The Year’s Top Seven
By Noah Gittell
For many years, a film critic’s job was to help readers figure out which movie to see out of that week’s handful of new releases. In our era, the job is to let them know which movies exist and, most importantly, where to watch them. Streaming services have flooded the market, which has improved accessibility but made it a chore to figure out what’s actually worth seeing. With that in mind, these are the best new releases I’ve seen so far in 2021, but don’t feel bad if you haven’t heard of them. Most people haven’t.
Note: For the purposes of this list, I used the Academy’s eligibility guidelines for the 2021 Oscars. In other words, 2021 began in March. I know, it’s weird.
7. “Together Together”
A relentless nice dramedy chronicling the burgeoning friendship between a single man and the woman he has hired to be his pregnancy surrogate, the film by playwright Nikole Beckwith starts out feeling a little slight. Over time, it wins you over with its rejection of rom-com conventions and its earnest endorsement of chosen families. As the central pair, Ed Helms and Patti Harrison forge a reliable chemistry. (Amazon)
6. “Undine”
Acclaimed German filmmaker Christian Petzold has an uncanny ability to depict worlds slightly askew from our own — like his 2018 masterpiece “Transit,” set in modern-day Paris occupied by enemy forces — without ever drawing attention to their fantastical elements. “Undine” is a modern retelling of an ancient European myth about mermaids and murder, but Petzold’s low-key approach makes it feel more like a realistic portrayal of modern dating rituals. (Amazon)
5. “Some Kind of Heaven”
25-year-old documentarian Lance Oppenheim sets his sights on The Villages, the largest retirement community in America. The Villages is known as a place retirees go to party away their twilight years, so “Some Kind of Heaven” could easily have been another forgettable entry in the “old folks behaving badly” genre. Instead, Oppenheim narrows and deepens his gaze, looking closely at just a few of its most compelling residents. (Hulu)
4. “The Killing of Two Lovers”
An instant entry in the pantheon of divorce movies, the gritty drama by Robert Machoian opens on an estranged husband pointing a gun at his sleeping wife and her lover. The film pulls back from that act of near violence to paint a more conventional but no less insightful portrait of the slow dissolution of a marriage. Machoian shoots the film in mostly long takes, but it remains edge-of-your-seat gripping due to its naturalistic performances and the incredible cinematography of its small-town Utah location. (Amazon)
3. “Bad Trip”
I did not expect to like “Bad Trip.” I’m not a fan of the comedy of Eric Andre, the prankster and provocateur who conceived and stars in it. A cross between “Borat” and “Jackass,” the plot is just a vehicle for Andre and his co-star Lil Rel Howery to play pranks on unsuspecting bystanders, but what elevates it is the joy beneath the mayhem. Instead of mocking his subjects, Andre crafts situations that bring the best out in them, like the Manhattan security guard who, against his better judgment, lets an unhinged Andre into an upscale art gallery so that he can propose to the love of his life. The set-up is pure fiction, but the reactions are profoundly human. It’s the most life-affirming movie I’ve seen in years. (Netflix)
2. “All Light, Everywhere”
Theo Anthony’s documentary, which premiered at Sundance in January, is a singular work from an inventive mind. It’s a film about failures of police surveillance that’s more focused on probing the underlying assumptions of seeing than making a political argument. It’s heady stuff, but Anthony never lets it devolve into a lecture. He juxtaposes images, trains of thought, and personalities, and knows just when to let the humanity of his subjects shine through. (Not streaming yet)
1. “Bo Burnham: Inside”
In the hands of any other comedian, “Inside” would be just a gimmicky comedy special, but Burnham, who directed the stunning coming-of-age drama “Eighth Grade” a few years ago, is an image-maker of the highest order. Filmed entirely inside one room, Burnham gets creative with lights, editing, and sound to take viewers on a journey inside his own mind that’s filled with songs, laughs, and existential terror. It’s the greatest work of lockdown art, and easily the best film of the year so far. (Netflix)
