Killers of the Flower Moon

Killers of the Flower Moon proved to be yet another artistic zenith for auteur Martin Scorsese. Based on the eponymous David Grann bestseller, the immensely watchable film was set in 1920s Oklahoma and depicted the murder of members of the oil-wealthy Osage Nation, a string of brutal crimes that was dubbed the Reign of Terror.

Hailed unanimously as one of the greatest cinematic feats of the year, Scorsese’s film took a hard look at American history and was a haunting exploration of colonisation and entitlement. The result was a winner which scored in scale and substance — despite its overlong runtime — bringing forth a fascinating fact-based story, powerfully created set pieces and a compelling ensemble cast comprising Marty favourites Robert De Niro and Leonardo DiCaprio, and a scene-stealing act from Lily Gladstone, which makes her a strong Oscar contender.

Oppenheimer

A tour-de-force performance from Cillian Murphy in the title role and Christopher Nolan’s engaging and assured storytelling made Oppenheimer exactly what the viewer (Nolan fan or not) hoped it would be — a stunning subversion of the biopic genre and its rebuilding in a thrilling, dynamic version.

Oppenheimer was both epic and intimate, delving deep into the mind of a man who created the nuclear bomb and was haunted by its fallout for the rest of his life. Nolan fashioned an important story of our times, which was a cinematographic masterpiece and a unique sensorial experience. Both Murphy and Robert Downey Jr, who played the formidable Lewis Strauss, are a shoo-in for an Oscar nomination.

Barbie

Arriving on the same Friday as Oppenheimer and as different from it as chalk is from cheese, this live-action adaptation of the adventures of the Mattel toy was expected to be a visual feast, complete with grand costumes and grander sets. Barbie was all of that, but director Greta Gerwig ensured it turned out to be much more. Barbie rose above being a mere brand extension exercise, functioning as coming-of-age feminist self-aware cinema.

Comic, poignant and thoughtful at the same time, the film caught Barbie (Margot Robbie) in the middle of an existential crisis, raising important questions about feminism and unchallenged male power and made the film an entertaining battle of the sexes, with a sporting Ryan Gosling having a blast playing Ken.

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

A thrilling explosion of imagery and action, this latest addition to the Spider-Man universe combined incredible animation with a winner of a story that was characterised by dozens of Easter eggs. The film transcended its genre, swinging from one contrasting animation style to another, all the while bringing forth an emotional story, technical wizardry, playful humour and adrenaline-pumping action.

What was even more important was the fact that Across the Spider-Verse marked a break from Marvel’s hegemony, with many — critics and cine-goers in equal numbers — hailing it as not only one of the best films of the year but also one of the greatest comic-book outings of all time.

Anatomy of a Fall

This French courtroom drama focused on a writer trying to prove her innocence in her husband’s suspicious death. Anatomy of a Fall premiered at the 76th Cannes Film Festival where it won the prestigious Palme d’Or as well as the Palm Dog Award. Directed by Justine Triet, the film made an impact across geographical boundaries with its deeply resonating themes of gender, partnership and love and its examination of a conflicted marriage between two flawed individuals.

A riveting courtroom thriller as well as a psychological exploration of the underbelly of relationships, Anatomy of a Fall was elevated by an incredible central act by Sandra Huller. It illustrated how a film can excel in multiple genres all at once, kept the viewer guessing till the end and provoked heated discussions long after the end credits rolled.

Past Lives

Inspired by events in debut director Celine Song’s life, Past Lives followed the changing dynamic between two childhood friends across space and time. A touching tale of love and what could have been, Past Lives had Song weaving together a sophisticated and bittersweet story with the kind of filmmaking maturity that one doesn’t expect out of someone directing her first film.

The film worked because it took a simple story but didn’t make it simplistic. Instead, it punctuated it with telling silences, looks and small gestures and gave us a love story that was at once devastating but also strangely life-affirming, with award-worthy performances from Greta Lee and Tee Yoo.

Asteroid City

Wes Anderson meshed the eclectic genres of comedy, drama and period in this star-studded enterprise that would not perhaps win him any new fans, but had the maverick movie maker being original and distinctive in his esoteric way. The film comprised a metatextual plot that simultaneously depicted the events of a Junior Stargazer convention in a retro-futuristic version of 1955, staged as a play, and the creation of the play. Asteroid City was Anderson’s nod to memory and mythology about extraterrestrials and UFOs ‘sighted’ in the southwestern deserts and was distinguished by the director’s clever, detailed yet ambiguous style of storytelling.

Functioning at the intersection of imagination and reality, Asteroid City stood out for its stellar turns, particularly from Jason Schwartzman and Scarlett Johansson, and while it polarised even fans of the filmmaker, it did make a mark for being funny in an odd sort of way as well as for being a film which gave the impression that it was about nothing and yet about everything.

May December

This dark and distressing watch brought together Oscar-winning acting forces Julianne Moore and Natalie Portman. Unorthodox in treatment, the film followed Portman as an actress who travels to meet and spend time with the controversial woman (Julianne Moore) who she is slated to play in a film. Todd Haynes, the man behind films like I’m Not There and Carol besides many others, told a story of immense complexity with remarkable clarity, imbued with both scenes of humour and moments that reflected horror. The interactions between the two female leads were characterised by the sort of cut-with-a-knife tension that comes from writing which is dramatic but well within control. But the film truly belonged to Charles Melton, who turned in a soul-searching act as a young man whose life had always been a newspaper headline.

The Zone of Interest

Jonathan Glazer’s historical drama based on the 2014 novel by Martin Amis film told the story of Auschwitz commandant Rudolf Hoss and his wife as they strived to build a dream life next to the concentration camp. The Zone of Interest premiered at this year’s Cannes Film Festival to critical acclaim, winning the Grand Prix and the FIPRESCI Prize. A discomfiting yet necessary watch, this was a Holocaust drama like no other where the horror was kept off-screen, but done in such a way that it slowly crawled its way under the viewer’s skin and remained there.

Buoyed by a deeply chilling and precisely engineered narrative, The Zone of Interest took a non-traditional approach to telling this story of horror from a place of calculated removal, its deliberate nonchalant feel making the cumulative impact more visceral and horrifying.

Poor Things

An empowering cinematic experience for flawed women who yearn to be free of shame, this Yorgos Lanthimos-directed film benefited strongly from a brilliant turn by Emma Stone. A wild, often bizarre ride, Poor Things focused on Bella Baxter (Stone), a young Victorian woman who, after being resurrected by a scientist following her suicide, runs off with a debauched lawyer (Mark Ruffalo) on a journey of self-discovery and sexual liberation.

Hailed for Stone’s deep, uninhibited commitment to her part, Poor Things stood out for its fearless exploration of human identity and for being both original and provocative. Daring for some, demented for others, Poor Things’ audacious theme and treatment cemented Lanthimos’s place in the pantheon of filmmakers who can successfully marry the deeply emotional with the curiously whimsical.

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