Like other 2020 films such as News of the World, Land, and Nomadland, Lee Isaac Chung’s breakthrough Minari suffers from a similar fate. This movie tells a familiar story in a way that is unique but ultimately ineffective. I say that tongue-in-cheek because my favorite film of the year (at the time of this post) is News of the World, which fails to escape many of the traps these other three movies fall into. And that’s not even to say that News of the World is a great film. It’s a very good film that earned quite an affinity in a reasonably drab 2020.
Category Archives: Drama
Never Rarely Sometimes Always (2020)
2020 felt like the world turned itself upside down through events we never could have imagined. Still, a quiet story emerged about an age-old worldwide issue (one that could have been told in any year and still be relevant). I found Never Rarely Sometimes Always the most memorable, honest, and authentic film of the year.
Our Friend (2019)
I went into my viewing of Gabriela Cowperthwaite’s (Megan Leavey, Blackfish) Our Friend, knowing almost nothing. I hadn’t seen a single trailer or read a single sentence of a review. All I knew was that the movie starred Casey Affleck, was a drama based on a true story, and had both an audience and critics’ score on Rotten Tomatoes that exceeded 85%. It was enough for me to give an unknown movie a chance. I was rewarded with a film that, while incredibly uneven, delivered in a deeply affecting way I was ill-prepared for. This incredibly poignant movie is not for everyone. Bring your tissues. If you are a cancer survivor or were with someone during their successful or unsuccessful battle with cancer, be forewarned that Our Friend could bring on some incredibly intense emotions, some of which you have been consciously or unconsciously suppressing. Its final act strikes you at your core while also humbling you.
Sound of Metal (2020)
The year’s most original movie is also one of its best. Darius Marder’s (Loot) subtle, subdued Sound of Metal features a breakout, Oscar-worthy performance from British actor and rapper Riz Ahmed (Mogul Mowgli, The Sisters Brothers). Ahmed stars as Ruben, a drummer for a two-person heavy metal rock band, Blackgammon. Along with singer, guitarist, and girlfriend Lou (Olivia Cooke – Ready Player One, Life Itself), he lives in an RV. He travels throughout middle America as the duo goes from one venue to the next. If that sounds like a simple premise, I assure you this movie is far more poignant than you could expect.
Pieces of a Woman (2020)
Pieces of a Woman, Kornél Mundruczó’s (Jupiter’s Moon, White God) venture co-starring Vanessa Kirby (Mission Impossible: Fallout, The World to Come) and Shia LaBeouf (The Peanut Butter Falcon, Honey Boy), has the most excruciating half-hour of a film you’ll see this year. Expertly pieced together by the film’s editing crew is a single, continuous 23-minute scene meant to represent, likely, at least a few hours of childbirth. It’s intense, gut-wrenching, fascinating, and heartbreaking all at once. As someone who didn’t know a thing about this film going in, other than the first twenty seconds of its trailer that cemented my interest, I thought the entire 23-minute sequence was the whole movie, likely sprinkled with flashbacks to a happier time.