As most cinematic years do these days, 2019 started slow. As we cruised into the late summer, only a few films felt like true contenders for the coveted In Reel Deep Best Movies list. Yet here we are, once again, with 15 works of art that we adored. Five were unanimous agreements; we loved them to death. The other five each were almost as good, and about as varied as can be. There were theatrical releases; there were streaming-only surprises. It ended up being our most competitive list in years, with a handful of fresh faces and some familiar ones as well. Buckle up; these are the top 15 of 2019.
The Farewell
Andrew Johnson: I’ve written a fair amount on this site about the power of specificity. One of the wonderful things about this decade of “wokeness” — this decade in which women and people of color have only just started to get their big shot behind the camera — is that it has opened up entirely new worlds for the rest of us. These worlds are unfamiliar, but they are specific and lived in. And here is The Farewell, one last example from the 2010s of why all of this is such a good thing - why we need more and more. Lulu Wang’s American film about a Chinese-American family transported me somewhere new and different but told a story that was universal. Yes, please.
Steve Cimino: The conceit is brilliant: a family can’t reveal to its matriarch that she’s dying. It’s both distinct and broad: even if you’re not Chinese, you can grasp the concept of letting someone go peacefully. But what’s peaceful about blatant dishonesty? And isn’t it telling that the film’s younger generation — led by Golden Globe winner Awkwafina — finds this whole enterprise particularly distasteful? This is a story about being stuck between two worlds, about respecting the past while recognizing the need to embrace the future. Its poignant and funny; it’s a culture-crossing gem.
The Irishman
AJ: Martin Scorsese’s latest film works on two levels. It is yet another gangster epic, a coda to a career that has basically defined the genre. It has many of the same hallmarks as Goodfellas, Mean Streets, Casino, and other Scorsese classics, but a more mature, thoughtful, ponderous tone, building on what came before. It is also a meditation on aging and legacy, wrestling, just under the surface, with what it is to put art out in to the world and lose some control of how it is interpreted. It’s a masterwork from one of our greatest living directors.
SC: My hot take: it’s not long enough. Only 209 minutes, Marty?! Go ahead and tack on at least 30 more. That said, even at a lean three and a half hours, it’s phenomenal. We’ve broken it down in detail all over this site; there’s not much more to say. Pesci is transcendent; Pacino recaptures at least a little of his old magic; De Niro quietly carries the entire thing on his back. It feels like Scorsese’s last batch of thoughts on the gangster genre, in which the ramifications of his characters’ choices are finally depicted in meticulous detail.
Little Women
AJ: This kind of movie isn’t for guys like me, you’re thinking. Well, that’s what you’re thinking if you’re anything like me, at least. What a dumb thought. Director and writer Greta Gerwig ups her game significantly in her second feature, and it’s not like Lady Bird was just some promising start. The degree of difficulty here is insanely high. Little Women is a beloved story adapted many times for the screen. Her cast features three generations of the world’s finest actresses — from Meryl Streep to Laura Dern to Saiorse Ronan and Florence Pugh. This could have been a disappointment of epic proportions. Instead, it is an utter delight, a crowd-pleaser that does justice to both the source material and the author behind it.
SC: In a world where The Irishman doesn’t exist, Little Women is my movie of the year. I’ve seen it twice; I wept both times. Andrew already named all the amazing women in this; let’s throw a little shoutout to Tracy Letts as well, another Gerwig favorite who really shines in a smaller role. It also features (spoiler alert) Bob Odenkirk with absurd mutton chops. If your audience didn’t burst out laughing when he appears, you are a patron of a bad movie theater. Seriously, though, the way Gerwig mixes contemporary and period is a thing of beauty. This could’ve been lazy and straightforward; instead, Greta fills it with life.
Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood
AJ: Scorsese wasn’t the only beloved director to wrestle with legacy and memory in 2019. Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood continues a trend in one sense — it’s an alternate history with bursts of shocking and extreme comedic violence. In another, it is a return to Tarantino at his best. It is somber and slower than his last few films, a pace that allows you to soak up the mood and the Southern California sun that comes with it. It's his best in years.
SC: This one is almost ruined by its ending. Call me a snowflake but (spoiler alert) I don’t need Brad Pitt to destroy a woman’s face that violently, even if she is part of the Manson Family. It felt cathartic when Tarantino’s characters brutally killed monsters like Hitler and slave owners; I’m not sure that random Manson acolytes, murderous as they were, deserve a similar gruesome fate. The fact that it still made my top 10 is a testament to the 140 minutes that came before. Leo and Pitt are remarkable, Pacino delivers his other great performance of 2019, and Margot Robbie does far more with her wordless scenes than many critics would have you believe. It’s high-quality QT.
Parasite
AJ: Funny. Chilling. Thrilling. Of the moment. But not too of the moment — not too easy to pin down as a class-based polemic. I don’t think Bong Joon Ho’s film was quite my favorite of the year, but my gut tells me this is the one we’ll still be talking about in five or 10 years. It twists and turns and reveals each plot point so as to set you up for an unforgettable third act. It’s great, just great. And it’s heartening to see Korean cinema recognized on such a grand stage and for such a grand film.
SC: I wrote about Parasite already, and I like it even more as time goes by. The beginning is hilarious; the ending is dark and profound. I’m shocked that it resonated so strongly with American audiences, but I’m also thrilled that Bong’s genius is finally being recognized. Some awards love for Song Kang-ho would’ve been the icing on the cake, but I can live with baby steps for now. To paraphrase Bong at the Golden Globes, embrace subtitles. Your life will be better for it.
The Best of the Rest
1917
Sam Mendes’ harrowing World War I story is a gut-feel film at its core. It stumbles whenever it makes space for a cameo by a famous British actor and the apparently obligatory lines of cliche dialogue that come with them. Fortunately, it spends most of its time and trains virtually all of its gaze on the likes of Dean Charles Chapman and George MacKay, allowing them to be our tour guides through the suffocating, harrowng environs of a First World War battlefield. This is a powerfully visceral experience - a trip to a place you’d never want to go in real life. - AJ
American Factory
On its surface — and maybe even in its second and third layers — American Factory is largely an elegy to unions and labor rights. The documentary, produced in part by the Obamas, starts on a hopeful note, with an old General Motors plant in Ohio re-opened by Chinese investors. It ends on a profoundly sour one, with a union movement snuffed out, more by dreaded American “labor consultants” than by Chinese management. I was more struck, though, by the way it captures the profound awkwardness, uncertainty, and also potential that comes with increasing globalism. There is much to be learned from the blending of cultures, but only with patience and respect — two qualities in short supply these days. - AJ
Dolemite Is My Name
There’s a lot of Netflix on my list! Almost too much; I nearly left Dolemite off as a result. But that felt stupid; as much as I enjoyed Hustlers and Toy Story 4, I liked Craig Brewer’s movie more. It doesn’t strive to be anything greater than a comedic biopic, but it nails every underlying element in the process. Eddie Murphy is charming and absurd. And Wesley Snipes, my god. There was no universe where he’d get an Oscar nomination for this, but he deserved one. His work is up there with Pesci and Pitt, and this is up there with 2019’s best. - SC
High Life
Us adults are permitted approximately one good space movie a year these days. I just wasn’t expecting it to be this bleak, moody, intimate one from French director Claire Denis. Robert Pattinson — who, honestly guys, is going to win an Oscar soon — is the heart and soul of a film about a father and daughter isolated in the outer reaches of space. It doesn’t have the creepy crawlies of its most notable inspiration, Alien, but it is terrifying in its own special, the-universe-is-vast-and-unforgiving kind of way. What a turn by Juliette Binoche as a spaced-out, sexed-up Nurse Ratched, too. - AJ
The Last Black Man in San Francisco
This could’ve a two-hour rant about gentrification, which would’ve made for a clunky debut from first-time writer and director Joe Talbot. Instead, it’s a thoughtful examination of why we cling to things, as opposed to how they’re changing around us. Talbot and co-creator (and star!) Jimmie Fails aren’t here to dissect the city that’s leaving them behind. Their San Francisco was broken long before rich people started buying up all the homes, and their connection to that broken city — and the broken people it produced — isn’t as pure and healthy as it might seem. It’s complicated and complex, with an undercurrent of weird fun throughout. I can’t wait to see what Talbot’ll do next.
Marriage Story
Noah Baumbach can be very hit or miss. Hit: The Squid and the Whale! Miss: While We’re Young. Hit: Greenberg! Miss: Margot at the Wedding. Luckily, Marriage Story is one of his bigger hits. Much like with Squid and the Whale, he’s at his best when depicting a disrupted family; having Adam Driver and Scarlett Johansson at your disposal also doesn’t hurt. Yet the real stars are the supporting cast: Oscar-lock Laura Dern, Alan Alda, and especially Ray Liotta. This can be a tough one to watch, but it’s worth the discomfort. - SC
Toy Story 4
As I wrote earlier this year, there is no better movie franchise than Toy Story. The course of animated film was altered forever with the first entry in the series. The three films since — including this last one — have improbably made the characters richer and more meaningful. At every stage of life so far, Toy Story has had something at its core that felt relevant — important even — to me, which feels like nothing short of a cinematic miracle. - AJ
Transit
OK, sure, Bong Joon Ho is a master craftsman. While we’re all celebrating his well deserved Best Director nomination, let’s spare a thought for another foreign director who has quietly made a few of the best films of the last decade. I remain haunted and in awe of Christian Petzold’s Phoenix — one of my favorites of the 2010s. And he closed out the decade with another stunning work, one that toys with time and identity and otherness and even the skeletal outlines of maybe the greatest film of all-time (Casablanca). Petzold has so much to say, and he says it in such profound, unique ways. Here’s hoping film buffs are listening and watching. - AJ
The Two Popes
This one is all about its titular popes. Jonathan Pryce and Anthony Hopkins are delightful together, especially given the switcheroo they pull off at the midway point. Both get a chance to pop on the pope robes, and both find the obligation heavy and terrifying in their own ways. Director Fernando Meirelles and writer Anthony McCarten certainly gloss over the priest molestation scandal, to their detriment, and the flashbacks to Young Pryce only deprive us of more Old Pryce. But beyond that, it was a true joy to watch these two popes become best buds. - SC
Uncut Gems
I was expecting a nonstop, taut thrill ride, a la Good Time, where Adam Sandler’s Howard Ratner gets himself out of tight spot after tight spot. Instead, we got 100 minutes of setup, followed by the best 30 minutes of cinema 2019 had to offer. It took me quite a while to fall in love with Uncut Gems, but the brilliance of Josh and Benny Safdie is not up for debate after that remarkable conclusion. Sandler more than holds his own, and the idea to center it all around an otherwise meaningless Celtics-76ers playoff series from 2012 is brilliant. But honestly, I’d buy a third ticket to this movie just to watch that final half hour one more time. - SC
