We’re almost at the end of 2024, so it’s time to look back and decide on the best movies we’ve seen this year. These ‘best of the year’ lists are far from definitive, ask us tomorrow and our choices might be different. That’s the beauty of film in a way; so many to love and so little time to enjoy them all.
So here you go: 15 movies, 3 writers, 1 list. Merry Christmas you filthy animals.
A Different Man
Director: Aaron Schimberg
Sebastian Stan plays Edward, an aspiring actor with a severe facial disfigurement. When offered the opportunity to be rid of his facial deformities, Edward uses this as a springboard into a new life. But is Edward’s quality of life necessarily better, just because he wears a more aesthetically pleasing face? Stan delivers his best work yet in A Different Man. His physicality of a broken, awkward man filled with self-hatred, the emotional agony of constant rejection, before his eventual descent into madness when he realises that the masks we wear do not determine our self-worth.
– Natasha Alvar
A Real Pain
Director: Jesse Eisenberg
For this writer, Jesse Eisenberg could simply place a camera on himself while walking around aimlessly for two hours and it’d be fascinating. But placing a camera on himself and a gabby, needling Kieran Culkin as they traverse Poland in honour of their recently-deceased grandmother is more than fascinating. The central duo are excellent together, finding the perfect blend of animosity and affection, and Eisenberg’s direction is beautiful as he asks big questions about society, religion and whether it’s a sign of evil to take the train in the first-class carriage.
– George White
Anora
Director: Sean Baker
Anchored by an unforgettable performance from Mikey Madison, director Sean Baker’s Anora is an intense, darkly comedic, and heartbreaking fairytale turned on its head — a cautionary story about the dehumanizing power of wealth, the perils of young love, and the false promises of the American Dream, rendered through Baker’s unflinching yet empathetic eye. Madison’s portrayal of Anora (or “Ani,” as she prefers to be called) deserves all of its awards-season attention. She takes us along each step of the way on Ani’s emotional highs and lows, ultimately forming a textured portrait of a woman striving to survive and maintain her dignity in an environment that disregards her personhood.
– Alex McPherson
Challengers
Director: Luca Guadagnino
Guadagnino’s Challengers uses tennis as a metaphor to discuss the relationships between three people: Tashi (Zendaya), Art (Mike Faist) and Patrick (Josh O’Connor). The narrative is non-linear, and flows very much like a tennis match. We’re thrown back and forth between the past, the present, and the moments in between, each scene helping us understand these characters and their motivations. The techno beats of Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross’ score is hypnotic, and complements the cinematography so well. That final sequence will have you on the edge of your seat, ready to fall over from the adrenaline of it all. Good cinema makes you feel something while you’re watching, and Challengers succeeds wholeheartedly.
– Natasha Alvar
Conclave
Director: Edward Berger
When the Pope passes away, Dean Lawrence (Ralph Fiennes) finds himself burdened with the most arduous of tasks: to lead conclave and make sure the proceedings go smoothly. But even among men of God there are differing politics and agendas, and with so much doubt in the air, can Cardinal Lawrence navigate through all the smoke and land on the right man for the job? Fiennes is in fine form here, delivering a quietly affecting performance as the doubting Dean Lawrence. The movie is wonderfully framed and shot – I especially love the clusters of red-clothed cardinals set against blue and white backdrops. That overhead shot of the umbrella-holding cardinals is visually stunning and one of the best things I’ve seen in a movie this year.
– Natasha Alvar
Do Not Expect Too Much from the End of the World
Director: Radu Jude
Acclaimed director Radu Jude delivers a blisteringly funny satire in his latest effort. We follow Angela (Ilinca Manolache), an overworked, underpaid, and understandably cynical production assistant, as she perpetually drives around Bucharest filming auditions for a safety video for a multinational company, finding occasional relief by filming TikTok videos as her caricatured alter-ego, Bobiță. Tackling worker exploitation, the cold heart of capitalism, the complicated nature of filmmaking, the ever-relatable yearning for self-expression, and much more, Do Not Expect is stuffed with deep ideas, laced with Jude’s trademark acerbic wit and stylistic flair rendering the film both timely and timeless.
– Alex McPherson
Dune: Part Two
Director: Denis Villeneuve
Following up the success of 2021’s Dune seemed an impossible task. That film did the unthinkable – taking an almost inaccessibly complex book and turning it into an immersive big-screen odyssey. Yet director Denis Villeneuve didn’t just follow up on that film – he arguably surpassed it. Dune: Part Two is bigger, bolder, and even more cinematic than the first, telling a satisfying tale of revenge for Timothée Chalamet’s Paul Atreides, with the young star once again proving himself to be one of the most talented performers on the planet right now.
– George White
Hard Truths
Director: Mike Leigh
With one of the strongest ensembles of the year, and a towering performance from Marianne Jean-Baptiste, director Mike Leigh’s Hard Truths speaks to our current moment of societal turmoil (the pain, malaise, and increasing lack of empathy) and emphasizes how small acts of kindness and dialogue can slowly-but-surely thaw even the most hardened souls. Jean-Baptiste’s Pansy is a force-of-nature who’s shockingly funny, scary, and deeply sad; Leigh’s film finds real pathos in reading between the lines, giving no clear-cut answers but still offering shreds of hope in otherwise bleak circumstances. An emotional, must-watch experience.
– Alex McPherson
Hundreds of Beavers
Director: Mike Cheslik
There are few films in recent memory that reach the comedic and inventive heights of director Mike Cheslik’s Hundreds of Beavers. It’s a black-and-white, slapstick odyssey that evokes everything from Buster Keaton to America’s Funniest Home Videos and classic video games. Brought to life with one-of-a-kind DIY effects, tons of mascot costumes, and admirably committed performances, this is a film that demands to be watched with a crowd. The hilarity mounts minute-by-minute as each gag builds upon the other, establishing its own unique, twisted logic — eventually reaching a fever-pitch of craziness and pure entertainment that, simply put, no other film could match in 2024.
– Alex McPherson
I Saw the TV Glow
Director: Jane Schoenbrun
No movie this year has been as hauntingly beautiful as Jane Schoenbrun’s I Saw the TV Glow. Centred on the characters Owen (Justice Smith) and Maddy (Brigette Lundy-Paine) and their love for the TV show The Pink Opaque, the movie is a metaphor for the trans experience and the 90s obsession with TV. Both lonely individuals, they find some semblance of joy through their connection to the characters Isabel and Tara. While Maddy’s eager to escape suburban ennui and find a space to belong, Owen’s fear keeps him rooted to familiar, unhappy spaces and stuck in dead-end jobs. Schoenbrun’s film asserts that “there is still time” to grasp your true self and the happiness that comes with it, even as bleak as things may seem. That school hallway scene set to Starburned and Unkissed by Caroline Polachek is one of the best needle-drop moments in cinema this year.
– Natasha Alvar
Love Lies Bleeding
Director: Rose Glass
What is there to say about this, really, other than ‘wow’? Following Kristen Stewart’s gym worker Lou as she seeks to escape the rule of her evil father, Lou Sr (a deeply unsettling Ed Harris), Rose Glass’ blood-soaked exploration of female rage really is one of those ‘if you know, you know’ films, spearheaded by Katy O’Brian’s towering (in more ways than one) performance. Other movies out this year may have been slightly more polished, but very few stick in the memory in quite the same way as Love Lies Bleeding – especially after that fantastical ending.
– George White
Monkey Man
Director: Dev Patel
Sometimes it’s obvious when a film is someone’s passion project. Every shot is so meticulously thought-out that it’s clear there’s been no margin for error, with this attention to detail elevating the production from good to great. Monkey Man is a prime example. Director/co-writer/star Dev Patel fought incredibly hard to get this movie into cinemas, and makes the most of its release by fighting incredibly hard on the screen, with his down-on-his-luck street fighter bringing vengeance through blood, sweat and stunning set-pieces that rival the peak of the John Wick series. Bloody phenomenal stuff.
– George White
My Old Ass
Director: Megan Park
It’s a real challenge to tell hard-hitting stories while remaining light and fun, but My Old Ass finds the balance with aplomb. Through the events of high-schooler Elliott’s (played with ease by relative newcomer Maisy Stella, who is surely set for big things) final summer before heading off to college, director Megan Park explores complex subjects like young love and, you know, the meaning of life itself, but does so with a whip-smart sense of humour throughout. Oh, and there’s Aubrey Plaza in fine form, too – what’s not to love?
– George White
The Substance
Director: Coralie Fargeat
No film is beloved this year as much as The Substance. From the memes and the constant references to “Respect the balance”, it’s a film that resonates and entertains. The film is pitch perfect – fearless performances from Demi Moore and Margaret Qualley, body horror elements that deliver shock and awe, and a soundscape that will get your pulse pumping and your body gyrating. Coralie Fargeat’s film highlights the self-hatred and loathing society teaches us to develop about ourselves, and how far we will go to rip ourselves apart just to be valued and desired.
– Natasha Alvar
Wallace and Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl
Directors: Merlin Crossingham & Nick Park
After almost 20 years, the goofy, cheese-loving inventor Wallace (Ben Whitehead) and his ever-dependable but exasperated canine companion, Gromit, embark on another adventure that puts most recent animated films to shame. Sure, I might be biased, given that the original three shorts (especially The Wrong Trousers) were foundational in establishing my love of cinema, but this is still a charming, brilliantly clever treat, packed with nostalgic references, puns galore, and nuanced social commentary, this time zeroing in on navigating an AI-invaded world. Everyone’s favorite penguin, Feathers McGraw, also makes his triumphant return, further cementing his status as an all-time great antagonist.
– Alex McPherson
