Top 15 Films of 2024 – Allen’s Picks
The Brutalist (2024) is an epic in every sense of the term: in size, scope, drama, emotion, and runtime. Director Brady Corbet (who cowrites with Mona Fastvold) has crafted a narrative that is sweeping in style and theme. Through the journey of architect and WWII survivor László Tóth (Adrien Brody) – along with his wife Erzsébet (Felicity Jones) – the film captures America at a turning point. It is a seen by immigrants as a place of refuge, possibility, and the so-called “dream” of a better life. But as our characters soon find out, it is also one of ugliness and greed. Although Tóth has found an avenue to pursue his creative vision, he has also discovered new enemies of whom he is ill prepared to deal with. The cast brings their A games to their respective parts, but it is Adrien Brody who is the heart and soul, giving his best performance since The Pianist (2002). This is stunning filmmaking, the kind of grandiose undertaking not often seen in present times.
4) Sing Sing
Highlighting a group of incarcerated inmates, Sing Sing (2024) takes us inside the hearts and minds of each of them, revealing their humanity, their grace, and their very souls. In a place where individuality and self-expression are so often suppressed, it is through theater and performance that these men find their voices again. Director Greg Kwedar (with cowriter Clint Bentley) takes a grounded and natural approach, developing the chemistry between the characters in an organic fashion. Colman Domingo gives one of his best performances as an inmate trying to cling onto the hope of one day being released. But it is Clarence Maclin who is the big surprise here, providing supporting work that is rough, rugged, charismatic, and heartfelt. Art is a transformative platform, allowing people to find empathy and humanity within themselves they may never knew existed. Sing Sing captures how art can be used as a saving grace.
The Wild Robot (2024) is not only the best animated film of the year, it is one of the best animated films DreamWorks has ever created. It is a tale of family, parenthood, growing up, and learning to find your place in the world. Through gorgeous, watercolor like animation, we’re introduced to a robot assistant (Lupita Nyong’o) who gets lost on an abandoned island, interacts with the wildlife, and comes to care for a baby goose. Logically, the story doesn’t make a whole lot of sense (the Circle of Life exists for a reason). But thematically, it works masterfully. It operates as a metaphor for coming together, finding common ground despite our differences, and learning to love one another for who we are. Every artistic choice felt perfect – there wasn’t a moment that came off as insincere or phony. The film earns its emotion through intelligent writing and beautiful animation. I loved every single second of it.
2) Anora
Another entry into writer/director Sean Baker’s streak of well-made, colorful movies about people we don’t see every day. He takes a premise that may seem off the wall or unconventional and finds the human factor underneath, connecting us to his narrative so that we can understand where these characters are coming from. It is the story of the American Dream – whether that means a home, someone to love, or simply finding a place to exist. It is hilarious, profane, and romantic all in equal measure. Mikey Madison gives one of the year’s best performances as a character who thought she found a Cinderella-like happy ending. Instead, she gets dropped into an odyssey of increasingly absurd hijinks. This is a film that is hilarious one moment, moving in the next, and consistently gripping all throughout.
One of the most freewheeling, grotesque, and beautiful films of 2024, The Substance (2024) is extreme in nearly all phases – thematically, conceptionally, and cinematically. Writer/director Coralie Fargeat follows up her excellent Revenge (2017) with a bombastic examination of aging, fame, and gender dynamics. She gets career best performances out of Demi Moore, Margaret Qualley, Dennis Quaid, and more, to tell a horror/sci-fi tale that is simultaneously insightful and stomach churning. The film blasts the hinges of the doors with jet-fueled propulsion. But for all its viscera, we never get a sense that we are in the hands of a filmmaker who has cut corners or is placating toward the audience. What ends up on screen benefits from a vision that doesn’t compromise.
The Substance is the best film of the year because it is simply tremendous – a no-holding-back electric shock to the veins. It starts off on a highwire and never lets up. Every element – from the writing, direction, acting, camerawork, costuming, set design, theming, and beyond – fires on all cylinders. It is a masterwork of blood, guts, and smarts. This is an experience that grabs you by the shoulders and forces you to pay attention. 2024 has been filled with excellent films from all corners of the world, with this one earning the top spot with the subtlety of a jackhammer.
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