Just A Little Bit Random

Baby Done – Review

Cert – 15, Run-time – 1 hour 31 minutes, Director – Curtis Vowell

On learning that she’s pregnant Zoe’s (Rose Matafeo) plans fall around her as she rushes to achieve her dreams, meanwhile her long-term boyfriend Tim (Matthew Lewis) stresses about the birth and fatherhood.

Rose Matafeo has easily established herself as one of the most in-demand recent stars of stand-up here in the UK. Now, back on home territory, she firmly establishes her acting chops with a show-stealing performance as mother-to-be Zoe. Zoe’s pregnancy comes as a shock to both her and her long-term boyfriend Tim (Matthew Lewis). The couple, who are perfectly happy not married – or engaged – and hold confused contempt for the likes of baby showers and events to reveal a baby’s sex, both worry about the prospect of becoming parents; just in different areas of their lives.

Zoe fears that a baby will prevent her from achieving her dreams. An accomplished tree surgeon her aims of attending world championships in Canada are scuppered by her pregnancy. While initially she tries to deny it claiming that “tapeworm can cause positive tests” panic soon sets in. Having seen many of her friends become distanced from her by achieving the alleged three goals of life – “marriage, house, baby, done” – she rushes to get everything done before it’s too late. Meanwhile Tim’s mind melts while rushing with hundreds of panicked thoughts about how good he’ll be as a father. He watches endless videos of people giving birth in any scenario to prepare himself for what may happen whenever the baby arrives – whether the pair are ready or not. With such differing views the couple begin to argue, a rift forms in their relationship, as the thought of looming parenthood brings their lives to a near halt.

The central pairing both deliver fine performances, however as the core focus of the film, who we seemingly spend the most time with, Matafeo is the true comedic force who steals the show. The frankness and yet light humour of her character go a long way in this mostly light-hearted New Zealand comedy. Far from holding a mean streak, the growing divide in the relationship is dealt with with enough sense of drama that the film never strays into the realms of farce or conventional rom-com. The duo – even as the final half hour begins and things become somewhat tangential for a brief amount of time – have good chemistry and work well together on screen. The sense of humour that they bring about together makes them an entertaining couple, definitely with their imperfections but this simply heightens the impact of their drifting apart as they worry about how they will change with a baby in their lives. And yet you stick with them throughout the pregnancy because of the humour carried throughout and the good-willed nature that the film holds for most of its short, if not always direct, run time.

Rose Matafeo truly steals the show with a light-hearted performance to match the tone of Baby Done. Lewis also gives a good turn that shows opposite worries for the pair in the relationship of two people fearing different things for when a baby they didn’t expect arrives through the well-divided comedy and drama.

LFF 2020: Bloody Nose, Empty Pockets – Review

Release Date – 1st January 2021, Cert – 15, Run-time – 1 hour 38 minutes, Director – Bill Ross IV, Turner Ross

The regular patrons of a Las Vegas bar meet throughout the day and night to drink up and say goodbye to their beloved meeting place on its final day

Bloody Nose, Empty Pockets is an interesting experiment. Part-documentary, part-fiction the film takes a fly-on-the-wall view at the final day of a Las Vegas bar, The Roaring 20s, and the regular patrons that come to drown their sorrows at this event in the booze that it sells. However, The Roaring 20s is still a very much open bar in New Orleans, and while the conversations are improvised they are held by street-cast actors aware of the fact that they are being filmed. From the very start ’til the very end of the day the booze flows and the various characters get increasingly intoxicated throughout, allowing for some more open, although deeply slurred, conversations.

This is a film that shows that a bar truly is where everybody knows your name. It’s a place where people go for friendship, escape and companionship. Where they both leave their cares and worries and feel free to release them in emotional conversations. People openly give back advice, honest words such as “I am somebody you hang out with at a bar, I am not your family!” And yet, most of all, this is a film about a group of people getting absolutely smashed. In each frame you can practically smell the alcohol washing throughout the characters and the bar they live in for the day. The setting is illuminated by cheap neon and LED lights of all different colours. Flooding the room with a reddish, purple hue. Even the exterior scenes in the car park outside the main building seem to be soaked in the same style.

Yet, the most enjoyable moments of the film aren’t those dwelling on the personal stories and discussions that you overhear. It’s the moments where everyone seems to have come together around the simplest of things just to have a good time. In the opening half hour as the day has just started and the early-morning drinkers and sentimentalists wander in they rejoice in choruses, led by the barman on guitar – “he’s almost as good as the jukebox” someone claims – of Kenny Rogers’ The Gambler (a song which echoes throughout the film as a plaintive reminder as to why everyone has gathered). The crowd innocently gazing at a small box-TV screen displaying a slightly static picture of Jeopardy and occasionally shouting out the answers also serves as a highlight. The film feels honest and the conversations certainly don’t feel improvised, they feel genuine.

While some moments do seem to be somewhat repetitive. As the night arrives and the early morning hours loom the film, much like the drunken figures it shows, begins to stagger and slow down as it has more hours still to show and seems to want to show every detail of the closing moments of the bar that it shows. The customers may not quite have time to sober up to properly say goodbye to their favourite drinking place but there’s plenty of time for the viewers to do so with the slightly drawn out ending. The feeling does set in eventually that this may have potentially worked better as a 45 minute short film. However, for what the film does offer there’s enough cheer and interesting observed conversations to keep things, aside from the alcohol, flowing.

Bloody Nose, Empty Pockets is absolutely soaked in booze. It comes with plenty of engaging observations within the improvised dialogue but a struggle to sober up does lead to some staggering and repetition.

Stardust – Review

Cert – 15, Run-time – 1 hour 49 minutes, Director – Gabriel Range

David Bowie (Johnny Flynn) embarks on a US tour in the hope of promoting the seemingly unsellable The Man Who Sold The World.

“What follows is (mostly) fiction” runs the opening title-card for Ziggy Stardust origin story Stardust. Unlike 2019’s Rocketman which took musical numbers in its stride to create fantasy sequences within its true life story or Bohemian Rhapsody which was filled with the music of Queen, there’s very little music within this snapshot of David Bowie’s life. This is down to the fact that Bowie’s estate and family didn’t give permission for the film to use the late artist’s music. Instead we get various covers that he may have sung at some of his gigs at the time.

Over the course of the film we see Bowie (Johnny Flynn) travelling across America with the one man who believes he has something, record promoter Rob Oberman (Marc Maron). The two make their away across the States in his messy, green-tinged family car, the amount of clutter in there makes it seem as if he lives on the vehicle – although initially the pair stay at his Mum’s house for the first few nights. The hierarchy between singer and representative is made clear from the start as Bowie makes his home across the back seat while Rob acts as his personal driver – who also happens to arrange his gigs.

There’s little interest in the act from anyone. Bowie performs to quiet vacuum cleaner conventions or small, cramped bars with no response to his covers. Interviewer’s sneer and poke fun at his behaviour and dresses – his bursts into mime don’t always help – they claim “I know a boring British import when I see one”. During the same interview there are various references to a mask that Bowie uses, as he lies down in a way that seems clearly set up to look like the UK album cover of The Man Who Sold The World – an album which seems impossible to promote. Bowie’s behaviour and habits don’t always help, when talking to one writer a number of his lines sound like something that could have been said by Nigel Tufnel of Spinal Tap.

His pregnant wife (Jena Malone) at home calls wishing that her husband was at home for support instead of parading round America. Meanwhile, flashbacks of his brother Terry (Derek Moran) make him worry that he too may be experiencing schizophrenia. However, such elements are rarely touched upon, only brought in for ineffective moments of personal drama and explanation as to the birth of Ziggy Stardust.

As each gig and conversation between the unlikely touring duo goes by the film feels more and more like a by-the-numbers road trip instead of a proper biopic. The issue isn’t that Bowie’s music isn’t present – the score certainly has hints of the likes of Space Oddity, one of the most frequently mentioned songs in the film, next to The Laughing Gnome, although stopping before anything properly distinguishable is heard, likely to avoid legal issues. It’s more that the film feels very un-Bowie. You could replace the name of the central character with anyone and it would likely have the same impact and feeling of a generic road-trip film. Very conventional and decreasing in personality and entertainment value as it goes along. This isn’t down to Flynn’s performance, he gives a good turn, and there’s no denying that he can sing, it’s more down to the scripting and narrative of the film. What starts off as something decent enough and bearable soon becomes something bland and void of imagination – which Bowie was, of course, far from.

In fact, the film almost seems as if it goes out of its way to not reference the iconic mind and music of the central figure – although at times it almost feels as if Rob is the focus of the film. A radio interview goes wrong and so the presenter decides to play another artist instead of the one right in-front of him. Instead of a moment of drama or an insertion of humour such moments simply take away from the piece and make it feel even more generic. The more it occurs the more tiresome the trip becomes. By the time you get to the big concert finale the moment lacks energy and, more importantly, Bowie.

Stardust’s biggest issue isn’t the fact that it lacks the music of its subject matter, it’s the fact that it feels like it’s not about David Bowie at all. This is a deeply generic, and eventually bland, road trip that begins to focus on everything around the central figure, who could go by any name.

LFF 2020: 180 Degree Rule – Review

Release Date – TBC, Cert – TBC, Run-time – 1 hour 23 minutes, Director – Farnoosh Samadi

When she attends a family wedding against her husband’s (Pejman Jamshidi) will, Sara (Sahar Dolatshahi) experiences a tragic loss which leads to a succession of lies, secrets and spiralling worries.

Sara (Sahar Dolatshahi) is a school teacher who is trying to be as independent as possible. She helps her students along with the lightly progressive attitudes that she has in her own life – all with a dash of generosity and kindness. However, her independence leads her to severe trouble when she goes against her husband’s (Pejman Jamshidi) wishes that she does not attend a family wedding. While the initial plan is for the couple, and daughter Raha, to go outside of Tehran for a family wedding Hemad finds himself called on a work trip. With this being the case he tells his wife not to go to the wedding, however defying the conventions of a society where men and husbands have the final word Sara travels outside of the Iranian capital for the wedding.

However, tragedy strikes when the morning after the ceremony the love, harmony and celebrations are broken when Raha is found dead. The devastation hits hard. You find yourself grieving alongside the family as the tone of the film matches the cold, greyness of the surroundings. After a slightly uneven first 20 minutes things begin to come into themselves and the film starts to pave its course.

The family’s grief is rushed and held within as they travel back home, unable to actually give the reason as to how the young girl died so that Hamed doesn’t find out. Still devastated by the event and not properly able to speak about it, simply making her pain worse, Sara finds herself lying to her husband. The events begin to spiral and cause further worry and panic as questions are asked, fake steps are retraced and the lies become increasingly tense. Dolatshahi and Jamshidi create genuine tension as Hamed becomes increasingly threatening and angered about the death of his daughter, restlessly researching so he can get to the bottom of things and find some form of resolution.

The winding road of what some may see as karma is seemingly never-ending and full of tangents for both Sara and the audience. Just before the hour mark the film does begin to diverge into further worry, however as this happens things, of course, become even more complicated. Events spin faster and faster and with everything that’s going on, and one or two of the repeating ideas, the film does begin to stumble as it tries to keep up with its own story. The story might just be able to keep track of, however as it strays in a number of different directions it almost becomes lost within itself and feels uneven, much like the case of the first 20 minutes. There are some good ideas throughout the film, when they aren’t developed to a point where the film begins to feel uneven, especially when dealing with themes of worry and grief to create tension that turn the drama into something close to a mild thriller.

Sometimes uneven due to developing themes too much, the performances, especially of Dolatshahi and Jamshidi, within 180° Rule are strong and help to push the tensions of grief and worry over the course of the winding narrative.

Pieces Of A Woman – Review

Cert – 15, Run-time – 2 hours 2 minutes, Director – Kornél Mundruczó

A young mother (Vanessa Kirby) struggles to come to terms with the death of her newborn child, as the months go on her relationships with her partner (Shia LaBeouf) and mother (Ellen Burstyn) become tense.

Pieces Of A Woman has rightfully been praised for the 23 minutes one-shot birth scene that acts as one of its opening scenes. As Vanessa Kirby’s Martha groans, cries and belches in pain as her child is being born everything feels natural and real. It’s not over and done with in a minute or two with a happy, healthy successful birth and little worry. The lack of score pushes the realism of the scene and the emotions that the three characters present – including Martha’s partner Sean (Shia LaBeouf) and midwife Eva (Molly Parker) – are rushing through as the situation becomes worse. However, less than a minute after the birth the worst possible tragedy occurs, the baby turns blue and is quickly lost. It’s the devastating finishing punch of what is already an emotional, and technically impressive, opening.

As the autumnal and winter months follow – pushing the feeling of the cold and isolation in the lives of the central characters – tensions rise in Martha’s relationships. The film focuses on the depressions that the characters fall into, and the responses that each figure has to this. Martha becomes quiet and reclusive, a lost soul floating through an uncertain world of loss, made worse by the changes in her relationship with Sean. He becomes abusive, increasingly angry when he believes he can’t get any proper responses from his partner – when she begins to take down items in the room that was meant for he lashes out at the dead-pan response of “because we don’t have a kid”. Meanwhile, Martha’s mother, Elizabeth (Ellen Burstyn), experiences a much more expressional form of emotional response. She delivers emotional monologues and tries to get her daughter to display something that resembles an outer sadness.

While director Kornél Mundruczó – making his English language feature debut – truly leaves a mark with the opening scenes once the film’s remaining 90 minutes arrive things don’t quite have as much of an impact. Kata Wéber’s screenplay looks into the separate personal reactions and behaviours of various characters instead of keeping the focus on Martha. We see Sean’s affair with her cousin. Meanwhile, Elizabeth’s attempt to sue midwife Eva for killing her grandchild – original midwife Barbara was unavailable when the birth was happening, and so sent trusted Eva in her place – goes against her daughter’s wishes. The film might fall in the mid-section, however when it comes to the courtroom scenes things are brought back up and the drama of the conversations throughout the film is truly felt.

When looking into such elements the mother-daughter scenes truly stick out. The two great performances that show the truthful developments of the characters emotions simply raise something all the more investing during such scenes. Kirby and Burstyn show two very different forms of depression, both of which can’t understand the other and simply causes further upset and frustrations. Such moments, are what keep the core interest in the film and stop things from completely falling apart. The film might still feel busy overall, however such moments help to give it a sense of pace and development that you can get more invested in than others. For much of the piece its the performances that truly bring about the drama and emotion that is held in a number of scenes. While there might be points where the film dips as the film comes back to focus on Kirby, who delivers a consistently brilliant performance of inner-emotions and depression, there’s true power end effect in play. The film itself might not be consistent, but Kirby certainly is.

After the impressive one-shot birth scene there’s a fluctuating style to Pieces Of A Woman. It works best when focusing on the power of Kirby’s performance, and the responses to different kinds of depression, is enough to bring you back in after the slight dips of other, wavering focuses.

Blithe Spirit – Review

Cert – 12, Run-time – 1 hour 36 minutes, Director – Edward Hall

A struggling writer (Dan Stevens) begins to experience troubles in his second marriage when the ghost of his first wife (Leslie Manville) reappears after a séance.

‘Jolly good, what a splendidly smashing show, old chap!’ were unlikely the words that Noel Coward first thought when looking at the finished script for his 1941 play Blithe Spirit. It’s also unlikely that such terms or phrases were ever in this script. However, it’s exactly the type of stereotypical, dated British posh-talk that this newest film-take on the play is littered with. As characters get more and more infuriated they blurt out terms such as “hussy” and “harlot”, and dare they exclaim “bally”? There’s almost surprise in the eyes of the big-name actors as they find themselves reading off such lines.

The story follows Dan Steven’s Charles Condomine, a struggling 1930’s writer who has been given the opportunity to adapt one of his successful mystery novels into a feature film. However, for weeks he has suffered from writer’s block, with no clue as to what he should put on the page, his wife Ruth (Isla Fisher) at this point struggling to offer any more support than a simple ‘get on with it’. However, after getting some inspiration for his script Charles invites a medium (Judi Dench) to his lavish, seemingly modern design, home for a séance. While initially there are no effects, not even further inspiration, it’s not long until Charles is able to see the ghost of his deceased first wife, Elvira (Leslie Mann). However, it’s only him who can see her.

Cue routines about how nobody else can see Elvira and so get the wrong message when Charles is talking to her and a complicated marriage spawning from there. Despite Ruth objecting against such intrusions in her husband’s life things develop well for the screenplay with his dead first wife back on the scene. Elvira essentially writes the script for Charles, as she did his books when she was alive. While she doesn’t actually write herself, she tells him what words he should put on the page. Ghostly powers certainly fluctuate throughout the film. One minute ghosts can walk through walls and simply go through people, the next they can pick up objects, control them and even manipulate multiple items from a distance.

Throughout the tone is that of a garish ‘wacky’ comedy. Characters blithering around – the opening lines of the film are Stevens’ character calling himself a “blithering idiot” – through the same repeated jokes over and over. To pick things up the score, with a tone that highlights just how zany and kooky things have become, kicks in. However, none of this distracts from the fact that the film as a whole is void of wit and charm, in fact everything seems to be rather overdone. Every scene – even the ones where the lights are turned off or events are set at night – is garishly lit, full-on bright light flooding the entire frame; simply highlighting the watered down florescent colours.

Everything becomes a mesh of a comedy that almost seems as if it’s screenplay is trying to poke fun at itself when it comes to certain instances and lines. There are times when you almost expect the set to fall apart and the cast of Mischief Theatre to run on, forget their lines and turn this into The Séance That Goes Wrong – it would certainly be far more entertaining. Unfortunately, what we’re left with is a very long, very bland, 96 minutes that truly shows its length towards the end as various pieces of string are picked up, some which weren’t there in the first place, and tied together to create some form of ending. Yet, throughout, aside from the repetitious jokes, the recurring theme is a simple pun. Ghost-writer.

Taking a stereotypical, dated view of 1930’s posh-Britain this take on Noel Coward’s Blithe Spirit simply lacks any form of charm to properly highlight humour. The living characters have as much life as the ghost, and to think of it the film itself.

LFF 2020: One Night In Miami – Review

Release Date – 15th January 2021, Cert – 15, Run-time – 1 hour 55 minutes, Director – Regina King

Four influential African American figures; Malcolm X (Kingsley Ben-Adir), Cassius Clay (Eli Goree), Jim Brown (Aldis Hodge) and Sam Cooke (Leslie Odom Jr) meet in a hotel room one night, discussing their status in society and the change they can help create.

While different in tone and style Pixar’s Soul and Regina King’s directorial debut One Night In Miami have a shared sense of humanity. Both written by Kemp Powers, Soul being a collaborative effort, both features, which have been talked about as awards season contenders, come with a feeling of hopefulness and pride. With this latest big screen venture Powers adapts his award winning stage-play of the same name. Following four iconic African American figures the film depicts Malcolm X (Kingsley Ben-Adir), Jim Brown (Aldis Hodge) and Sam Cooke (Leslie Odom Jr – who can truly belt out a song with the power, soul and sound of Cooke) meeting in a Miami hotel room to initially celebrate the 1964 World Heavyweight Championship win of Cassius Clay (Eli Goree) – yet to become Muhammed Ali.

However, the celebration quickly becomes a discussion about where the four stand in society, and what they can do to advance the civil rights movement. The conversation coolly flows like the gradually melting ice cream as each friend helps the others to pave a way forward for the future. Such talks are brought to life by a fantastic set of central performances that create believable and engaging characters that are, most importantly, human. Not forgetting well-placed humour, or the light, banter-like tone of some topics, each individual figure feels real, with a fresh 60’s-infused swagger to further boost their air of relatability and familiarity.

King allows for her cast to move and create humanity within their portrayals, making it all the more easier to connect with them and recognise their emotions. The ensemble is strong and despite the sometimes stage-like feeling of the piece, particularly being set a large deal in a single hotel room, each of the leads shines from the screen and leaves a lasting imprint on the mind. Awards consideration is rightfully discussed when it comes to these performances, however the conversation over who’s a lead, who’s not and whether the ensemble nature of four great pieces of acting has one specific ‘leader’ or nominee could get in the way of a nod. Whatever happens the performances are undeniably worthy of plaudits.

When you throw into the mix the heady tone of the 60’s and the celebration of victory, and energy of the drive to continue it on other ways, there’s a true upbeat sense of hope to the whole film. Pushed further by the passion that each figure has for their future. Clay is about to announce his conversation to Islam, soon to become Muhammed Ali, Cooke is trying to turn his art, his music, into a further form of activism. Meanwhile, Brown tries to push forward the role of black athletes, particularly within his sport of American football, and Malcolm X is, while thinking about how his own actions affect the world around him – particularly those who seem to be constantly surveilling him – is pushing each of them to further the impact that they can have and to spread the word of and engagement with the civil rights movement.

Powers’ screenplay allows for layered personalities that are simply further detailed by the fantastic performances that King’s direction allows and captures. Early exposition allows for a clear understanding of points and feelings throughout the piece as the characters engage in their conversations of impassioned hope.

Regina King knows exactly what to do with Kemp Powers screenplay, and she does it and more. When the night is over you’ll have consumed a refreshing drink of hopeful humanity brought about by four brilliant central performances that capture the tone almost perfectly.

Just A Little Bit Random Audience Top Ten Best Films Of 2020

After a year of chaos and mostly comfort watches it seems that there was still plenty of room for viewings of new releases. Whether a rare big screen viewing or one of the many streaming and PVOD releases (all done by UK release date) there was a lot to enjoy within 2020, and your votes certainly showed that. Throughout the voting process for the audience best films of the year a diverse range of films were showed a great deal of love, and while the top three remained the same by their own distances the remaining seven films in the top ten were part of a very close, ever-changing race. And so, as voted for by the Just A Little Bit Random audience and beyond, here are the top ten best films of 2020!

10. Military Wives

One of the last films to be release before cinemas closed during the first lockdown Military Wives was billed as the “feel-good” film of the year. And, it seems to have done its job. The film had already had good word of mouth and was boosted further when being released soon after on PVOD for more people to see in the safety of their homes. Perhaps its upbeat tone – from The Full Monty director Peter Cattaneo – was what people needed during this year.

Inspired (being a very key word here) by the true story of the Military Wives choir there’s something almost similar in tone to 2019’s Fisherman’s Friends – voted as the 7th best film of that year. While both films may have been assumed as widely being for a general ‘silver cinema’ audience clearly they both stretched out to other audiences to make, in only a couple of weeks as most cinemas were beginning to close, over £3 million at the UK box office.

A story about people coming together amidst fears, worries, stresses and more – as the characters’ husbands are out fighting in the Afghanistan war – seemed to be what people needed during this year, with Military Wives sticking with them for a fair deal of it. For a number of voters it truly was the “feel-good” film of the year, hence its appearance as one of the top ten films of 2020.

9. Portrait Of A Lady On Fire

Making many best of the year lists it seems that you the audience agreed that Céline Sciamma’s Portrait Of A Lady On Fire was truly something to behold. Foreign language films as a whole made a big impact in 2020 and this artistic tale of passionate love clearly stood out amongst them.

It’s almost impossible to fault any of the film’s details. With fantastic lead performances from Adèle Haenel and Noémie Merlant – which managed to receive as much, if not more, acclaim as Elisabeth Moss’ much talked about turn in The Invisible Man, released the same week – who bring to life characters who you just want to see express their emotions to each other.

There’s something truly heart-breaking and tragic about the hopeful tone of the film as you fear there isn’t a future in the relationship due to Haenel’s Héloïse preparing to be married off. The emotional punches of this beautifully told and shot period drama transported viewers somewhere entirely new and different, somewhere they may very well have returned to a number of times throughout the year simply because of how perfect it felt. Which may be just one, there’s bound to be a great deal more than many for this film, of the reasons that this film is at number 9 on this list, speaking to how well received the films above it were.

8. Wolfwalkers

For the past few years Irish animation studio Cartoon Saloon have often been referred to as the Irish Studio Ghibli. However, with their continuing trend of gems such as Song Of The Sea, The Secret Of Kells, The Breadwinner and now Wolfwalkers it may soon be the case that this studio becomes the comparison for many others. Wolfwalkers continues Cartoon Saloon’s trend of deeply rooting their tales in folklore while managing to make something that seems like its own individual piece of folklore. The fine animation of their most recent feature about a young English girl, Robyn (Honor Kneafsey), living in Ireland who becomes friends with a girl living in the woods, Mebh (Eva Whittaker), who just happens to be a wolkfwalker – described as “half-wolf, half-witch, half-people” – simply adds to the charm that this film overflows with.

Although, this certainly isn’t a film without its elements of darkness. Simon McBurney voices the truly slimy ‘boo hiss’ figure of the Lord Protector, trying to rid the nearby woods of wolves simply to extend the land that the English are taking over. Yet the charm, humour and heart of the film is never left in the background.

It’s a film that has had care and passion for the story that is being told and the places it comes from into every frame, all leading to a great final product for anyone to enjoy. Thanks to a release on Apple Tv+ – and a limited cinema release beforehand – this feature was potentially able to be viewed by more people than previous limited theatrical release Cartoon Saloon pieces, and from the reception that it’s had it’s clearly been worth it.

7. Onward

Despite the lack of animated films released this year there was clearly a lot of love for those that were released. Animation giant Pixar released two films, and while at the end of the year Soul received a share of acclaim when released on Disney+ the one that seems to have stuck with audience members is Onward. A call-back to 80’s fantasy films such as Time Bandits and Labyrinth, Onward is certainly something different from the studio. There’s plenty of detail in the mythical land of elves, centaurs and manticores where restaurants boast that they’re “now serving 2nd breakfast”.

This is an escapist road-trip as brothers Ian (Tom Holland) and Barley (Chris Pratt) embark on a ‘quest’ to bring back their dad for just one day, after a spell goes wrong and only brings back everything below the belt (belt and trousers included – this is a family film after all). One of the number of films released only a couple of weeks before cinemas closed Onward managed to earn just under £10 million at the UK box office this year, and for a number of weeks was the number one film as cinemas were gradually beginning to re-open. Perhaps people were going for re-watches to escape from the outside world, maybe they were going because they heard the film was good and wanted to watch it on the big screen instead of on Disney+ (where it was released early due to the pandemic).

Either way Onward served as some light entertainment for young and old, a call-back to classics for some and an introduction to a genre for others. Despite not having the box office the studio may have hoped for, but there is, of course, a pretty good excuse for that, Onward clearly was a hit with those who have seen it. Also allowing for it to be voted as the best animated film of the year (Soul doesn’t appear in this top ten).

6. Birds Of Prey (And The Fantabulous Emancipation Of One Harley Quinn)

Despite everything that happens in Birds Of Prey (And The Fantabulous Emancipation Of One Harley Quinn) – possibly the longest film title of 2020, but one which almost perfectly sums up the tone and style of Cathy Yan’s DC film – one element truly stole the show. “I don’t know if it’s the stray Armenian arm hair, or the fact that his cheese slices are always six months out of date; but no one makes an egg sandwich like Sal”. Perhaps the egg sandwich which serves such an integral part of Birds Of Prey is one of the most iconic things to emerge from a film in 2020, it certainly inspired multiple Twitter threads analysing the greasy breakfast pile.

Aside from the egg sandwich – it truly is immensely desirable – Birds Of Prey is filled with stylish fun and colour, while DC’s style has been changing over the last two or three years there certainly hasn’t been anything like this so far. In fact this is something that goes for comic book movies as a whole, this is a film that stands out amongst all of them for its style and general tone.

While some might draw comparisons to Deadpool Birds Of Prey is very much its own unique piece filled with a controlled chaotic sparkle. The film also allows Margot Robbie’s titular Harley Quinn to properly burst out, free from the shackles of 2016’s Suicide Squad, with bounding, fourth-wall breaking energy for a funny, entertaining ride with some equally stylish ass-kicking in hand.

5. Da 5 Bloods

For many Delroy Lindo stole the show in this particular Spike Lee joint – a monologue of his in particular being one of the cinematic highlights of the year – however there’s a great deal more happening within Da 5 Bloods. Telling the story of four former-soldiers meeting in present day Vietnam to find treasure they had buried in the 80’s Lee’s latest narrative feature, having also released the much-praised David Byrne’s American Utopia towards the end of the year, explored the bond, lives and memories of the group as they returned to the place they had once fought in.

It’s a sometimes tragic story, a feeling pushed further by the excellent ensemble cast and the detailed characters that they bring to life whether in the present day or in flashbacks, and it truly leaves its mark whether looking at elements of action or drama, sometimes both. Yet, the film never forgets its humour to make the figures at the centre of it feel more authentic, simply making the emotional punches even swifter and more devastating. Also holding one of the final performances of Chadwick Boseman, which certainly has more impact and emotion that it already held since his unfortunate passing.

There’s a lot of great things in the mixture that makes up Da 5 Bloods that stay in the mind long after viewing it. Perhaps for many the entire film stayed with them long after viewing, however much stayed with people it was clearly enough to lead it to be place so high up on this list of the best films of the year.

4. Tenet

If there’s one film from 2020 that everyone agreed on it was Tenet. While the reason it was agreed upon was the fact that it doesn’t make sense there were still plenty of people who enjoyed this latest mind-melting time-twister from Christopher Nolan, truly taking the film’s advice of “don’t try to understand it, just feel it” in there stride. One of the few blockbusters to be released in cinemas in 2020, thanks to a push from Nolan himself, this may also have been one of the most re-watched films of the year, with people trying to actually follow it (alongside hear the dialogue) and understand, potentially enjoying, it more each time.

Yet, despite such jabs there is still quite a lot to admire about Tenet, particularly when it comes to the handful of action sequences within it; heightened by Ludwig Göransson’s detailed score which at times sounds like it’s playing in reverse itself. There’s certainly something thrilling about the fast-paced action throughout the film, and after so many months of cinemas being closed potentially the feeling of seeing something of this scale on the big screen may have added to the response of the film.

This isn’t to say that it’s actually bad, there are plenty of people who really liked Tenet, and it is an entertaining film with plenty to like – as shown by its placing in this year’s top ten, just outside the top three.

3. Parasite

Perhaps one of the biggest sensation’s of the entire year Parasite took the world by storm. There wasn’t anyone who had a bad word to say about the first ever foreign-language film to win the Best Picture Oscar – it almost seems to have been one of the only good things that have happened during the year. Part-thriller, part-drama, part-dark comedy, part-social commentary; there are a great deal of themes, genres and ideas packed into the various backgrounds of Parasite, yet the film pulls it off with a detailed screenplay and excellent performances with the already great Bong Joon-ho behind the camera.

The film was a box office success in the UK, being the 7th highest grossing film of the year, earning more than the likes of Birds Of Prey, The Invisible Man, Onward and Jojo Rabbit. To say something that certainly everyone else has already said, there seems to be nothing to say about Parasite that hasn’t already been said.

Not only was this considered one of the best films of the year, or even the decade already (for some last decade due to this being a 2019 release in a number of countries), but multiple people have claimed this to be one of the greatest films ever made. Parasite in all its, as it seemed almost everyone who has seen it might put it, perfection was undeniably a force like no other this year. With widespread acclaim from the very start there was justified anticipation and a worthy pay-off at the end of it, striking a chord with many and if not at the top of their best of the year lists causing it to appear somewhere in their top ten lists, and that’s precisely the case here.

Throughout voting there was much support for Parasite, and the top three remained very much the same, and its support was strong enough to lead it to be named as the third best film of 2020.

2. Jojo Rabbit

Released at the very start of the year Jojo Rabbit has clearly stayed with many voters throughout it, receiving just over double the amount of votes that Parasite earned. Much more than the story of a boy (Roman Griffin Davis) who’s imaginary best friend is Hitler (writer-director Taika Waititi) this is not the scathing satire that some may have expected. Adapted from Christine Leunens’ novel Caging Skies, this is the charming, bittersweet story of a boy trying his best to be a Nazi but learning more about his world when he discovers a Jewish girl (Thomasin McKenzie) living in his walls during World War II.

Filled with Waititi’s signature form of laugh-out-loud humour and some finely tuned emotional beats – sometimes hitting immediately after moments of lightness and managing to never feel out of place, the screenplay won the Best Adapated Screenplay Oscar – this is an absolute gem from the breakout writer-director of a few years ago. Slightly looking at the impact and corruption that propaganda can cause, Waititi looks once again at the characters of the outsiders, a group he has made a number of films about now, including Boy and Hunt For The Wilderpeople, although this time with quite a different lens and angle. Waititi’s original screenplay was first placed on the Blacklist in 2012 and his passion and care for the project clearly never died down in the six or seven years it took to get the film into production, and it was well worth the wait.

The finished product is a hilarious, emotional and finely-balanced piece of work that was a success both in terms of awards and box office, both in general and in the UK. Clearly having formed a close bond with viewers, strong enough to lead them to vote it as the second best film of 2020, with only one film receiving that bit more love.

1. 1917

Back towards the start of the year many believed that Sam Mendes was a lock in for his second Best Director Oscar for 1917 (his first having been won in 2000 for American Beauty), in fact his film was biggest piece of competition for Parasite when it came to the battle for the top prize on the night. There’s no denying that technically 1917 is a great film – it also won master Cinematographer Sir (it feels good to be able to say that, doesn’t it?) Roger Deakins his second Oscar, his first for his work on Blade Runner 2049.

Told in what looks like two continuous shots the look and sound of the film heightened many people’s immersions into this World War One feature. Not just focusing on traditional war elements such as battles, attacks and fights there are plenty of quieter moments held within the film. However, even these are lined with tension as the deadline of the mission of the central pairing (played by George MacKay and Dean-Charles Chapman) gets increasingly close. Their task is to deliver a message to another battalion to stop an attack that could lose the lives of thousands of soldiers.

Not only does Mendes and the relatively dialogue-light screenplay (co-written by Mendes and Krysty Wilson-Cairns) remind the audience of this, but so does Thomas Newman’s score and almost all of the other technical elements of the film that throw the two leads into further riskier situations that threaten their lives and their mission. Audiences found themselves similarly thrown into the trenches, no man’s land, enemy territory and beyond in a story inspired by the stories and experiences of Mendes’ grandfather.

1917’s high levels of tension and drama caused it to have a great, lasting impact on viewers of all forms. The highest grossing film in the UK of 2020 (earning more than double that of the second highest earning film, Sonic The Hedgehog) and an equally large hit during awards season this was perhaps one of the best received films of the year.

In fact, throughout the entire voting process this film was the number one choice for nearly the entire run, just to show how much love and support it has had. Truly leading it to be named as the Just A Little Bit Random audience’s best film of 2020.

Top Ten Best Films Of 2020

2020 is a year that many will likely agree can only be described with itself as the adjective. With fallouts between cinemas and distributors, lockdowns leading to the close of cinemas for a large portion of the year and a limited amount of releases thanks to multiple delays, it may come as a surprise to some that there were even ten films released this year.

However, despite everything that’s happened, we’ve still managed to see a number of great films. At the very start of the year we saw awards hit Jojo Rabbit and Guy Ritchie’s gangster movie return The Gentlemen. While at the end of the year we still managed to see the cinema release of Wonder Woman 1984, Warner Bros also making a pandemic gamble in the summer by releasing Tenet to the world. Meanwhile Bill and Ted once again taught us to be excellent to each other, Parasite became the first ever foreign language film to win the Best Picture Oscar and Borat made an unexpected return.

Streaming services saw an even more rapid rise compared to the one they were already having in previous years. Netflix released awards hopefuls I’m Thinking Of Ending Things, The Trial Of The Chicago 7, Uncut Gems and Da 5 Bloods. Disney made the most of Disney+ by releasing big films such as Mulan and Soul, and PVOD saw some smaller films, such as Days Of The Bagnold Summer, Clemency and Farewell Amor.

Alongside all of this in a year that was already scary enough audiences turned to a number of top horror releases. Social horrors such as The Invisible Man, His House and Relic received great deals of praise, alongside inventive pieces like Host and Possessor. And, let’s not forget isolation horrors Vivarium and The Lighthouse.

Despite everything that happened throughout it 2020 still managed to be a great year for films. Whether available to stream, rent through PVOD or on the big screen there were very few films that I personally considered weak or bad. It was still difficult to whittle everything down to a top ten. But, finally, here are what I believe to be the top ten films released in the UK in 2020.

10. A Beautiful Day In The Neighbourhood

Tom Hanks absolutely shines as Fred Rogers. He might not look like him or sound like him and yet he perfectly captures the pure kind essence of the US TV icon. While this isn’t a film about Rogers, it follows Matthew Rhys’ cynical journalist Lloyd Vogel, it perfectly gets across his messages of care to the viewer. As Hanks walks in at the start of the film smiling and singing, asking the viewer “won’t you be my neighbour?” it’s impossible not to feel a sense of warmth and welcoming, even if you aren’t aware of Mr Rogers’ Neighborhood.

As Rhys’ magazine writer finds himself struggling with his relationship with his father (Chris Cooper) and trying to look after his newborn son with his wife, Andrea (Susan Kelechi Watson) there’s a rather genuine tale of someone turning their life and attitudes around. While being released at the start of the year in the UK throughout the year this film has still managed to provide a feeling of warmth throughout the year.

There’s a traditional feeling to Marielle Heller’s direction and Micah Fitzerman-Blue and Noah Harpster’s screenplay. Yet the film avoids an overall feeling of cliché and tiredness because of how invested you become in the characters. Heller and the cast treat them with respect and a true sense of heart and control. It never pokes fun at them or their situations while managing to avoid a feeling of it being overly-sweetened. The film simply feels like a well-constructed tale of people coming together and simply learning to be better – while teaching us along the way that “anything mentionable is manageable” and truly capturing the warmth, charm and kind spirit of Mr Rogers.

9. On The Rocks

Bill Murray truly does shine when he works with Sofia Coppola. He’s excellent in her latest finely tuned venture, exploring a father-daughter relationship between Murray and Rashida Jones – also on fantastic form. The two have a brilliant chemistry that feels genuine and allows for the natural humour of most scenes to effortlessly drift through, and a bond between viewer and characters to be easily formed. When paired with Coppola’s fine screenplay there’s a lot to enjoy about the central figures as they roam the streets and restaurants of New York trying to work out whether the husband of Jones’ character (played by a wonderfully restrained Marlon Wayans) is having an affair.

Such elements push forward the point that this is a film about humans simply being humans. Admittedly very wealthy humans that personally know the concierges of the best hotels in London, still somehow managing to avoid the feeling of exaggeration. Nevertheless the film gently looks into their worries and stresses, their fears and desires, and most of all their behaviour.

On The Rocks might look at humanity, although certainly with a light touch, yet it’s a piece of true escapism. It’s hard not to be caught up within the various scenery’s that lines the piece. bright city lights as Jones and Murray cruise around in a small red car that shines in the New York City nightlife. It all springboards from Coppola’s screenplay, brought to life by two award worthy central performances that shine as bright as the small red car in the bright lights of the New York City nightlife that Jones and Murray cruise around in. It’s a pure joy to watch. The 96 minute run-time breezes past quickly and effectively, barely dropping or missing a beat. Simply creating a joyful, entertaining and finely tuned piece of work that clicks because of the light conversation of humanity that it so fluidly demonstrates.

8. Host

One of the first films to be produced and released during lockdown, Host was such a big hit on streaming service Shudder that it found itself with a cinema release later in the year. It also happens to be one of, if not the, scariest films of the year. It’s hard to believe that this is director Rob Savage’s feature debut, this feels like a masterclass in terrifying timing. As a Zoom séance leads to angered attacks from spirits the assaults become increasingly frequent, not to mention brutal.

The onslaught that occurs over the course of 56 relentlessly shocking minutes is perfectly staged and timed. Much like the people in the online call you feel helpless and unable to do anything, stuck on the other side of a screen, not in the same room and simply forced to watch it all unfold. Each moment made more effective by the fact that the effects were set up by the cast in their own homes, due to this being thought of and submitted in just 12 weeks.

Very rarely do I hide behind something in fear, and Host had me doing just that as the demonic attacks simply get worse for you and the characters. I found myself wincing, squinting through my hands and simply wanting to leap behind the seat I was glued to in pure fear at what was happening on-screen. Never taking delight in its lightly bloody details the film sparingly uses blood for full effect when it comes to the highest point of brutality, just to emphasise to the viewer the true amount of torture and pain that the on-screen figures are going through. It’s expertly timed and once the build-up of the first 20 minutes is out the way Host is nothing but fear and terror; even the credits have an air of tension about them.

7. The Trial Of The Chicago 7

If stories about humans being themselves is something I’m into then I’m definitely a real sucker for a courtroom drama, and with a screenplay by Aaron Sorkin of course The Trial Of The Chicago 7, which he also directs, makes my top ten of the year. Sorkin’s film, while pushing some figures aside, manages to capture the personalities of its characters well as they are put on trial for riots outside the 1968 Democratic National Convention. Each figure is brought to life by a wonderful ensemble cast, including; Eddie Redmayne, Mark Rylance, Frank Langella, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Sacha Baron-Cohen and Joseph Gordon-Levitt just to name a few. All give great dramatic performances to truly capture the scale of this seemingly never-ending courtroom drama. One which questions whether the trial in question is political or not.

There’s a clash of views not just in the scenes set in the courtroom but amongst the defendants themselves. All have strongly held, passionate views that they want to argue and get across, however often these get in the way of the people they are fighting for justice with. Something which isn’t helped when there’s clearly prejudice from the judge from the very start.

Sorkin is known for his fast-paced ‘walk and talk’ film style and screenplays. And yet, courtroom dramas are often gradual and slightly slower in pace. Yet, he manages to blend the two rather well, packing detail into every scene, making the most of montages – the opening ten minutes is fantastically set up with a fast pace and high level of energy as all characters are introduced and their motives easily established, boosted by Daniel Pemberton’s racing score. It simply draws you in, connects you with the characters and prepares you for the punches and force of the rest of the film. You’re strapped in for shock – especially when it comes to the treatment of Abdul-Mateen’s Black Panther co-founder Bobby Seale.

As usual Sorkin’s screenplay is carefully sculpted and filled to the brim with detail to make for an interesting and engaging courtroom drama that also works as an ensemble character piece. One with fantastic performances throughout to truly capture the drama and the clash of views in and out of the centre stage that forms of the titular trial. Certainly something different from the writer-director, yet the various montages and flashbacks help to push forward his style, alongside the general tone of the film. It all comes together to be something truly engaging and not without its true sense of shock and fighting drama.

6. The Lighthouse

Perhaps it was foreshadowing that back in January a film about two men going mad while being stranded on a rock for a continuously extended amount of time was released. Whether it was or not The Lighthouse – Robert Eggers’ superb follow-up to his brilliant horror debut The Witch – is undeniably a truly great atmospheric psychological horror. You can’t help but feel the biting cold wind and have your nostrils infected with salt and brine as Robert Pattinson and Willem Dafoe (both sporting some smashing facial hair) are kept on a small island, maintaining a lighthouse for more than the initial four weeks they were meant to be there for due to harsh weather conditions preventing boats from making it to the island.

As the pair’s time on the island is lengthened their sanity begins to slip – particular for Pattinson’s newbie, Ephraim Winslow, who has traded trees for sea. Visions haunt him of demon mermaids, unsettling seagulls and more as his fascination with the forbidden light of the building is always kept from out of his reach. The giant bulb is treated as a person in itself. A mysterious, controlling, alien force that tries to consume and take over those who look into it. Simply adding to the fear factor and mystery of this unique isolation feature. Various questions are asked throughout. Is this all real? Is this all in the minds of the characters, or even just one of them? Is it the harsh conditions? Is it the island itself? Perhaps it’s the drunken state of the pair – Dafoe’s Thomas Wake is himself a commanding booze-hound. The longer the pair spend together the more their personal feelings of rage, upset, boredom and even sexual frustration turn to demons on the outside.

Enhanced by the decision to shoot the film in a cramped box-like aspect ratio and in black and white the feeling of the 1890’s, but more importantly the severity of the environment and its surroundings. When you add in Jarin Blaschke’s stunning, highly cinematic, cinematography the full intensity of this mostly two man piece is released. Eggers use of frequent close-ups shows the terrified nature of the two, particularly Ephraim, as the constant stream of madness almost begins to feel like The Shining but with a more sea-salt drenched narrative.

5. Vivarium

Yet another film about people trapped somewhere for what seems like an endless amount of time – although this time released at the very start of the first lockdown – Vivarium may be the film that’s stayed with me the longest out of everything from 2020. Each time I’ve seen it it made me feel as if I needed to go and sit in a dark room to properly think about what I’d just seen. I’ve known that I’ve really liked it and that I’d gladly watch it again, yet I feel that no matter how many times I view this film I’ll need to have time to properly process it after.

Jesse Eisenberg and Imogen Poots find themselves trapped in what seems like an extended episode of Inside No. 9. Trapped in an infinite estate of identical houses, after being abandoned by a mysterious, almost robotic, estate agent. After being forced to raise a rapidly growing baby in the hope of freedom the two gradually find themselves losing hope and going mad in fading desperation for escape. There’s a consistently unsettling and creepy sense to every action and event that happens over the course of the narrative. Never dropping such feelings the film consistently travels along its course delving the two central figures – wonderfully performed by Eisenberg and Poots – into further hopeless depths over the course of the slow-burn narrative, which somehow makes it all the more effective as the viewer is dropped into the same new lifestyle structure.

Director Lorcan Finnegan almost never misses a beat as he knows just when to add new details and elements to keep the viewer intrigued and in near suspense and tension as they too are trapped in a repetitive maze of green houses – but mostly within number 9, potentially an intentional choice?

When it comes to films that are possibly going to be future cult classics I would list Vivarium as one of them. It’s a fantastically unsettling acid-trip of mind-warping trickery, especially in the final stages – truly the points that push you over the edge to needing a dark room to sit in afterwards. Just as effective on re-watched and bound to stay with you, it stayed with me for many months after first seeing it in October 2019, this is a great piece of slow-burn isolated entrapment horror.

4. Les Misérables

Little to do with the musical or novel, Les Misérables is a close look into the abuse of police power and gang-related tensions. Director Ladj Ly uses his documentary past to capture the true chaos of this piece. Initially showing the peace and harmony of the joy in the streets as France celebrates a World Cup victory. However, this is all shattered when the police become involved in the case of a missing lion cub from a travelling circus that has arrived in the streets of Montfermeil. The group of police in question being new-to-the-force Stéphane Ruiz (Damien Bonnard), Brigadier Gwada (Djebril Zonga) and squad leader Chris (a superb Alexis Manenti). It’s Chris’ workstyle and seeming lack of boundaries and ethics that make him a dangerous force on the streets, frequently not following the rules – on one occasion seemingly doing so just to make the girl he’s searching at a bus stop feel uncomfortable.

Thus when brought into an already tense situation involving various gangs things quickly get out of order, with those who are meant to uphold the law coming off worst of all. During scenes of angered outbursts and potential street brawls Ly was inspired by 2008 Parisian riots – his various edits and shots truly capture the chaos and panic of such instances and throw the viewer directly into the confusion by not following one specific character. Throughout the narrative there are various key figures who come into play, although the trio of officers remain the central focus, each one adding to not just the films layers and potential directions but the risks that could be faced by other characters along the way. Each one easy to keep track of because of the well-structured course that the narrative takes place over.

As we meet new people and the various public fights, slurs and chases unfold the levels of tension are ramped up. Things become increasingly dangerous and they develop and get more worrying for the police as Chris’ actions, and Gwada’s acceptance of them, lead to further trouble. It all comes together to create a really well-told, finely flowing story. One that while feeling rather timely is , for 104 minutes, a blood-pumping, tension-filled piece of reflection. Yet, an admirable piece of reflection that never feels drab, bleak or as if it’s lecturing the viewer or talking down to them. A finely crafted non-documentary mirror of character, intrigue, action and tension

3. An American Pickle

Perhaps, for me, one of the biggest surprises of 2020 is that a Seth Rogen film has made my top ten best films of the year, the top five in fact – it’s a mild surprise that one was considered. Especially one about a man who wakes up in modern day America after being perfectly preserved in pickle brine for 100 years. This isn’t to say that I don’t like Seth Rogen, he’s made and starred in a number of films that I’ve enjoyed and An American Pickle is certainly one of them. In many ways it came at the right time. Just after the first lockdown as cinemas were starting to re-open with little new releases. Rogen’s film was a light, entertaining, uplifting and very funny and reintroduction to the big screen.

The film might have its moments of silliness that perfectly match the very basic gist of the plot. But ,in many ways that’s what brings the laugh out loud funny humour that runs throughout, main character Herschel Greenbaum (Seth Rogen in one half of his brilliantly performed duel role) voices many olde-age views that are now considered offensive. Yet, amongst all the humour that the film holds there’s plenty of more serious moments. Herschel’s great-grandson Ben worries about disappointing his deceased parents, not having as strong of a Jewish faith as they, or his other ancestors, may have had. There’s a layer of sorrow to such moments and to an extent you can feel this as a personal piece for Rogen and all involved in this clearly collaborative effort, the directorial debut of frequent Rogen collaborator Brandon Trost.

When everything is combined An American Pickle feels like a collaboration between Mel Brooks and Taika Waititi. It feels cared for and impassioned as the heart that’s gone into the film helps to form the hilarious nature of the piece, helping to form an effortlessly charming tale. There are highly observed performances, writing and direction that simply help to form one of the most accessible and entertaining, not to mention pleasantly surprising, films of the year. It simply makes me happy, even on re-watches, but part of that may very well be the fact that it happened to come at the right time, and just so happens to be rather great.

2. Portrait Of A Lady On Fire

One of the best things about Céline Sciamma’s expertly handled love story is that it never asks ‘will they, won’t they?’ it simply asks ‘when will they?’. It’s clear from the very beginning as the two central lovers meet that something is going to happen between them, however, much like them, the viewer has no idea when or how it will happen. As painter Marianne (Noémie Merlant) and Héloïse (Adèle Haenel), the woman she’s secretly painting a portrait of for her upcoming marriage, bond more their relationship doesn’t get closer, instead it opens up. It’s a unique view of a relationship and writer-director Sciamma portrays it with great precision, pushed further by her two leads.

Love and passion burn bright throughout the entirety of this highly artistic and stunningly framed piece of cinema. The relationship and the actions within and around it feel genuine and heartfelt, simply drawing the viewer further into it, emotionally willing it on and wanting it to be explored. There’s something deeply poetic about the whole thing – if there’s a film that sums up the idea of something being ‘poetic’ it’s very likely this. Many of the key conversations and moments of the film are birthed through some form of art, whether it be paintings, theatre, writing and storytelling. All allowing for both parties to increase their adoration and expressions of love for each other.

Even the character’s longing gazes and the lingering shots of the wonderfully captured landscapes – thanks to the stunning cinematography – manage to keep the viewer in awe throughout the entire film. There’s an honest delicacy that lies throughout the entire piece when it comes to Sciamma’s direction. What brings this honesty is the fact that this is clearly a film told entirely from the female gaze – almost every single figure who appears in the film is female. They understand what the film is aiming for, what Sciamma wants to achieve with the finished piece and the collaborative effort shines. Forming a stunning feature that captivates the viewer from the the very start to the very end. It would be very easy to spend many more hours with these two characters, in fact even just in the world of the film through the gaze that events are seen through.

This truly is one of the most stunning and effective expressions of love seen on-screen in recent years. It’s an emotionally invested pouring of adoration and passionate embraces. A truly fantastic effort from all involved; the wonderful performances, the precise direction, the specific, if little, dialogue in the screenplay and so, so much more, simply pushes this even further to create a unique and brilliant piece of cinematic storytelling.

1. Jojo Rabbit

When going into Taika Waititi’s adaptation of Christine Leunens’ novel Caging Skies a number of people may have been expecting a biting, scathing satire. However, what they got was another bittersweet Taika Waititi gem. This is more than just a film about a young boy whose imaginary friend is Hitler (a hilarious performance from Waititi who did no reasearch for the role “because the guy is a f*cking c*nt”). It’s about the boy who discovers a Jewish girl in the walls of his house and gradually forms of a bond with her, despite it being against what he’s being taught.

The film tackles the idea of people being easily indoctrinated into something through easy persuasion, want or simply following the crowd. In one of the opening scenes footage of people swarming and cheering at the presence of Hitler, compared to Beatlemania as the German version of I Wanna Hold Your Hand is played. And yet, amongst all such serious themes, and a fair deal of emotion, there is the usual brand of laugh out loud funny humour in a style and tone that only Taika Waititi seems to be able to capture.

Released at the very start of the year and after a number of re-watches Jojo Rabbit has managed to remain my personal best film of 2020 for its entire run. While there have been a number of other great releases that I’ve loved this is the one that I’ve most enjoyed. Perfectly balancing comedy and tragedy, packing both a humorous and emotional punch – managing to instantly change tone in a split second and never feeling like an idea is out of place. It’s far from a satire ripping modern day figures to pieces, it’s a warm, sweet, perfectly balanced, occasionally tragic and consistently hilarious Taika Waititi feature about two people developing, bonding and growing together as the walled off world outside attempts to spread a thin veil of hate and unacceptance. It’s just wonderful. And it also happens to be what I believe is the best film of 2020.

LFF 2020: Soul – Review

Release Date – 25th December 2020, Cert – PG, Run-time – 1 hour 37 minutes, Directors – Pete Docter, Kemp Powers

Music teacher Joe (Jamie Foxx) has just been given the chance to fulfil his dreams and play piano in a jazz club. However, after dying and trying to escape the afterlife he finds himself trying to get back to Earth with reluctant unborn soul Number 22 (Tina Fey) by his side.

Pixar are iconic for their colourful and imaginative worlds. With Inside Out they took this to another level by visualising elements of the mind such as lost memories and emotions while weaving them into an engaging story. With their latest venture, Soul, they manage to do even more of this. By looking into themes such as lost souls, people not sure as to where they are in the world and what people’s purpose in life actually is there’s a lot of deep themes to visualise within this latest feature.

And encountering all of these ideas and worlds is Joe Gardner (Jamie Foxx), a music teacher and aspiring jazz musician. When given the chance of a lifetime to play piano at a jazz club he falls down a manhole while crossing the road and immediately finds himself travelling along a large conveyer belt to a bright light. His form has changed to a sort of multi-coloured blob, a mixture of blue, green, turquoise and more. It represents him on earth, his form is now his soul after all. Unwilling to enter the afterlife Joe falls off the track and finds himself in The Great Before – a place where souls are given their personalities before being sent to Earth to take human form.

It’s here that he meets soul Number 22 (Tina Fey). A small, childlike soul (who happens to sound like a middle-aged woman – a joke made in the film) who has wreaked havoc since day one. After going through various mentors who have tried to get the soul to unlock a final trait it’s no use. 22 doesn’t see the point of living if life just ends with death and returning to just soul form, not understanding why Joe wants to get back to his body so badly. Through this Pixar creates a deep thinking and mature film for all ages. They prove that there are such themes and ideas that can be tackled in a way that can be accessed by younger viewers as well as adults. All while managing to tell an engaging and humorous story at the same time.

Soul may not pack as much of an emotional punch as some of co-director Pete Docter’s other Pixar ventures, but there’s an authenticity within not just its story but its characters. Perhaps it comes from Kemp Powers (who also helped to co-write the film with Docter and Mike Jones), whose screenplay adaptation of his own play One Night In Miami also has a genuine sense to it. There’s a clear sense of care and detail that has gone into all elements of the film, into story, character, detail and more. Meanwhile, with Jon Batiste composing free-flowing jazz pieces for the scenes set in New York City and Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross working on the score for scenes in the world of souls/ The Great Before. Never do the different ideas in either score clash or conflict with each other. They simply work hand-in-hand and help to emphasise the various elements and ideas of the story, and the differences between Joe and 22’s human experiences and life as simply as a soul.

There’s clearly a lot of effort that has gone into all aspects of the film, including the voice performances. The two leads clearly understand their characters and the internal emotions, and especially confusions, of them both. It simply makes for a mort heartfelt and engaging piece that connects more with the viewer as they become absorbed into the brightly-coloured, brilliantly animated (as is standard from Pixar) worlds. Visualising concepts that are difficult to think of a physical form for. It might not have the emotional punch, but there’s certainly a lot of detail within the story, animation and general ideas of the piece that this is still another high-quality and original piece from the ever-inventive minds at Pixar.

While not quite a tear-jerker there’s still a lot to enjoy within the heart, humour and care that’s poured into and emitted from Pixar’s latest. Finely animated and filled with detail Soul is another hit from the ever inventive and heartful studio.