This is the second of two posts detailing my top 20 films of 2024. I previously ran you through my best films of 2024 (20-11) and here, I’ll unveil my top ten. I find it rather interesting that all bar one of these films came out in the first half of the year (according to the UK release calendar).
10) The Zone of Interest
The Zone of Interest is a fiercely original work from Jonathan Glazer, his first film in eleven years. It tells the story of Rudolf Höss, the longest-serving commandant of the Auschwitz concentration camp, where he lived with his wife Hedwig (Sandra Hüller) in what they perceived as their idyllic home. Small catch – the garden wall with barbed wire atop it is shared with Auschwitz.
The result is an uncomfortable viewing and a film that really gets under your skin. The Zone of Interest represents the most important use of sound I can think of in quite some time – the sound of the droning concentration camp with its whirring machinery is ever-present during mundane conversation and day-to-day life. Glazer never shows us the atrocities inside the camp and what we hear beyond the frame is another film in itself. I loved the surreal elements too, particularly a storyline shot with thermal cameras. The Zone of Interest is a fascinating work in Glazer’s career, despite its cold and intentionally bad taste that will leave you thinking long after the credits have rolled.
9) Longlegs
Longlegs is a horror thriller written and directed by Osgood Perkins, his fourth film but by far his highest profile effort. The film follows Lee Harker (Maika Monroe), an FBI agent assigned to investigate a decades-spanning case of a series of brutal murder-suicides. Although Longlegs isn’t as outright scary as some have made it out to be and is more of a crime thriller, this is still a barnstorming original effort from Perkins. He maintains a real sense of dread and tension throughout and the film is relentlessly bleak with some a terrific central performance by Maika Monroe. The film’s beautifully shot by Andrés Arochi, favouring close-ups of characters but keeping the background in shot – an early scene where Harker reads a letter following a home invasion is brilliantly shot as we’re constantly peering at the edge of the kitchen door frame. I also loved the muted, grey colour palette and the dreary, dilapidated homes many of the characters live in that portray the Oregonian setting is not particularly affluent. It’s also complemented by an excellent, rather minimalist score by Zilgi (who is actually the director’s’ brother, Elvis Perkins) but there are equally many scenes of silence which really contributes to the dread. While perhaps a little too neatly crafted in its narrative, Longlegs is a fiersomely original horror directed with real skill and flair.
8) Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes is an uncommonly intelligent sequel and is another strong entry in the series. With Andy Serkis’ Caesar kicking the bucket at the end of War for the Planet of the Apes, this film picks up ‘many generations’ after War’s conclusion with a new set of characters. The underlying social subtext is what really allows the Planet of the Apes films to excel, and the lack of it is what lets down its two weakest instalments – Tim Burton’s misguided Planet of the Apes remake and Beneath the Planet of the Apes. The idea of exploring how a key figure’s teachings have been twisted after a period of time is a genius move, reflecting the intrigue and conflict brought by religion in our world. I loved how director Wes Ball advances the aesthetic and tone of the series – gone are the predominantly forested surroundings of Dawn and War and its road movie influence feels closer to earlier entries of the original pentology. The abandoned human world is fascinating to pick apart, from rusted escalators to buildings covered in overgrown fauna. There’s some great set-pieces too, with fast-paced and memorable action sequences, the highlight being one on a bridge. The film is lusciously shot by Gyula Pados and John Paesano does a great job with the score, no mean feat coming off of Michael Giacchino’s work. Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes does an excellent job of advancing the reboot series, while brimming with potent social subtext and respecting what made the original pentology work.
7) Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
Those wanting a rehash of Mad Max: Fury Road should rethink their expectations because Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga plays out very differently – a mature and slow-burn revenge thriller split into five chapters. Except for perhaps ten minutes when the characters reach The Green Place in Fury Road, that film was effectively a non-stop car chase whereas there’s plenty of room to breathe this time around. Considering he’s almost eighty years old, Miller’s film is brimming with the same passionate energy with some truly breathtaking action sequences, the highlight an extended chase aboard the War Rig. There’s plenty of meat to the bone to all the characters too, with an excellent script Miller co-wrote with Nico Lathouris, and it’s expectedly beautifully shot by Simon Duggan. Although she doesn’t show up until the third chapter, Anya Taylor-Joy stuns as the titular character. Not only is her performance magnetic, but she also embodies Charlize Theron’s (who played the character in Fury Road) sounds and mannerisms.
6) Civil War
Civil War is a brilliant film and director Alex Garland’s best work to date – it’s well-paced and sustains its unnerving tension throughout. I really connected with the characters and the film looks more expensive than its $50 million budget suggests. I loved its depiction of journalism in how there is the dedication, thrill, rush and joy of creating content. The idea of one photo in every 100 being perfect is also true, but the lengths in which Garland depicts journalists in capturing even a single photo (for example, by jumping into enemy gunfire) is chilling. I also loved how photojournalism was edited into the film and Civil War is about how a story becomes an image. Sound is also used to brilliant effect, with the lack of sound in key sequences very effective in increasing tension and portraying how used to violence these characters have become. While the performance are uniformly excellent, it’s Jesse Plemons that stands out as a racist militant.
5) Io Capitano
Io Capitano is a terrific and thought-provoking piece from Italian director Matteo Garrone about two teenage cousins who decide to leave their native Senegal for a more prosperous future in Italy. While its first twenty minutes are quite atypical of Garrone’s usual directorial style, once the boys leave home, this is an immersive experience through and through. A scene with a desperate woman falling behind as a group walk through a desert is particularly affecting, especially with how Garrone plays with time and hallucinations. The ending is also bleak and hard-hitting yet simultaneously joyous. An extended sequence set in a prison is also typical of Garrone and I really brought the relationship between Seydou (Seydou Sarr) and Martin (Issaka Sawagodo), a man he’s imprisoned with. Garrone masterfully often shows but doesn’t tell and I always respect it when a filmmaker treats their audience as intelligent.
4) American Fiction
American Fiction is a highly entertaining literary comedy with a blisteringly sharp script that in some ways, feels like a film a more muted Spike Lee would make. This is a tough genre to crack and there have been far more failures than hits but I genuinely laughed quite a few times at this. There’s also more than a few kernels of truth about the publishing industry and what it means to be a writer, exploring the highs and lows of both the creative process and critical reception. But Cord Jefferson (in his directorial debut) deftly balances his commentary on the media with a heartfelt treatment of the themes of loneliness and family. The family drama element of the film is equally riveting, with the treatment of Alzheimers touching and the mundane but necessary tasks of trying to get someone into a home. There’s some terrific performances here too, especially Jeffrey Wright who’s always been a reliable screen presence but doesn’t often take the lead role. Wright nails the prickly, depressing nature of his character as he struggles to fit in and open up to people but with an almost lovable quality. To think this is only the directorial debut of Cord Jefferson makes me excited to see where he goes next.
3) Kinds of Kindness
One of two Yorgos Lanthimos films to release this year, Kinds of Kindness sees the director reteam with Efthimis Filippou in their first writing collaboration since The Killing of a Sacred Deer (in my opinion, Lanthimos’ best film). An thrillingly cold-hearted abrudist triptych with a razor dry sense of humour, Kinds of Kindness represents the director at his most daring. It’s a fascinating film, where not everything in the three stories is meant to tie together, but it doesn’t stop one trying to piece the puzzle together. Jesse Plemons is sensational as the lead in the first two stories and Emma Stone and Willem Dafoe are also reliably excellent. Kinds of Kindness is a fascinating film in Lanthimos’ catalogue and while I expect he’ll be tempted to make more mainstream fare given The Favourite and Poor Things‘ reception, I love the eerie strangeness and uncomfortable feeling when he has a hand in the script.
2) The Holdovers
The Holdovers is the new Alexander Payne film and his first since 2017’s Downsizing. Payne reunites with his Sideways lead Paul Giamatti who stars as Paul Hunham, a strict classics teacher at Barton Academy, a New England boarding school that he attended back in his youth. The Holdovers is Payne at his best and is a tender delight from start to finish, but it deftly balances its warmth with a bittersweet tone. The performances are terrific all around, especially Giamatti, and the film perfectly evokes classic 1970’s cinema with its intentionally rustic aesthetic – it looks and feels like a work made at the time. It’s beautifully shot by In Bruges cinematographer Eigil Bryld, especially the wintry landscapes during the opening credits and some disorienting frames that feature late into the film. Paul Giamatti turns in what I’d probably consider a career-best performance as Hunham. Hunham is both lovable and loathsome and an easy character to relate to with the hardships he’s faced in life. In fact, there are many similarities between Hunham and Miles Raymond, the character Giamatti plays in Sideways – both characters that have been hard done-by in life.
I absolutely loved The Holdovers and was completely swept up by the film throughout, with its intelligent script and committed performances. It’s Payne’s best film since Sideways and after only the best part of a year since its release, I predict it will become a Christmas classic. They certainly don’t make films like this anymore.
So the best film of the year is…
1) Poor Things
The first Yorgos Lanthimos film to release this year takes top honours. Poor Things is Lanthimos back on track (I thought The Favourite was flawed) with a brilliantly twisted, uncomfortable yet multi-layered triumph. A film that gets better on each viewing, Poor Things is narratively stuffed with thought-provoking themes, striking visuals and evocative production design. Robbie Ryan’s cinematography is a career-best, with every frame a painting worth pausing to analyse, which is interesting considering some of his work can be quite vanilla. The film boldly experiments with colour and perspectives are often shot through a fish-eye lens and it’s supported by the lavish production design. I also loved the retrofuturistic vision, with the Victorian London setting contrasting with succeeding elements.
Emma Stone turns in a career-best performance as the Frankenstein-like Bella Baxter, who opens the film as an inquisitive and brash child and ends as a self-made woman. I’ve sometimes struggled with her performances in the past and couldn’t believe she won the Best Actress Oscar for La La Land but not so here. Willem Dafoe is also reliably brilliant as the eccentric surgeon, who belches bubbles at the dinner table due to a health condition. Mark Ruffalo provides much of the comic relief as Wedderburn, who becomes increasingly child-like as the film progresses, although his British accent is rather wandery. Poor Things came out right at the very start of the year and nothing’s been able to dethrone it from the number one spot.
What are your favourite films of 2024? Let me know in the comments or tweet @TheFilmMeister
The Film Meister 