
Along the way he meets an array of delightfully quirky characters played by a racially diverse cast, sometimes within the same fictional family.
Benedict Wong channels WC Fields as thirsty accountant Mr Wickfield, Peter Capaldi is an infectiously optimistic Mr Micawber and Hugh Laurie turns back the clock to his Blackadder days as the potty Mr Dick.
2. ROCKS
THIS shockingly good Brit flick shines a light on an often-overlooked figure, the casting director.
Lucy Pardee spent a year searching for youngsters to star in this drama, set in the shadow of the city of London and it looks as authentic as it sounds.
A wonderful Bukky Bakray leads a multicultural cast as 16-year-old Shola who has to look after her little brother when her mum walks out.
On paper, this sounds like a standard lottery-funded miseryfest but, thanks to its young cast, it’s surprisingly uplifting.
3. 1917
SAM MENDES’ First World War spectacular was clearly conceived for the big screen. It got a decent run in cinemas before they closed in March but its strong story helped it become a big home-streaming hit during lockdown. Two British soldiers (George MacKay and Dean-Charles Chapman) are sent behind enemy lines to deliver an important message. Filmed as one impossibly long shot, it is such an immersive experience that you give up looking for the joins.
4. PARASITE
SOUTH Korean director Bong Joon Ho tells his Oscar-winning story with such visual flair that the subtitles often feel redundant. Like his excellent English language sci-fi Snowpiercer, it’s a battle between the haves and the have-nots.
This time, we’re in a modern-day Seoul where the impoverished Kim family take over the home of the rich Parks after becoming their servants. What makes it so compelling is the way Bong throws in neat plot twists and quick shifts in tone.
5. SOUL
AFTER a raft of sequels, Pixar returns to form with a touching animation that isn’t afraid to ask the big questions. Released directly to the Disney streaming app on Christmas Day, it follows Joe (voiced by Jamie Foxx), a middle-aged jazz musician who, after years of disappointment, passes an audition to work with his favourite singer. Then, on the way home, he falls down a manhole and dies.
Determined to get back to his body, his rebellious soul must find a way out of the afterlife.
Merry Christmas!
6. BACURAU
BONKERS but undeniably brilliant, this instantly became my favourite-ever Brazilian sci-fi horror western (admittedly, it is a very short list).
In the very near future, Wanted posters for outlaws pop up on satnavs and a mysterious young smuggler called Teresa (Bárbara Colen) returns to her home town.
When a flying saucer-shaped drone and cult hero Udo Kier roll up, we know things are about to get a whole lot weirder.
7. RELIC
IS it a movie about a haunted house or a haunted mind? That question hangs over every frame of this wonderfully creepy Aussie chiller.
Darkness lurks in the corners of the creaky home of disturbed widow Edna (Robyn Nevin) as daughter Kay (Emily Mortimer) and her child Sam (Bella Heathcote) visit.
Debut director Natalie Erika James is clearly one to watch.
8. SAINT MAUD
THE line separating the horror movie from the psychological thriller is stretched to breaking point in the disturbing feature debut of British writer-director Rose Glass.
At times, Welsh actress Morfydd Clark appears to channel Sissy Spacek’s Carrie as Maud, a palliative care nurse who may have been touched by the divine. But as she clashes with her new client (Jennifer Ehle), the film’s biggest scares lie not in the supernatural realm but in the human mind.
9. THE TRIAL OF THE CHICAGO 7
WEST Wing creator Aaron Sorkin wrote his script about the 1969 trial of anti-Vietnam war activists in 2007. But his scenes of street protests and venal government officials feel like they been have ripped from yesterday’s news channels. Sorkin creates tension by cutting between a courtroom and violent street protests as a misfit gang of radicals are accused of inciting a riot. Sacha Baron Cohen, Jeremy Strong and Eddie Redmayne deliver powerful performances.
10. ATHLETE A
BUSINESS boomed for Netflix during the pandemic and although the streaming giant’s documentary about a scandal in US gymnastics wasn’t a crowdpleaser, it was an important film, telling how paedophile Larry Nassar was allowed to work as team doctor for young athletes in America’s gymnastics squad.
The abuse was revealed by investigative reporters who soon discovered a cover up. But the film doesn’t stop there, broadening out the scandal to take in the money-making machine of modern sport.