A good movie is more than its subject matter.
Many of my picks for the best films of 2019 are centred on subjects of varying interest to me, yet as a result of compelling characters and expert craft on display, I was transported by all of them due to the power of cinema at its best.
All of my favourites and honourable mentions are films I wholeheartedly love. Hopefully this list encourages you to seek these films out so that you can find the same joy I felt upon viewing and revisiting them over the past 12 months.
Honourable Mentions
Arctic, Charlie Says, Child’s Play, Crawl, Dark Waters, Dora and the Lost City of Gold, Fyre / Fyre Fraud, Good Boys, Greta, The Guilty, Happy Death Day 2U, Knives Out, Long Shot, Midsommar, The Nightingale, Parasite, The Peanut Butter Falcon, Official Secrets, Where’s My Roy Cohn?
*Being based in Australia I haven’t been able to see many of the leading awards contenders set for release in the new year, while some of my picks received limited theatrical runs early in 2019 despite being released internationally the previous year.
10. The Irishman
After years of speculation surrounding its production and the paradigm shift of distribution via streaming, Martin Scorsese’s much anticipated latest is a triumph of storytelling and a showcase for three outstanding performances. Running close to three-and-a-half hours long, The Irishman is captivating for the duration as Robert De Niro recounts his life of crime with no one left to mourn him.
9. Toy Story 4
Of all the films I saw in 2019 this one elicited the strongest emotional response. Having experienced significant changes in my life upon its release, the opportunity to reconnect with the characters I had grown up with reduced me to tears on multiple occasions. While not reaching the heights of perfection as its predecessor, Toy Story 4 is a loving reminder to continue embracing change to infinity and beyond.
8. Dolemite Is My Name
Spending much of the decade away from the Hollywood spotlight, Eddie Murphy shines as Rudy Ray Moore – a struggling artist pursuing stardom as an outsider. Sharing a lot in common with James Franco’s The Disaster Artist, Dolemite Is My Name is a hilarious combination of profanity and warmth that allows Murphy to light up the screen in a role befitting his legendary status.
7. Uncut Gems
Thrilling from start to finish – the Safdie Brothers follow up to Good Time ups the tension stakes while showcasing one of modern cinemas most polarising figures. Much-maligned – often deservingly so – Adam Sandler is phenomenal in Uncut Gems as a jeweller with a debilitating gambling problem. Such is the quality of Sandler’s performance it is hard to imagine this film without him.
6. John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum
Had John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum been able to sustain the thrilling violence of its opening 30 minutes it would be the best film of the year. Picking up with Keanu Reeves’ titular character on the run from colleagues seeking to collect the price on his head, the third instalment of Chad Stahelski’s decade-defining franchise expands the lore of international assassins with an array of inventive fight sequences that pack a serious punch.
5. Ford v Ferrari
As someone who finds the “sport” of car racing tedious at best, I have no qualms in saying Ford v Ferrari is a brilliantly entertaining film. Containing some of the best car racing sequences ever put on screen, the great strength of James Mangold’s film is the human interplay between Christian Bale and Matt Damon as they navigate the high-octane tension that exists between art and commerce.
4. Booksmart
Much like the best work of Judd Apatow and Kevin Smith before her, the reason why Olivia Wilde’s Booksmart works is the heartfelt bond between its characters. Funny, tender and recognisable, the dynamic between Beanie Feldstein and Kaitlyn Dever is lovely as two over-achieving high school seniors coming to the end of an era.
3. Blinded By The Light
There have been a number of recent films about iconic musical artists, but none have captured an artist’s spirit quite like Blinded By The Light. As a loving tribute to Bruce Springsteen, the musical flavour infused into the story of a Pakistani teenager yearning for a life beyond his hometown in Thatcher’s Britain evokes the feeling of “The Boss” better than any traditional biopic could hope to achieve.
2. Fighting With My Family
Many great sports movies succeed by charting the rise of an underdog. Florence Pugh – the breakout star of 2019 – delivers on that well-worn formula as the youngest in a loving family of aspirational wrestlers; however the unsung hero of Fighting With My Family is Jack Lowden as the older brother. There is great tenderness to Stephen Merchant’s directorial debut – reminiscent of Rudy – in large part thanks to Lowden whose pained supporting role as a young man reconciling the heartache of a childhood dream that will never come to pass complements the eventual triumph of his sister on the WWE stage.
1. Minding The Gap
Given a limited Australian release early in 2019, Bing Liu’s Oscar nominated documentary stayed with me all year. Telling the story of three men coming into adulthood having grown up under volatile circumstances, the way in which Minding The Gap presents skateboarding as a source of much needed solace for the trio is beautifully graceful. Boasting my favourite film score – courtesy of Chris Ruggiero and Nathan Halpern – and acclaimed editing that skilfully conveys the heartache of feeling trapped along with the liberating feeling of skateboarding in equal measure, Minding The Gap stands above all others as my personal pick for the best film of 2019.
Check out other instalments in my 2019 YEAR IN REVIEW:
Robert Crosby 