6) Custody
French writer/director Xavier Legrand‘s “Custody” is the unsung masterpiece of the year. This film, about a mother and her child fleeing a violent and abusive husband, is as relevant a statement as any this year. Léa Drucker and Denis Ménochet play the dueling parents, and Thomas Gioria plays the son caught up in the war of words. “Custody” stands out regarding tension due to the way Legrand manages to depict the ever-growing threat of violence surrounding mother and son. It’s not just about the physical, but also the psychological, assaults of man. Legrand tries to shape his narrative in a way that shows a claustrophobic atmosphere befalling mother and child, where the film ends up feeling like a story of survival and escape. The indescribably frightening final scenes reveal the violent rage that can come out of masculinity.
7) Leave No Trace
Eight years ago, director Debra Granik along with a then-unknown Jennifer Lawrence premiered “Winter’s Bone” to a stunned Sundance audience. Granik has given us another outstandingly talented young actress here by the name of Thomasin McKenzie. She plays the teenage Tom who, along with her dad Will (Ben Foster), tries to live off the grid in a state park in Oregon. The 17-year-old cinematic debutante has so much talent that she carries this film in the palm of her hands. The charisma, authenticity, and grace she displays is incredibly mature and restrained. “Leave No Trace” is a lovely film to behold, unspooling very much in the tradition of David Lynch‘s humane, good-hearted Americana masterpiece, “The Straight Story.” It is about characters rarely depicted on screen. They are the lost voices of America, and they make “Leave No Trace” a universal, unforgettable experience.
8) Eighth Grade
Bo Burnham‘s “Eighth Grade,” an altogether impressive debut from the comedian, follows Kayla (Elsie Fisher), whose constant self-reflectiveness is familiar enough to make you cringe at every stutter as she has to contend with entering the most awkward and uncomfortable phase of her life. What Burnham tries to give us with this movie is a snapshot of history in the making. This is a generation like no other, one that will most likely grow up to be very different adults from what anyone could have ever imagined. The zombie-like student body in “Eighth Grade” are slaves to technology, almost robot-like in their movements. What makes this film so unique and different from “Superbad” or “Mean Girls” is the fact that this is a whole new generation of kids. Gone are the in-your-face bullies of the Plastics and in are the self-absorbed, glued to their smartphone millennials who don’t even bother spewing verbally abusive words because, well, they’d rather look at their phones. The bullying is the lack of attention Kayla receives from her classmates. She’s a ghost wandering the hallways of the school, feeling like she’s nothing, and yet, she might just be the most humane and genuine person there. The constant anxious thoughts and mannerisms she displays separate her from the rest; she’s constantly aware of her surroundings, always on high alert.
9) BlackKklansman
Spike Lee‘s “BlacKkKlansman” is his best film since 2002’s “The 25th Hour.” It’s an unequivocally joyous attempt to entertain in every which way possible. Set in 1972, this is an undercover cop movie, based on Ron Stallworth’s 2014 novel, “Black Klansman: Race, Hate, and the Undercover Investigation of a Lifetime” and tells Stallworth’s too-crazy-to-be-true story as the first black undercover investigator for the Colorado Springs Police Department. He joined the Ku Klux Klan by masquerading as a bigot on the phone, he even spoke to KKK leader David Duke (Topher Grace) and formed a bond with him. Stallworth was eventually asked to join “The Organization” which is code for the KKK, he accepted and launched an investigation with his partner Flip Zimmerman (Adam Driver) doing the dirty work by going on the front-lines as Stallworth. The current political climate has rejuvenated Lee, given him a new purpose if you will. This is a funny, moving, vital, messy, and ambitious statement that cannot be ignored. It’s an edgy provocation that reminded me of why I used to love Spike Lee’s films so damn much.
10) Hereditary
Sometimes a horror film comes along that you just feel will change the game. Ari Aster‘s “Hereditary” is just that movie – a spooky, hypnotic film that feels like the culmination of the last 50 years of horror. Aster gives us a melange of “The Shining,” “The Exorcist,” and “Rosemary’s Baby,” three of the greatest of the genre, and creates his own masterpiece in the process. This is a remarkable, triumphant, and confident picture by Aster, who gives the film an almost meditative-like sensation, as you feel every space you’re in, every emotion, every moment of grief. “Hereditary” refuses to employ cheap thrills, creating its cinematic scares with atmosphere, and continuously reinventing itself at every turn. Best of all, it’s anchored by an incredible performance from Toni Collette who is so good and deserves Oscar consideration.
