Gregory Ellwood's Top 10 Films of 2020: Nomadland, Minari, New Order

What a year. Just one real film festival in person (Sundance) and a handful of films screened in person after March. A theatrical distribution business brought to its knees by a global pandemic with countless film release dates pushed beyond 2020. And yet, all and all, it was still a pretty good year? Even when you’re compiling the annual top 10 list.

READ MORE: The Playlist’s top 25 films of 2020

Granted, it will be quite a while before films now set for 2021 and beyond can be gauged. And critiquing a film on a television or computer screen is a significantly different process than watching it in a theater (or even a Drive-In). Perhaps it’s one reason why so many films have received polarizing reactions from critics far and wide. But sometimes a film is just so stellar or noteworthy it doesn’t matter what device or platform it’s experienced on. And, for better or worse, that has impacted most critics’ top 10 list of the year, including my own.

A quick note. My top 10 lists are determined by the year I saw the film. Some of the selections below debuted at film festivals but won’t land in theaters or other models until 2021. For example, “First Cow” made my almost list of 2019. This year, it would have made the cut.

Oh, almost forgot. For the first time ever, a tie at the top. I mean, if 2020’s not the moment to pull that card out when is? And before we get to our movie selections, a quick recap of the smaller screen.

Best of TV: “The Flight Attendant,” “The Great,” “I May Destroy You,” “The Last Dance,” “Mrs. America,” “Making the Cut,” “Never Have I Ever,” “The Crown,” “The Queen’s Gambit,” “Raised by Wolves,” “Sex Education,” “Small Axe,” “Stargirl,” “Tales from The Loop,” “Ted Lasso,” “Tiger King,” “Unorthodox,” “We’re Here”

(10) “Mank”
It’s sadly lacking heart, but it’s an absolutely stunning recreation of Hollywood’s golden age with fantastic turns from Gary Oldman and Amanda Seyfried.

(9) “Never Gonna Snow Again”
The global disparity between the haves and have nots has been a familiar theme in cinema over the past 18 months. Małgorzata Szumowska and Michał Englert provide a Polish perspective through the eyes of a working-class masseuse and his upper-middle-class, private community living clients.

(8) “Promising Young Woman”
Easily, the performance of Carey Mulligan’s career and an eye-shattering debut for director Emerald Fennell. I first caught it in March and haven’t stopped thinking about it since.

(7) “Shirley”
Elisabeth Moss
is absolutely transformative in Josephine Decker‘s wicked drama.

(6) “Soul”
Perhaps the first Pixar film truly for adults? It’s so impressive it might even convince you to like jazz again (sorry, that’s for anyone who endured “The Eddy” this year).

(5) “New Order”
Michael Franco’s
latest depicts the repercussions of a working-class uprising in Mexico in horrifying detail. You’ll believe the events in the movie could happen at any time and in any country. It strikes a cinematic nerve.

(4) “Apples”
A sublime piece of cinematic art centered on a man who loses his memory during a global pandemic.

(3) “Pieces of a Woman”
Vanessa Kirby
is unforgettable as a woman whose life is shattered after her pregnancy goes awry. The film is so powerful it even makes Shia LaBeouf look good.

(1) “Minari” (Tie)
Profound. Gorgeous. Heartbreaking, pt. 1

(1) “Nomadland” (Tie)
Profound. Gorgeous. Heartbreaking, pt. 2

Almost there: “Black Bear,” “Black is King,” “Boys State,” “Collective,” “The Forty-Year-Old Version,” “La Llorona,” “Let Them Talk,” “Nine Days,” “Palm Springs,” “Relic,” “Sound of Metal,” “Totally Under Control,” “The World to Come”