Among other terrible things, 2020 was a year that made watching movies harder than ever. But while it was a rough year to see movies, it was not a rough year for the movies themselves.
While most of the below were viewed at home, out of necessity, this year was not nearly as lacking in contenders as it might have been. And whether or not the viewing experience was as fulfilling as sitting in a dark theater might have been, the movies were no less impactful.
Below are the 25 movies (and various runners-up) that defined this complicated year for me. They kept me distracted, entertained and provoked in a time when it was needed most. Here's to a satisfying year of cinema and hopefully for a chance to return to the theaters to see them again some day soon.
Honorable Mentions
25. THE INVISIBLE MAN
The most memorable theatrical experience of the year and not simply because it was one of the only. A tightly executed thriller with no business being as good as it is, 2020 wasn't a complete waste because we got to have one great horror thrill in a dark cinema.
24. KAJILLIONAIRE
Miranda July's most tender and captivating feature builds upon her earlier work but becomes more irresistible than ever.
23. THE WOLF HOUSE
One extended "how did they do that" sequence in this animated film whose disturbing and vivid images build themselves onto the walls of an abandoned home. A vision that pushes the limits of the imagination and raises the hair on the back of your neck.
22. BLOODY NOSE, EMPTY POCKETS
A narrative experiment partially disguised as a documentary that takes on an added layer of nostalgia in lockdown. Sociological theses aside, it provided a refreshing dip into a part of our world siphoned away from us this year: the communal gathering space and the characters you find there.
21. SHE DIES TOMORROW
In a year of crippling fear and contagious anxiety, director Amy Seimetz unknowingly tapped into our dread. A thriller that hit too close to home but captured the mood better than it ever imagined.
20. SOUND OF METAL
What could have been a standard personal drama becomes an emotionally satisfying and technically rich feature with a towering lead performance and a one-of-a-kind soundscape.
19. LA LLORONA
One of the best foreign language films of the year, taking the popular folklore and incorporating it into a tale of supernatural vengeance to make a frightening and striking horror drama.
18. CITY HALL
A movie that wraps you up in the functions of government process, highlighting the successes and failures. Perhaps the most vivid portrayal of Boston, in it all its highs and lows, you could hope to find.
17. BEANPOLE
Difficult and uncompromising; a brutal tale of two women entangled in each other's lives in post-war Russia. Two committed lead performances and a debut from a filmmaker to keep an eye on.
16. POSSESSOR
A horror piece that takes the familiar body swap premise and turns it into a gory delight. Tautly executed and with a lead performance that maximizes its conceit.
15. THE VAST OF NIGHT
A Twilight Zone worthy debut that made the perfect summer treat. A film that could've been just as effective as a radio play or playing at the Drive In.
14. MARTIN EDEN
Gorgeously captured with a charismatic lead performance that sells its big ideas with a natural flair. With its hefty themes, this could have easily turned into a lumbering lecture but instead it provides a thought provoking tale of one man's doomed individualism.
13. THE NEST
Sean Durkin proves his worth nine years after his debut and hopefully not too long before his next. A volatile romantic thriller with the never-less-than-perfect Carrie Coon anchoring it down.
12. SOUL
Pixar once again getting more abstract than ever with their subject matter, this time added in with surprisingly ambitious visuals and a score that gives the studio one of its most original entries yet.
11. FIRST COW
Kelly Reichardt's latest takes the best elements of her previous work and unfolds like a short story you've been reading your whole life as well as her most visually stunning yet.
10. THE ASSISTANT
The takedown Hollywood needs and a journey through the endless abuses that have become normalized within it. Julia Garner provides the center of this claustrophobic story, which unfolds over a single day but feels momentous.
09. COLLECTIVE
A documentary of such attention to detail that its overarching themes become subtly and devastatingly universal. It somehow leaves you feeling both defeated and determined as ever.
08. PROMISING YOUNG WOMAN
Irresistible, indignant and endlessly watchable. Mixing its pop aesthetics with a dark undercurrent, Promising Young Woman is a slug to the face and a showcase for one of our finest performers, Carey Mulligan, to once again show us what she's capable of.
07. BACURAU
Searing and angry, Bacurau is unlike anything you could watch this year or in most others. An indictment against government corruption and colonialism, the righteous fury of its vision packs a wallop.
06. WOLFWALKERS
Perhaps the most consistent animation studio to arrive in the last ten years finally gets a fraction of the praise they deserve. Every frame is stunningly animated and presents a singular vision that stood out among even this year's strong animated pack.
05. TIME
A stunningly edited feat of documentary filmmaking that manages to condense an unimaginable length of time turn into a comprehensive package. The catharsis of its ending is unforgettable, but the feeling of time robbed lingers after.
04. MINARI
A family drama turned into a stirring epic, with an unbelievable ensemble and a lived-in quality that draws you into its characters' everyday lives. Vividly portrayed and moving at every turn.
03. I'M THINKING OF ENDING THINGS
A singularly hypnotic and confounding experience. Takes its already complex source material and throws it through the ringer, giving you a setting and main performance to grasp onto and then stripping them both away slowly until you're left with its dark underbelly.
02. NEVER RARELY SOMETIMES ALWAYS
A heartbreaking indictment of our country's onslaught against reproductive rights while being the furthest thing from an "issue drama." Carefully unfolds the process, difficulties and and determination of its central characters while never preaching or violating the audience's trust. A movie for everyone to see.
01. NOMADLAND
Of all the movies I was disappointed not to be able to see in theaters this year, none stung greater than this. A movie of sweeping scope and sensitivity. Another titanic performance from one of our greatest actresses. And a gut punch that never once feels unearned.
And, even in a year with less movies available to watch, there were still more that stood out and are worthy of honorable mention: Babyteeth, Black Bear, Boys State, Da 5 Bloods, Dick Johnson is Dead, Driveways, Ema, Emma., The Forty-Year-Old Version, Fourteen, His House, Mank, Miss Juneteenth, On The Rocks, The Painter and the Thief, Relic, A Shaun The Sheep Movie: Farmageddon, Shirley, Swallow, Vitalina Varela.
Finally, more befitting this awful year, my Least of 2020:
01. Hillbilly Elegy
02. The Prom
03. The Last Thing He Wanted
04. Antebellum
05. Wonder Woman 1984
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