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Thomas Duffy’s Top 10 Films of 2024
2024 offered audiences a little bit of everything. The types of movies that came out this year were able to suit the needs of almost any type of movie-goer. This year’s New York Film Festival was my favorite place to see some of the best pictures of 2024 although I must admit bouncing through different neighborhoods in Manhattan to catch the latest movies before anyone else gave me the opportunity to broaden my horizons and discover more changes throughout New York City that have occurred over the years.
Though my list of the year’s 10 best films should include movies like The Brutalist, Sing Sing, Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story and Coup de Chance, those films didn’t make the final cut. I hate myself for that. But, I love these aforementioned movies and am rooting for The Brutalist for Best Supporting Actor and Actress (Guy Pearce and Felicity Jones) at the Oscars. I’d love to see Colman Domingo receive an Oscar nomination for his heartfelt work in Sing Sing and, of course, would be enlightened to see Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story up for Best Documentary Feature. Woody Allen came up with his best work in years with Coup de Chance and seeing that up for Best Original Screenplay at the Oscars would put a smile on my face.
That being said, when I look at the films I have chosen as the best of the year, I beam with the thought of the potential Oscar nominations that could come from the masterful work that graced the screen this year. I am only saddened at the prospect of not seeing Tim Blake Nelson’s great performance in the film, Bang Bang, from this year’s Tribeca Festival receive a proper reception through a fitting theatrical release this year. That should happen soon, however, Without further ado, here we go looking back at the Best of 2024.
Thomas Duffy’s Top 10 Films of 2024
10. Young Woman and the Sea
Daisy Ridley was superb in a truly touching movie that scored so high with test audiences that it ranked among the best-tested Disney movies ever. So why didn’t it get a proper theatrical release and the appropriate reception? Perhaps, the studio was afraid to put lots of marketing money into it which makes sense since adults don’t go to the movies as much as they used to except in the case of big event films. However, Young Woman and the Sea was an event picture. As the brave real-life hero, Gertrude Ederle, Ridley captivated the viewer in every scene of this movie. Elderle was the first woman to swim across the English Channel and faced many formidable obstacles on her journey. This film chronicles her noble efforts in a moving and heartfelt way that is only enhanced by Amelia Warner’s rousing musical score which should not be overlooked come Oscar-nomination time. Young Woman and the Sea is a film I’ve recommended to many and those few who actually took the time to see it have thanked me for the recommendation. It’s absolutely unforgettable to behold. It may feel old school and old-fashioned in some respects but that’s what makes it a treasure of a movie.
9. Memoir of a Snail
I really loved Flow which is sweeping the 2024 Best Animated Feature awards these days. But, I adored Memoir of a Snail even more. A tale of a young brother and sister separated by fate and trying to exist with their own personal quirks and insecurities, Memoir of a Snail is the best stop-motion animation film since Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas. This recently released animated Australian picture is rated “R” which differentiates it from other kid-friendly movies. This is truly mature animation despite the fact that it could appear like a kids’ movie at first glance. Director Adam Elliot chronicles the life of the snail-loving Grace (voice of Sarah Snook) and her misfortunes as she attempts to live as normal a life as somebody as unique as she is could possibly live. This film was enhanced even more by Jacki Weaver voicing an aging character called Pinky who befriends Grace along the way as Grace holds on to the hope of seeing her brother again. Movie magic was truly at work here and though it will definitely be nominated as Best Animated Feature, it would be sad for me to see it not win.
8. Wicked: Part 1
OK. I’m a sucker for this movie even though it’s not entirely playing fair by deeming one of its stars, Ariana Grande, a “supporting actress” in the awards races. Cynthia Erivo, as Elphaba, may be the heart of the movie but Grande, as Glinda, is its very soul. Based on a “popular” Broadway musical, I don’t think there’s been a movie that’s won this much acclaim and fanfare since Titanic back in 1997. With The Wizard of Oz as a reference point, it’s easy to enjoy Wicked: Part 1 and get sucked into its world right from the very first frame. Erivo touches the heart with her performance here even though she’s destined for very “wicked” things. Watching Grande slide on the floor during the performance of the song, “Popular,” in the film is adorable but Grande moves and glides into her role with terrific energy that makes her performance nothing short of unforgettable. So unforgettable, in fact, that she has every right to compete in the Best Actress category with Erivo and other heavy-hitters. Wicked: Part 1 is an enjoyably fun time and one never feels the rather lengthy running time. Instead, one eagerly anticipates the next musical performance in the movie while wishing the picture never ended. Do we want “Part 2,” everyone? I know. But, sorry. You will have to wait a bit longer! Just watch “Part 1” again in the interim until you can sing every single song in the shower.
7. Heretic
It’s not every day that you see a horror film with Oscar-nomination worthy performances but there are two of them in the absolutely bone-chilling thriller, Heretic. Hugh Grant is in top form as the creepy Mr. Reed who takes two religious girls and flips their lives upside down after essentially kidnapping them. While proposing the fact that there may not be an afterlife or a God at all, he scares the living crap out of our young ladies. Thought-provoking in every way, Grant nailed this role in such a way that he’s received numerous accolades for his work. He’ll frighten the living hell out of you, for sure, through this wickedly fine performance. Sophie Thatcher is totally fine as Sister Barnes, one of the girls suffering Mr. Reed’s wrath, but it is Chloe East as Sister Paxton who is the revelation. I knew Chloe East was the next best thing since The Fabelmans but people still have to discover her and see for themselves. After seeing Heretic, you’ll see the intelligence behind her character’s outer naivete. Grant hams it up and does a great job but East will leave you rooting for her and hoping that Mr. Reed is wrong in his assertions about life and death. I loved this movie.
6. Dune: Part Two
It took me some time to warm up to the new Dune film series but, after seeing Dune: Part Two, I’m addicted. Austin Butler was supremely terrifying in the latest Dune sequel as Feyd-Rautha. I can’t believe there hasn’t been more talk of a potential Best Supporting Actor nod for him at the Oscars for his mesmerizing work here. Director Denis Villeneuve makes the love story between Chani (Zendaya) and Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet) fairy leap off the screen in such a way that one can’t help but be heartbroken and moved by the complexity of it all. Chalamet is winning accolades for his portrayal of Bob Dylan in A Complete Unknown and Zendaya is earning praise for Challengers from earlier in the year but the two stars’ work in Dune: Part Two makes the complexity their characters have in those other films slightly pale in comparison. While some people weren’t as big on Dune: Part Two as others, I’d rank it right up there with The Empire Strikes Back and The Hunger Games: Catching Fire as a sequel that far surpasses the original in every possible way. Hans Zimmer’s score, by the way, was quite melancholic and suited the themes of Dune: Part Two to a tee. This was the best big-budget Hollywood blockbuster of 2024.
5. Juror #2
Entering my top five of 2024, Clint Eastwood’s legal thriller, Juror #2, is something of a cinematic dinosaur but in a good way. Almost every other week in the 1990’s, Hollywood offered new thrillers from Presumed Innocent to the box-office and critical flop, Trial by Jury from 1994. The trend continued in a movie called Runaway Jury which competed with Eastwood’s own Mystic River back in 2003. It’s only fitting that after sitting through many legal thrillers over the years that Eastwood would be the one to keep me in awe of the justice system and in total suspense as to what would happen next in every single minute of Juror #2. Then, there’s the cast which couldn’t be beaten with a stick. Nicholas Hoult in the title role was nothing short of superb. His complex interaction with the lawyer played by Toni Collette held the viewer’s interest and then some. With a thought-provoking ending and supporting turns from the likes of J.K. Simmons, Zoey Deutch and Kiefer Sutherland, Juror #2 proves that Warner Bros., its studio, should have been putting their marketing muscle behind this one instead of Joker #2. But, history repeats itself. The studio looked away while Eastwood made Mystic River and Warner Bros. was more excited about The Matrix sequels. It was Mystic River, however, that scored far better with critics than those Matrix movies.
4. The Room Next Door
Watching the legendary Pedro Almodóvar’s first English language feature, The Room Next Door, is pure cinematic bliss from opening to close. It’s an actor’s paradise to be able to witness talents like the incomparable Tilda Swinton, the formidable Julianne Moore and the perfect John Turturro all come together to tell a remarkable, human story that centers around life and death in a way that only an Almodóvar film could ably do. Swinton and Moore play two old friends named Ingrid and Martha who reunite after a prolonged absence in their friendship. When Martha requests that Ingrid help her slowly trickle out of her life, Almodóvar bravely and distinctly demonstrates the healing (but, alas, temporary) power of the bond between good friends. Turturro, as Ingrid’s friend, Damian, is sneaking under people’s radars but he’s so good here as the male point-of-view of the things that occur throughout the picture. I couldn’t be more surprised that Swinton and Moore didn’t get Critics Choice nominations for their performances which makes me hope that one of them gets campaigned for Best Supporting Actress as to not cancel out two of the year’s best female performances. Complex dramatic films like The Room Next Door are rare and should be cherished when they do arrive.
3. The Beast
Léa Seydoux and George MacKay play lovers whose romance spans different time periods and doesn’t usually end happily in the riveting movie, The Beast. In fact, watching their doomed love affair(s) becomes something like witnessing a suspense movie in terms of the cat-and-mouse games that the characters use to try to find one another. Director Bertrand Bonello’s film takes its cues from other thrillers like Mulholland Drive and When a Stranger Calls as well as from disaster movies like the great Titanic to set its atmosphere but The Beast is actually truly inspired by Henry James’s literary work, The Beast in the Jungle. There are many great scenes here. One has Seydoux diving into some water to try to escape a dire fate. She discovers there is no way out of her dreaded situation. In another year, MacKay’s ticking time-bomb character, Louis, rants about how women don’t give him the time of day and how he can’t get laid despite having a nice car and wardrobe. Gabrielle (Seydoux) goes through her lifetime(s) over the centuries the movie spans looking beautiful but getting cheated out of the life she deserves both professionally and personally speaking. The Beast is nothing short of a masterpiece and there’s nothing I can say in this brief space that can be a substitute for seeing this masterful tapestry of a film in all its glory.
2. Anora
Sean Baker’s time to win the Oscar for Best Director is upon us. His previous work includes daring pieces of film-making such as The Florida Project and Red Rocket. His latest film, Anora, treads on Marty Scorsese territory but comes up feeling unique in terms of its wholly original story line. It’s about a stripper from Brooklyn named Anora (played with daring intensity by probable Oscar-nominee Mikey Madison) who marries the spoiled young son of a oligarch which leads to all hell breaking loose. There’s a supporting cast here that includes a great talent- the stellar Karren Karagulian who plays the voice of reason for the family that wants to annul Anora’s marriage to say the least. The movie shows us how Anora is exploited for money but comes to rely on that exploitation for survival. While entertaining the viewer with a subplot about the search for Anora’s new husband when he disappears, Baker’s film has bigger things to say than the sheer entertainment value of the picture makes the audience aware of. Mikey Madison is ferocious on-screen and she never lets up. She lets her character bear her body, heart and soul and the viewer is always captivated by both the simplicity and the complexity of Madison’s work, simultaneously. Anora is a master-class in New York storytelling and Baker is now officially rolling with the big boys.
1. Maria
Angelina Jolie captivates the viewer with her beautifully constructed and soulful performance in Maria. As the doomed opera singer, Maria Callas, Jolie’s work radiates with emotion and passion. Directed by Pablo Larraín, Maria gives the viewer the initial impression that Callas’s life choices are something which she can control. Unfortunately, the cards she was dealt with in life left her with a sorrowful hand. When Maria sings, she is the most alive. She comes to have an answer for everything but the viewer is not always sure that she knows the validity of what she’s saying. She’s present in the moment but also emotionally distant from the hurt that surrounds her. Maria Callas’s heartbreaks in life were quite sorrowful but she stood strong and fierce for as long as she could to prove she was a talent to be reckoned with. Born in New York, Callas died in Paris. Perhaps, all her glory was limited due to the high expectations she set for herself but those expectations were natural given the talent that Callas possessed. Jolie becomes her character in this movie in a spellbinding way. When the movie reveals its last moments, we only hope that Callas is in a better place. For the time she was here, she made quite the impact if this movie is any indication.
Thanks for reading as always! Here’s to a great 2025 at the movies. And look for more 2024 film reviews here at FilmBook over the next two and a half weeks or so. We’ve got a lot more to share about films coming out that may be of interest to all you movie fans out there. Until then, enjoy the holidays and see you at the movies.
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