*NOTE: This list is compiled strictly of titles I saw over the course of January through December 2020. Whether due to availability or awareness, this list is subject to change though will not be reflected here. These are the titles that spoke to me directly at the time of publication and are definitely worth checking out.
25. Miss Americana (Dir. Lana Wilson)
What may be the craziest thing about this documentary is that this is no longer the most recent thing that Taylor Swift has done. Despite coming out at the start of 2020, it comes directly before the one-two punch of her great albums “Folklore” and “Evermore” and an additional documentary for Disney+. Still, this Netflix documentary is important to her bigger narrative, creating one of the most vulnerable depictions of a pop star in the modern age. It is rare to get access to a star this popular who openly discusses depression and image issues, all while dealing with a public reputation that was quickly souring.
“Reputation,” while successful, was an album that found her in a state of crisis. It was 2016 and the world was entering a fraught presidential election. The sense of helplessness eventually lead to reinvention, inspiring her to be an outspoken activist in the 2018 midterms. To compare Swift between the start and end of this documentary is to see someone growing more self-assured, feeling confident that they’re using their platform for the right causes. As an artist, she had always sung from the heart, but this is maybe the first time where she sang of something that meant more to her.
The story concludes with the recording of “Lover,” which comes with these various anecdotes of how she’s trying to become a stronger woman. She is turning 30, about to enter a new era of her life. What is she going to do moving forward? While fans will love this documentary for its candid look, it's overall just a great study of reassessing one’s values, asking what they can do to make the world a better place. Swift doesn’t simply sing anymore, fearing that she’ll be demonized like The Dixie Chicks before. She stands up for what she believes in, and it makes for one of the most satisfying finales of the year, realizing that everyone is about to see a more personal and exciting side of her – and much sooner than anyone expected.
24. Banana Split (Dir. Benjamin Kasulke)
There was a time when a plot like this would end in a very different way. The idea of one woman dating another’s ex would result in catfights, pulling hair, and elaborate set pieces of revenge. Well, thankfully co-writer and star Hannah Marks has no interest in humoring these tropes. Instead she uses the scenario to explore one of the most infectious teenage comedies of recent years. Along with Liana Liberato, they go about a story that’s light on plot but heavy on the memorable moments. Whenever they’re on screen together, there’s an abundance of flirty chemistry that finds a new kind of teen. Their sarcasm arrives with sexual innuendos, their chemistry reflecting an affection that humors the idea of something more.
Most of all, it feels organic. Every beat is sincere even as the jokes come fast and loose, building characters that act out for the sake of attention. Even in their private lives, Marks plays April with a blasé crassness that finds insulting her sister with The Big C at the dinner table just another moment in life. Even then, underneath all of the insults and casual negligence is a deeper love that can’t be captured with sentimentality. None of these characters really have that function yet in their lives. They think they do, but their relationships are more drawn to what they can get away with.
Marks and Liberato are a delight together. They manage to make something as simple as huddling in the bathroom, one sick from intoxication into a layered exploration of their vulnerability. More than wondering what they both think of Nick (Dylan Sprouse), it’s the idea of being able to have a friendship that’s just as meaningful, able to coexist with wild nights of singing at house parties. They have the youthful fire in their veins, giving the viewer a moment to feel their joy. Thankfully it comes fast and loose, never allowing for a dull moment. This is one of the most exciting examples of female friendship not only this year but in the past few. It may not sound like that, but the effort to see their love for each other isn’t all that difficult to find.
23. Kajillionaire (Dir. Miranda July)
Throughout the course of her schemes, Old Dolio (Evan Rachel Wood) finds herself turning to a class for expecting mothers. She is perplexed by the affection that she sees in these women, learning the proper ways to take care of an infant. Her deadpan approach to life is itself a reflection of her lack of youth. A baby is foreign because from the minute that she could walk, she was used by her manipulative parents to pull off schemes. They were pushing her into making a few extra dollars while living in a room where the walls leak bubbles. She has no idea what normal is, and her loneliness is abundant. Wood manages to do so much without ever raising her voice above a whisper, reflecting her lack of deeper character.
July has always cared about the eccentric outsider with maybe too much affection. She observes them without a lifeline, this time allowing Old Dolio’s life to unfold in some of the strangest yet most accessible ways imaginable. When forced to engage in a normal conversation with a new friend named Melanie (Gina Rodriguez), she finds her life starting to form. She begins to see the trauma that her parents placed upon her through crass expectations. Even then, July knows how to paint this dysfunctional family as somewhat loving. Sure they’re all in it for the money, but something deeper is still there.
This oddball narrative is her most accessible film to date. Old Dolio as a character is one of the most compelling introverts that cinema in 2020 has created. Wood delivers an excellent turn that conveys so much with so little, finding her managing to be funny at one point and deeply tragic the next. It’s a story of healing that only July could’ve written, filling it with a twee approach that reflects how a broken person heals. There is an absence in these characters that can’t be grifted, and by the end, Old Dolio comes close to finding that deeper meaning. It’s a weirdly human drama that is unlike any other this year, if just for how it finds acceptance in creatively abstract ways.
22. Da 5 Bloods (Dir. Spike Lee)
For decades now, filmmakers have turned to The Vietnam War as some symbolism of a personal divide in America. To go through the classics is to see a controversial period discussed as one that tore a country apart, reforming what it means to be a true patriot. Though for most who watch them, there is one very specific thing that stands out: the perspective is often unabashedly white. For as artful as these stories are, they’re often one that doesn’t fully reflect everyone’s view of the war nor has there really been an effort to focus on the complications of services back home, such as helping veterans in times of personal crisis.
It is why Lee’s film feels so urgent that an average scene often feels like it’s stepping over itself for attention. It lovingly pays homage to the aforementioned classics but chooses to reflect them through a Black lens. There are conversations about why they don’t have their own version of John Rambo: somebody cool who will stand as this role model. Whole scenes feel lifted from Apocalypse Now (1979) while others are tense dramatic beats that reflect P.T.S.D. and the minor aggressions that the Black community carry in light of the war. Lee is making up for so much lost time that its self-indulgence fails to be overkill. It’s more asking “Why don’t these narratives get spoken about more?”
Thankfully it’s all more than a novelty. The style strips away by the end to reveal Lee’s true anger for what it is. This isn’t some event that ended a long time ago. It exists in the modern America, covering everything from the opioid crisis to the fraught political climate. There is still a need to make the future better for these men who sacrificed their lives. Where is their pot of gold that drives them into this American myth? So many questions are raised and given captivating answers in another excellent outing from the director. With an awards-worthy performance from Delroy Lindo in tow, this is a one of a kind war movie that points out the hell that everyone is going through in past, present, and (hopefully not but unfortunately) future tense.
21. Boys State (Dir. Jesse Moss, Amanda McBaine)
Deep in the heart of Texas, there is an event held annually that has lead many to form an interest in politics. Boys State is a program designed for young men to form a political party from scratch, doing everything to create a platform and pick a leader. Over the course of these days, Moss and McBaine get access to some truly amazing moments, finding the seriousness of a fictional group becoming something more complicated along the way. People give up their values if they think it will win the crowd over. If nothing else, it proves how mob mentality rules in politics, how the most innocent of minds can be persuaded to go against their beliefs. It’s about depicting federal-level legislature in a way that is meant to be innocent but holds deeper commentaries.
What does this really say about America’s future? As depicted in the opening montage, noteworthy politicians like Dick Cheney have used it as a chance to build character, making connections, and realize what they need to do to be leaders. While very few of these boys will agree, there is something to watching how the process eventually leads to something strangely familiar. It’s the question of whether anyone has a morally just heart to not cave into prankish behavior full of seceding vote and smear campaigns geared at voters. Is it illegal? It’s not, but one can argue it’s not right.
The sense of power is reduced to those few days, those hours of glad-handing, and believing that your cause is best. Boy’s State doesn’t matter in an immediate sense, but it still feels so vital, especially in 2020 with an American presidential election that went in some childish directions. What these boys represent is a future, but also a present in how a generation sees politics and is adapting to a changing tide, where bullying is capable of distracting from the bigger picture. Even then, among the chaos are those willing to bring forth something greater. Boys State brings forth hope in minor ways, and it’s a perfect reflection of America in the modern age and where it’s likely to end up in just a few decades.
Coming Up Next: Beauty Pageants, Dance Parties, and Wolfwalkers
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