The 2020s is now well past its half life, and it’s been a very volatile time for movie-goers. The decade began with a major shift in how we as a society consume media. The age of the streamer began and saw many tied to their family room TVs in order to catch the latest epics of Christopher Nolan or Steven Spielberg. Others found a way to make it out to the theaters when audiences were needed the most. But a lack of consensus on what’s best for the whole industry remains. The post-Barbenheimer movie theater hype of 2023 hasn’t warn off necessarily. The movie theaters are still a popular third space for social gatherings. It is more that the streaming giants are not going anywhere, as seen with the massive mergers in the works for organizations like Paramount and Warner Brothers.
But for some, not all, this decade has been tainted by our own public perception of a movie’s success and accessibility. For many without the means, or just older demographics interested in cutting the cord, the splitting of the media landscape has been enough to put some off. The instability of it all has cast a bit of a dark cloud on the perception of Hollywood and the inner workings of the movie industry. It’s unfortunate, but due to out-of-touch executives and a broken viewing system, many of the fresh new voices slip through the metaphoric cracks.
For an array of reasons mainly outside the control of the creatives involved, these projects are ones that have stood out and aged well in their short history. They may have lacked that initial specific audience or a distribution and marketing push to put it into the larger cultural zeitgeist. What they all have in common is an aspect of failure, bad luck, or just plain societal indifference to movies that were produced in and distributed during the direct aftermath of a global pandemic. Fleetwood Mac’s “Dreams”, got a second life via a viral skateboarding video. The psychological thriller Limitless got rediscovered for its lifestyle aesthetic through clips on TikTok and Instagram. Art can find its audience in strange and unexpected ways and sometimes long after the fact.
15
‘I’m Thinking of Ending Things’ (2020)
This may be the most known on the list purely for its rather well-timed August 2020 Netflix release, smack-dab in the middle of a pandemic. Charlie Kaufman is known for creating meta-like stories and here he uses a cold, desolate Vermont backdrop for the claustrophobic tension between the young woman (Jessie Buckley) and Jake (Jesse Plemons), the lead couple on their way to his parents’ farmhouse. The surreal drama works on a multi-layered narrative that uses the original story as a fantasy inside the mind of a lonely cleaning staff member in a local school contemplating suicide.
Ending Things is used in double meaning, referring to both the original narrative and the mental state of the janitor. The narrative intentionally blurs the lines of reality and fantasy, and when it is finally revealed that the man is an older version of Jake, the pieces in his fantasy become much clearer. The girlfriend was an idealized version of a girl he was too shy to speak with in his youth and the regret he still holds from that moment. And his parents are aging at a rapid pace, a sign of the grief he felt from watching them grow old in real time. His dark, intrusive thoughts are what haunt him, and they are the cracks in reality that the audience can point to when something just feels a bit off. The unexpected phone calls complaining about the lack of an ending are his regrets about his real life and the fantasy he created crashing together in real time.
14
‘The Stranger’ (2022)
The Stranger suffered for having a straight-to-Netflix release with no theatrical run, which was truly destructive to its overall success. It did, however, premiere at Cannes and was nominated for the Best Film award. Director Thomas Wright tells the story of one of the largest undercover operations in Australian history at a deliberately slow pace that fits with the tone and the aesthetic of the whole saga. Joel Edgerton and Sean Harris shine with deep, quiet yet intense character work as the lead undercover agent and suspect, respectively.
It also faced its fair share of controversy in the press, as the family of the victim of the murder suspect felt the film exploited their son’s life. Still, the slow-burning psychological thriller works well by avoiding traditional Hollywood tropes and leaning into the gritty realism that can make an undercover sequence so entertaining. It is immersive and moody and largely character driven, which fits the mold of what a true undercover sting can be; long nights, patience and constant tension.
13
‘Arkansas’ (2020)
The first feature from long-time comedic actor Clark Duke (The Office, Hot Tub Time Machine), Arkansas, is an ambitious swing at an indie crime thriller based on a novel. It was scheduled to premiere at SXSW but was canceled due to COVID-19. Featuring one of the final appearances from late actor Michael Kenneth Williams (The Wire), this film was hurt mightily by the lack of festival run it had, the exact kind of crowd it was made for.
Duke directs and stars alongside Williams, Liam Hemsworth, Vince Vaughn, John Malkovich and Vivica A. Fox. The film trades on a unique southern-noir style and a fun perspective-shifting narrative structure that makes it a comfortable yet engaging watch, albeit at a slow pace. The story uses the initial absence of Frog (Vince Vaughn), the Arkansas drug kingpin, in charge of the two lower level drug dealers — played by Hemsworth and Duke, to build the drama and the legend around the film’s villain. It marked the end of a fantastic run from Vaughn of more serious, character-driven work (Brawl in Cellblock 99, Dragged Across Concrete) post his comedic success from the affectionaly known as “Frat Pack” days of the early 2000s.
12
‘Coda’ (2021)
Coda wasn’t missed by the critics. In fact, in won Best Picture, Best Supporting Actor and Best Adapted Screenplay at the 94th Academy Awards. Yet, this film still didn’t reach the amount of eyes it probably should have. It became the first streaming service film to win Best Picture. Although it lacks cultural ubiquity, Coda makes up for it with its realistic portrayal of the life of a deaf family and the concerns, conflicts and anxiety that all come with a world that is inherently not designed for you.
Emilia Jones shines as Ruby, the only non-deaf member of the family. Set in Gloucester, Mass, she faces the ultimate predicament while trying to keep her family’s struggling fishing business afloat. While finishing high school, she finds a passion for singing and a mutual love interest in her duet partner in the choir club at school. This, of course, creates quite the quandary. Ruby feels left out at home for not being like the rest of her family and their inability to associate with the music she makes, creates a barrier between her, her family and any outsiders who may not fully realize the degree to which her family lives their lives differently.
11
‘Emily the Criminal’ (2022)
Audiences may know who Aubrey Plaza is by now, but Emily the Criminal felt like the first time she got to run the show. This felt like a project where Plaza could really spread her wings, use that rough, moody-edged demeanor she has become known for in a story where that is a necessary plot device. Emily is struggling to find work and is anchored by her student debt and minor criminal record. Before long, she finds herself involved in a credit card scheme when a cold dismissal from an old friend puts her over the edge and deeper into crime.
Emily’s desperation and hunger fuels her, and her circumstances release her from any sense of guilt or regret. Critics praised the work of both Plaza and her partner Youcef (Theo Rossi) for their grounded yet highly realistic roles. Through tense, fast pacing, the movie operates as a character study on the consequences of the modern gig economy and the degree to which people will go to be able to live a semi-normal life.
10
‘The Summit of the Gods’ (2021)
There were many animation projects that have gone under the radar in the past six or so years, and none better to speak on than The Summit of the Gods by French director Patrick Imbert. Based on a manga, a type of Japanese graphic novel, the plot centers on a Japanese photographer who is convinced that he is in possession of an old camera belonging to a famous mountain climber named Mallory. Mallory along with Andrew Irvine were two real-life British explorers that had vanished under mysterious circumstances during an Everest expedition.
The climbers may have reached the summit of Mount Everest thirty years before the ones who claimed to do it first. If so, any proof of their travels would be groundbreaking, not only for the person who found it, but for the climbing community as a whole. Their disappearance is crucial as a functional plot device, sparking curiosity and a sense of adventure for the lead character. Despite receiving critical acclaim and commercial success via VOD, the movie received zero Oscar nominations and lacked any theatrical distribution strategy.
9
‘The Courier’ (2021)
The Courier may come off as the run-of-the-mill procedural spy thriller. This Cold War drama is anything but stereotypical. Director Dominic Cooke tells the story of British salesman Greville Wynne (Benedict Cumberbatch) who, due to his rather mundane profession, was easily able to smuggle information in and out of the Soviet Union without much cause for suspicion.
While fictional tales often rely on larger action sequences, this film uses highly intricate espionage and the quick-witted thinking used to communicate highly classified secrets to build its slow-burning suspense. Wynne is the middle man (courier) between his government and a Russian official named Oleg Penkovsky. Penkovsky hopes to leak the nuclear draw ups of what would become known as “The Cuban Missile Crisis”, in hopes of stopping another World War from breaking out. The film suffered from heavily depressed COVID box office numbers in the United States. As well as, for being a historical drama that was largely being tailored toward an older demographic least likely to rush back to the theaters.
8
‘Da 5 Bloods’ (2020)
Many have remarked in recent years that Spike Lee has had a bit of a fall off in the second half of his career. This film should not be mentioned when having that discussion. Da 5 Bloods, brings a unique societal perspective, following four somewhat ailing African American men weaving action and adventure into historical sociopolitical context. Through the mindset of these Vietnam War veterans, Lee takes the audience on a trip with them back to Vietnam to find their troop leaders’ remains and potentially lost gold.
Lee masterfully meshes this story together with the discourse surrounding the often overlooked history of Black soldiers in Vietnam. Delroy Lindo gives an extremely raw and wide-ranging performance as Paul, one of the many veterans who are suffering from PTSD. In a clever metaphoric technique, Lee used the same actors as their older selves in the war flashback moments to illustrate the suffering and the pain that had plagued these men for their entire lives.
7
‘Hundreds of Beavers’ (2022)
Hundreds of Beavers is a black and white slapstick comedy that came out of nowhere in 2022. Filmed on a shoestring $150,000 budget, it works like an ode to the classic Looney Toons comedy specials, using its quirky and erratic gags and senseless physical comedy to make up for its lack of true dialogue. It stars Ryland Tews as a drunk applejack salesman named Jean Kayak lost in the bitter cold and vast Canadian wilderness.
After opening with a singing monologue, Kayak is forced to face an array of animals (most notably, beavers) played by real people in very goofy and charming, albeit cheap, animal costumes. Almost like a video game trial sequence (see Scott Pilgrim vs the World), Jean fails numerous times, and when he does succeed, he is gifted or he “unlocks” tools that he can trade in for weapons and supplies. He does all of this in the hopes of winning over the daughter of the fur trapper that he trades the tools for. Jean must become a skilled fur trapper himself and defeat hundreds of beavers.
6
‘The Convert’ (2023)
The Convert feels like one of those films you stumble upon by accident and immediately feel blessed you did by its end. It’s not particularly loud or in your face, but rather quietly and thoughtfully portrays the historical struggles of the Aboriginal community of New Zealand. It shows not just the violent and brutal infighting amongst the Maori tribes but the larger conflict against the British settlers looking to reap the rewards of the island they inhabit.
Guy Pearce leads the cast as a troubled British preacher and religious zealot during an 1830s land dispute between the two native tribes. The encroaching settlers are motivated by economic greed and hunger for national expansion of the United Kingdom. The portrayal of religious assimilation is a core theme as well as the racial and lingual barriers that faced the Maori. The movie suffered from a limited and niche release and distribution plan.