Film Feature: The 10 Best Films of 2019, By Patrick McDonald

CHICAGO – An entire decade is biting the dust in the switch from 2019 to 2020, with an America that can experience the anarchy of our current times reflected in the movies. What better time to unleash the 10 BEST FILMS of 2019, as selected by Über Critic Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com.

I begin (switching now to first person), by ranking the 25th best film through the 11th, with the option to click on the highlighted titles for reviews or associated interviews… 25th - MIDWAY [23] (A WW2 film that was inside the cockpit), 24th - TOY STORY 4 [24] (a daring, risky and funny story), 23rd - THE KINGMAKER [25] (a cautionary tale of power), 22nd - THE CURRENT WAR [26] (great performances, a tour de force), 21st - WHERE’D YOU GO, BERNADETTE [27] (a misunderstood tale of lost genius), 20th - DOLEMITE IS MY NAME (a hilarious and heart filled comeback for Eddie Murphy), 19th - WILD ROSE (three chords and the truth), 18th - CLEMENCY (multi-layered death row polemic), 17th - HONEY BOY (helluva way to get through rehab), 16th - MARRIAGE STORY (divorce, American style), 15th - GLORIA BELL [28] (Julianne Moore is a national treasure), 14th - PAIN AND GLORY (a movie in a movie in an addict), 13th - THE NIGHTINGALE [29] (Aisling Franciosi makes her mark), 12th - THE BEACH BUM [30] (all right, all right, all right), and 11th - THE LAST BLACK MAN IN SAN FRANCISCO [31] (a tone poem to the city by the bay, sold to the highest bidder).

The 2019 Best for genre films … Animated is TOY STORY 4, for Documentary it’s THE KINGMAKER, for Best Foreign Language Film it’s gotta be PAIN AND GLORY and for Superhero it’s the ardent CAPTAIN MARVEL. For a film that played festivals in 2018, but released in 2019, a shout out to DIANE [32] (a life-defining film). Below each film description in the 10 BEST will be a link to full reviews and/or interviews, when applicable. And away we go…

RENDEZVOUS IN CHICAGO

Rendezvous in Chicago
Photo credit: Cow Lamp Films

As a film observer in Chicago, I’d been searching for the one unicorn that was missing from set-in-the city filmmaking … the romantic comedy that uses my kind of town as a character the way that Woody Allen films use New York City. Writer/director Michael Glover Smith delivered that elusive animal in RENDEZVOUS, using authentic situations and interactions in an anthology of beautifully rendered romance stories in the Windy City. The usual pick-up (short film one), the you’re-the-one happiness (two) and the break-up (three) all get a unique twist through the filter of Smith, and he progresses the circumstances with a sure eye for the urban neighborhood and emotional detail. This is the romance-in-Chicago movie the world has been waiting for. Available thru digital.

HIGHLIGHT: The performance of former local actor Clare Cooney (short film one), who understands a character outwardly and within, creating an evolved persona. Watch out, Los Angeles.

Click here [33] for the full review of RENDEZVOUS IN CHICAGO.
Click here [34] for audio interactions during a Q&A with writer/director Michael Glover Smith, and his cast and crew.

ONCE UPON A TIME IN HOLLYWOOD

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
Photo credit: Columbia Pictures

It’s always special to witness a refreshing comeback for a virtuous American director, and good old Quentin Tarantino brings home the goods in this cinematic poem, which uses tone and mood over/above the story to create atmosphere … and its very effective and affecting. The setting is 1969, the summer of Charles Manson and the Sharon Tate (Margot Robbie) murders in Los Angeles, and QT sets it all up through the viewpoint of TV actor Rick Dalton (Leonardo DiCaprio) and his stunt double Cliff (Brad Pitt, stellar). Each scene is weighted through 1960s California dreaming in its twilight, and QT is manufacturing fantasy over it. I found the ending questionable on first viewing, until a friend pointed out the damned title … ONCE UPON A TIME. Available thru digital/DVD.

HIGHLIGHT: Margot Robbie as Sharon Tate watching herself at the movies in 1968’s THE WRECKING CREW.

Click here [35] for the full review of ONCE UPON A TIME IN HOLLYWOOD.

1917

1917
Photo credit: Universal Pictures

When a good old fashioned war movie evolves to an exemplary anti-war statement, then an extraordinary cinema experience has been achieved. 1917 is one of those creations, centered around Two World War One British soldiers, Schofield (George MacKay) and Blake (Dean-Charles Chapman), who have the impossible mission of delivering a message to the front lines to call off an attack, when it is found out that the Germans have laid a trap for 1600 Brit soldiers. Filled with the frustration, utter waste and the tragedy of war, it never blinks nor makes apologies … even at its most romantic. Co-writer/director Sam Mendes (AMERICAN BEAUTY) dedicated this one to his grandfather, who told him the stories. Magnificent, and brought to light by now-legendary cinematographer Roger Deakins. In theaters now, available thru digital/DVD in March 2020 (estimated).

HIGHLIGHT: A cameo by the great Benedict Cumberbatch, who finds new meaning for the word “f**k.”

SAINT FRANCES

SAINT FRANCIS
Photo credit: Oscilloscope

Has there ever been a mature and reflective film which treats an abortion as the background to redemption? SAINT FRANCES is that miracle of a film, and the second local production to make this list, which pleased me to no end. Writer Kelly O’Sullivan and director Alex Thompson deliver a certain-period-of-life drama that duly expresses the issues that it comments upon. The characters are all fully drawn, including a sensational turn by child actor Ramona Edith-Williams, playing off the O’Sullivan’s protagonist (the writer is also a featured actor) as if they’re a post modern Abbott and Costello. Director Alex Thompson’s eye for fluidity in storytelling is a major asset in this glorious modern tale, a humanist take on the karma of our life choices. A blessing. After a theatrical run in February 2020, available thru digital.

HIGHLIGHT: O’Sullivan’s character nonchalantly (and fascinatingly) presents an unexpected display of organic matter.

Click here [36] for a Podtalk with writer/actor Kelly O’Sullivan and director Alex Thompson.

LUCE

Luce
Photo credit: Neon

There have been many films that make statements about racial tensions in America, but LUCE takes it to a whole new level. The title character, portrayed by rising star Kelvin Harrison Jr. (who also was remarkable in WAVES, see below) is a black immigrant from a war-torn country who was adopted as a child by white American parents, and has become an Obama-like high school prodigy/leader whose intelligence may also be his undoing, in perspective. Octavia Spencer portrays Luce’s history/civics teacher, who suspects something about him, while wrestling with issues of her own. There is not a more powerful statement on America’s state of racial consciousness, told through a morality play written by J.C. Lee and directed by Julius Ohan, and it is a must-see for transitioning into 2020. Available thru digital/DVD.

HIGHLIGHT: Spencer’s lucid rant about being black in America, fueled by frustration, family history and bourbon.

UNCUT GEMS

Uncut Gems
Photo credit: A24

I’ll say what others are saying as well, Adam Sandler, who knew? But the key to his performance as gem dealer and gambling addict Howard Ratner is his understanding of the cultural roots embedded in the madness. Yes, this is a very Jewish film, yet it also has underlying themes of the American Dream and its propensity to destroy us. For other “who knew?” moments, how about former NBA star Kevin Garnett emoting over a gemstone, how about pop star The Weeknd willing to be an a-hole, and how about new discovery Julia Fox, who damn near steals the film as Howard’s side hustle. It’s all ballistic in delivery, paced like a goddamn runaway train, by indie film vets (and brothers) Benny and Josh Safie, who co-wrote and co-directed. As the saying goes, write what you know, and the father of the Safdies was a gem dealer. In theaters now, available thru digital in late January 2020.

HIGHLIGHT: Howard’s attempts to rectify all of his shortcomings, until they all run into each other like a multi-car pileup.

WAVES

Waves
Photo credit: A24

It’s a testament to the skill of actor Kelvin Harrison Jr. that he appears twice on this list, portraying two intense but totally different African American teenagers. In WAVES – an absolutely gut punch of emotionalism and redemption – Harrison is Tyler, a high level high school wrestler who is driven to perfection by his damaged father (Sterling K. Brown, fabulous once again). When he injures himself out of competition, the spiral his life takes pulls the whole family down, including his mousy sister (Taylor Russell). WAVES is the story of Tyler and Taylor (in separated stories) and in the background their father and step mother. What the film has to say about loss and healing is monumental, and it never devolves to cheap sentiment. Writer/director Trey Edward Shults (IT COMES AT NIGHT) will hopefully be commenting about the human condition through his films for years. Available thru digital/DVD on January 21st, 2020.

HIGHLIGHT: Taylor Russell communicates more in silence than some actors do in 100 monologues.

Click here [37] for a definitive Podtalk with writer/director Shults, and actors Kelvin Harrison Jr. and Taylor Russell.

MIDSOMMAR

Midsommar
Photo credit: A24

This is hard to describe as a narrative, it’s more of a roller coaster ride of animalistic and intuitive humanism. The second film of writer/director Ari Aster (HEREDITARY) has themes of mental health, decision making, relationships, sex, death and communal interaction … just the usual. Academic outsiders infiltrate a Swedish ceremony that occurs every 90 years, and the rituals within become a test for those outsiders. Both achingly tragic and crassly humorous, the story is a pastiche of life cycle and humanity, which can really challenge your reaction to the experience. This is a great film, the type that comes around rarely or maybe every time Ari Aster creates a new work … he is a exciting new voice. Available thru digital/DVD.

HIGHLIGHT: Don’t be alarmed now, it’s just a spring clean for the May Queen.

Click here [38] for for the full review of MIDSOMMAR.

THE IRISHMAN

The Irishman
Photo credit: Netflix

Forget any intimidation you may feel for this epic … the three-hour-plus length, the “youth-ening" process for the main actors or “Martin Scosese art film.” This is a rock-n-roll ride of American history through the eyes of Master Marty and the story of labor leader Jimmy Hoffa (an Oscar-worthy Al Pacino). Robert De Niro – understanding more about a character than he has in many years – portrays “Irishman” Frank Sheeran as a right hand man to Hoffa, not above or below doing anything to keep his boss on top during the 1950s through the ‘60s. The film is told in flashback, thus the digital youth given to Bobby D, Al P and players Joe Pesci, Harvey Keitel and a surprising Ray Romano. It’s one more lap around the track for this generation of film creators and it’s total victory, and a must see for Scorsese admirers. Available thru digital.

HIGHLIGHT: Frank Sheeran’s regrets in old age, and the way that Robert De Niro lives those regrets.

JOKER

Joker
Photo credit: Warner Bros.

If there ever was a film that reflects our images back to us, it would be JOKER. This reimagining of The Batman’s main criminal nemesis is not done like a comic book story, but as a mixture of TAXI DRIVER meets KING OF COMEDY. Joaquin Phoenix is a study in madness as Arthur Fleck, the man who would be the Joker. He lives in an America of crumbling infrastructures, both physically and morally. He has genetic mental illness, and is nurtured in an environment that magnifies this insanity if as he were under a glass with a burning light. It’s featured in the “top spot” not because it’s the greatest cinematic achievement (although crazily different for writer/director Todd Phillips), but because it dares to speak about the diffident American landscape of mental deficiencies. How does a Trump or a Joker rise up? When we ignore the signs and the people that surround us. This isn’t for everyone, it just was for me. In theaters now, available thru digital next week, January 7th, 2020.

[39]	By PATRICK McDONALD [40] Editor and Film Writer HollywoodChicago.com pat@hollywoodchicago.com [39]