2021 offered some great movies to get movie-lovers through this long year. PHOTO CREDIT: imbd.com
2021 has been a huge year in regards to the return of the movie-going experience and films released to both streaming and theaters, sometimes in concurrent fashion.
With the year nearly wrapping up and a new slate of Christmas releases hoping to earn further box office success and Academy Award recognition, it is time to look at some of the best films of 2021.
My first choice, and arguably the best film of the year, is “Judas and the Black Messiah.” The Shaka King-directed drama based on true events follows how the FBI propositions William O’Neal (LaKeith Stanfield) to infiltrate and gather intelligence about the Illinois Black Panther Party and their chairman Fred Hampton (Daniel Kaluuya). The film is both a great look into the history of the FBI investigation into the Black Panther party and a presentation of a great narrative about Hampton.
The cinematography and performances are nothing short of spectacular with plenty of nice surprises in its heartbreaking, yet truthful, third act. Balancing the line of good entertainment and a based-on-true-events narrative, “Judas and the Black Messiah” is a truly great drama.
“Pieces of a Woman” is another film that caught my attention. It was released in theaters just two days before 2021 and onto Netflix for streaming a week into the year. “Pieces of a Woman” follows the story of a couple losing a child in a home birth that leads to the girlfriend’s family suing the midwife. The Kornél Mundruczó-directed drama features plenty of phenomenal performances from Vanessa Kirby in the lead role of Martha and Ellen Burstyn as her mother.
The opening sequence that showcases the home birth and eventual miscarraige of the child is both heartbreaking and interesting. The film acknowledges the pressures that family members can have on this terrible situation and Shia Labeouf gives a pretty memorable performance as Martha’s boyfriend Sean. On a script level, the film features some of the better character monologues I’ve seen in a 2021 film and ends with a greater understanding of loss and grief.
Moving on to another genre, “The Green Knight” is the latest adaptation of Sir Gawain and is a great visual interpretation of the story. The film, directed by David Lowery, is not a true action film; it instead focuses on the journey of the vain and carefree Sir Gawain, who is trying to earn his rank as one of King Arthur’s knights.
This film is a visual marvel that showcases the journey of Sir Gawain in an odd, yet satisfying, fashion where Dev Patel gives one of his career-best performances. Alicia Vikander also is very good in two different roles across the film, and there is never a truly dull moment. The film does feature a few confusing narrative choices, which all culminate in a very good conclusion that simultaneously raises questions while concluding its narrative.
One of the only advance screenings that I could attend this year ended up being for one of the better horror films of 2021. “The Night House” is the latest film from David Bruckner and follows the story of widow Beth (Rebecca Hall), who thinks that there is dark secret within the house that her late husband built before committing suicide.
“The Night House” is a slow burn thriller that consistently offers narrative surprises as Beth continues to learn more about who her husband was. Still, the slow burn is never boring because of the lead performance from Hall, who gives the best performance by an actress in a film that likely won’t be nominated at the Academy Awards (see also Elisabeth Moss in “The Invisible Man” in 2021 and Lupita Nyong’o in “Us” in 2020).
By the time that the film reaches its third act, “The Night House” offers some visually stunning and creepy imagery that both confuses and intrigues the audience before presenting a slightly abrupt ending. “The Night House” is a weird and interesting thriller that keeps up suspense.
The final best film of the year contender is “The Card Counter,” which is the latest film from Paul Scrader, starring Oscar Issac as professional card counter William Tell who goes from casino to casino after leaving military prison. The drama is a great character study that features a great leading performance from Issac. The subplot of Tell’s involvement in abusive interrogation techniques initiated by Major John Gordo (Willem Dafoe) which caused Tell’s time in prison is simultaneously brutal and interesting.
By incorporating two intriguing subplots about professional gambling and enhanced interrogation, “The Card Counter” is a very engaging slow burn drama that features good performances from the supporting cast of Tiffany Haddish and Tye Sheridan. The film features plenty of twists and only some repetitive narration from Issac.
With “Spider-Man: No Way Home,” “The Matrix Resurrections” and other blockbusters slated for release through the rest of the year, 2021 has been a good and challenging year for the film industry. While not every film has met expectations by general audiences, 2021 confirmed that the theater experience is here to stay.