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thefilmsnob · 2 years

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Glen Coco’s Top 10 Films of 2021

Consistent with the chaotic times in which we find ourselves, the film landscape has become a complete mess. Release dates are tentative, films premier at home the same day as in theaters (or four months later) and the particular streaming service where they arrive is anyone’s guess. But, amidst the logistical tumult, filmmakers continue to craft some great motion pictures. I don’t like preambles as much as I used to, so I’ll just get on with my top 10 films of 2021...after the runners-up and the standard bonus track...there’s always a bonus track.

RUNNERS-UP

-C’mon C’mon

-CODA

-Don’t Look Up

-Licorice Pizza

-A Quiet Place Part II (Full Review)

#10b. (Bonus Track) Nightmare Alley

Director: Guillermo del Toro

Starring: Bradley Cooper, Cate Blanchett, Rooney Mara, Toni Collette, Richard Jenkins, Willem Dafoe

Missing out on the official Top 10 list for departing from the astonishing carnival setting too soon and dragging a bit in the second act, Nightmare Alley still deserves mentioning for its impeccable production design. Even when writer-director Guillermo del Toro’s scripts fall short, he makes up for it with stunning visual storytelling, exemplified here with richly detailed and colourful images of a 1930s carnival, contradicted later in the film by gorgeous art deco designs of city buildings. With a brilliant cast led by Bradley Cooper, del Toro maintains a disturbingly eerie atmosphere throughout despite eschewing his signature fantasy elements, producing a chilling, if imperfect, film noir that takes the viewer through dark corridors (figurative and literal) while examining the worst impulses of human nature.

#10. Tick, Tick... Boom!

Director: Lin-Manuel Miranda

Starring: Andrew Garfield

If conquering Broadway while also acting in and composing music for films wasn’t enough, Lin-Manuel Miranda has now made Tick, Tick... Boom! and you’d never guess it was his directorial debut. The film stars Andrew Garfield as Jonathan Larson, the playwright and composer of the smash hit Rent who sadly died the night before its off-Broadway premier. The film jumps back and forth between 1992, in which Larson performs the titular rock monologue that Miranda uses as a storytelling device, and 1990, in which the exhausted artist prepares for the workshop of his passion project Superbia, works at a diner, tries to maintain a relationship and strives desperately to be successful before turning 30. The movie’s seemingly unending action involving constant movement between time periods and within space, with no shortage of singing and dancing, might feel a tad busy, yet it perfectly captures that relentless creativity, passion and even frustration of the ‘starving artist’. Garfield is nothing if not a passionate performer and he sells every moment of both Larson’s mental anguish as well as elation with every fiber of his being. This is truly a whirlwind of a film.

#9. The Power of the Dog

Director: Jane Campion

Starring: Benedict Cumberbatch, Kirsten Dunst, Jesse Plemons, Kodi Smit-McPhee

The great Jane Campion’s latest film is a western, to be sure, but instead of celebrating the genre’s classic traits, she scrutinizes them while shrewdly subverting the genre in the process. By telling a story about a miserable ranch owner who torments his brother’s new wife and her effeminate son, she critiques the idea of toxic masculinity and its harmful effects on, not just the targets of this behaviour, but the toxic individual himself. This film is a masterclass in subtlety, with a script that reveals its complex characters, their motivations and the various, often shocking, plot developments without spelling it out for the audience. A smart viewer will understand how, for example, a character’s repressed homosexuality can lead to isolation, jealousy, resentment and ultimately the exacerbation of toxic behaviour. This psychological thriller is set amidst Ari Wegner’s gorgeous shots of the New Zealand countryside filling in for 1920s Montana and the brilliant Jonny Greenwood’s appropriately disturbing score that compliments a character dynamic already brimming with tension.

#8. The Last Duel

Director: Ridley Scott

Starring: Matt Damon, Adam Driver, Jodie Comer, Ben Affleck

Let’s just get this out of the way: casting famous American actors as French knights using quasi-British accents is an odd choice but nowhere near unprecedented. Yes, it sounds strange at first, but you’ll quickly forget it as you’re swept away in the engrossing social commentary set during the middle ages. Yet, even if this is a time long passed, the themes are sadly still relevant as we’re given three different perspectives of what may or may not be the rape of a young woman. We see some events multiple times, but it never feels monotonous and some parts are different enough that we reevaluate how we feel about the situation and characters, one of whom shifts from a man of honour to a dirt bag right before our eyes. Accents aside, the acting is superb and includes a surprising turn from Affleck who’s a riot as the corrupt and debaucherous Pierre d’Alencon. Ridley Scott’s been inconsistent for a while, but he knows how to put a great historical epic on screen which he does here with grandiose sets and costumes, not to mention the titular last duel forming the film’s climax which is expertly staged and unapologetically brutal.

#7. King Richard

Director: Reinaldo Marcus Green

Starring: Will Smith, Saniyya Sidney, Demi Singleton, Aunjanue Ellis

Will Smith has been in so many mediocre films that you might forget he’s a great actor. He gives possibly his best performance to date in King Richard as the father and coach of the young girls who will become two of the greatest tennis players ever: Venus and Serena Williams. With the help of director Reinaldo Marcus Green and writer Zach Baylin, Smith vanishes into this character who he portrays as a complex human being, by turns an honourable, nurturing father and a stubborn, sometimes selfish, old man. But, that’s what elevates what could’ve been a cookie-cutter biopic to an insightful character study and a great example of what a sports movie can achieve with powerful performances, excellent pacing and honest dialogue that doesn’t pander. Some have criticized the film for focusing on the male behind two female athletes’ success, but if it means providing a rare layered and positive portrayal of an African-American father then it’s a sound compromise. That said, the film doesn’t forget about the sisters nor their incredibly supportive mother, all played by excellent actors who make us root for this family whose members consistently excel despite so much working against them.

#6. Spider-Man: No Way Home

Director: Jon Watts

Starring: Tom Holland, Zendaya, Benedict Cumberbatch, Marisa Tomei

On paper, this film might seem like gimmicky fan service, but to believe that would be to underestimate Marvel Studios. Even if you’re wary of the corporate franchise film model, you have to give credit to this company; No Way Home is the 27th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, yet it’s still wildly entertaining, surprising and charming while continuing to connect to the other films in the franchise. Equally impressive is how a movie with so many characters and twists (no spoilers!) can maintain such a high level of coherence and a strong focus on character. In fact, despite all the moving pieces, this is actually one of the more poignant films in the series with huge emotional stakes. Director Jon Watts and writers Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers handle some very emotional scenes with tact, allowing them room to breath and time to sink in. They also show a willingness to take risks, a rare practice in this genre. Altogether, the film offers a perfect opportunity to get cozy, pig out on popcorn and escape reality for a few hours. Lord knows we could all use that!

#5. The Card Counter

Director: Paul Schrader

Starring: Oscar Isaac, Tiffany Haddish, Tye Sheridan, Willem Dafoe

Paul Schrader’s 2018 masterpiece First Reformed was overlooked by both audiences and awards voters and the same is true for The Card Counter. The writer-director excels at telling stories about deeply flawed and tortured men (Robert De Niro in Taxi Driver; Ethan Hawke in First Reformed) and he does so again with the exceptional Oscar Isaac who gives such a measured, disciplined performance, not just at times when he’s quiet and withdrawn but also during intense moments when he becomes a scary force of nature. Due to his controversial military past, a young man seeks his help with a plan to torture and kill a former army major who was known for his horrific interrogation methods. These are shown in flashbacks that feel more like nightmares; we view the acts through ultra-wide ‘fish eye’ lenses and hear pounding heavy metal music. As usual, Schrader peals back the layers of the story gradually and amps up the tension to an almost unbearable level. But, most importantly, he earns our complete investment in Isaac’s character and whether he’ll maintain his current situation as a successful gambler, sparing himself and the boy from a life of violence, or be an accomplice to a brutal act of revenge.

#4. Dune

Director: Denis Villeneuve

Starring: Timothee Chalamet, Rebecca Ferguson, Oscar Isaac, Zendaya, Stellan Skarsgard, Josh Brolin

Leave it to Denis Villeneuve, named director of the decade by the Hollywood Critics Association, to take a novel that many have called unfilmable--the awful ‘80s adaptation strengthening that argument--and make his version an aw-inspiring spectacle and indeed one of the best films of 2021. Unlike the original that loses you with a data dump in the first five minutes, the new version introduces you to this world and all its elements gradually and with a variety of strategic methods. It also helps that a handful of some of the greatest actors in Hollywood have assembled to lend their talent and credibility to this project with the prodigious Timothee Chalamet in the lead role. Most impressive, however, are the wondrous visuals; despite working with a seemingly baron dessert setting, Villeneuve brings it to life with gargantuan space ships, labyrinthine structures, giant deadly sand worms and various factions of people with elaborate weapons and armour. Thankfully, the wide shots and lingering camera allow us to marvel at these images instead of taking them for granted. Dune is a prime example of what a blockbuster epic can be when craft and imagination take precedence. *Note: Could’ve used more sand worm.

(Full Review)

#3. The Tragedy of Macbeth

Director: Joel Coen

Starring: Denzel Washington, Frances McDormand

William Shakespeare’s plays have been adapted countless times but rarely are they so striking and brimming with creativity. This is Joel Coen’s first film without his longtime collaborator and brother Ethan and he eschews their trademark dark humour while maintaining his mastery of the craft, making one pitch perfect decision after another. The most obvious one is casting Denzel Washington in the lead role, a subversive choice but the right one. The actor, who the New York Times critics named the best of the 21st century, works his magic, changing convincingly from a loyal and weary soldier to a murderous, power-hungry madman due to the ramblings of three witches and the coaxing of his conniving wife played by the peerless Frances McDormand. Coen shot this gem entirely on a sound stage with the final product at once feeling like a theater production yet utterly cinematic. This is done with the help of cinematographer Bruno Delbonnel, exploiting shadow, fog effects and black & white gloriously, enhancing the story’s suspenseful, occasionally nightmarish atmosphere. These elements combined with very simple yet effective angular stone sets produce a sort of otherworldly feel appropriate for this supernatural tale.

#2. West Side Story

Director: Steven Spielberg

Starring: Ansel Elgort, Rachel Zegler, Ariana DeBose, David Alvarez

Often when we think of someone like Steven Spielberg, an institution in film for decades, we take them for granted, forgetting how great they really are. I was not excited to see West Side Story, the second film adaptation of the hit Broadway musical. Maybe it’s because I saw another New York-based musical In the Heights earlier in the year or because the film lacks big names or because the idea of dance-fighting confuses me. Whatever the reason, it was quickly forgotten as I was being taken away by the true spectacle that Spielberg put on screen. Believe it or not, this is his first musical, yet he takes an otherwise chaotic series of events and dance numbers and makes it all completely comprehensible. The love story’s charming and the performances are great, but what he does with the routines is pure visual poetry, completely vibrant and full of energy. Even static, dialogue-heavy scenes are filmed with a sharpness that gives the movie a fantastical quality. The film’s highlight is a beautifully choreographed scene set at a dance in a gymnasium, involving virtually the whole cast plus extras. It starts with a continuous steadicam shot that seamlessly transitions to a cable cam shot as the gym doors open that brings us up into the air, providing a birds’ eye view of the the action before plunging us back down into the sea of dancers. It’s a wonder to behold.

#1. Spencer

Director: Pablo Larrain

Starring: Kristen Stewart

It’s appropriate that the late Princess Diana, née Spencer, is played by Kristen Stewart. Both women are shy, beautiful, talented, anxious, liked by many, ridiculed by many more, in the news for the wrong reasons. But if you’re expecting a standard biopic about this complex figure or stringent historical accuracy, look elsewhere. Pablo Larrain’s transcendent work of mostly fiction is too ambitious, unique and mesmerizing for the typical formulaic, decades-spanning account. Instead, it’s set over three days beginning on Christmas Eve at the Queen’s Sandringham estate during a turbulent point in Diana’s marriage. We’re shown how isolated and anxious she felt at the time, stuck in a remote house with cold, unloving in-laws, her only friend the Royal Dresser, Maggie, played by Sally Hawkins. We’re given an intimate look inside the tortured mind of Diana whose experiences are so surreal at times that it’s hard to discern between hallucination and reality in this psychological thriller that’s arguably a horror story; with the brilliant Jonny Greenwood’s sinister score, it definitely sounds like one. At the center of the horror is Kristen Stewart, giving the best performance of her underrated career, capturing Diana’s distinct mannerisms and vocal traits while easily gaining our sympathy. Perhaps the most satisfying part of the film is its final sequence, a deeply moving denouement that allows Diana to break free and enjoy a sense of liberation, a happy ending gifted to Diana the character but one that Diana the human being sadly never received.

#top 10 films #2021 films #movie review

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