Working in a movie theater (Tin Pan) that's showing several of the Best Picture nominees means that I get into a lot of discussions about what I think the actual best movie of the year is, out of the 10. Don't get me wrong, most of the nominees this year are fine examples of the art of motion pictures, but a lot of the time the real best movies of the year don't get nominated for a single award. They don't necessarily become forgotten, but don't end up in the same cultural conversation as some of the lesser-deserving titles until years later.
We live in a world where the "Transformers" movies have been Oscar nominees, but movies like "The Big Lebowski," "Harold and Maude," "In the Mood For Love," "The Shining" and "Tokyo Story" weren't nominated for anything.
With that said, here are a few movies that are very much some of the best pictures of this year, not nominated for a single Academy Award.
"All of Us Strangers:" The more I think about it, the more I'm certain this is the actual best film of 2024 or at least the one that affected me the most emotionally. Starring a flawless Andrew Scott and Paul Mescal, the film follows a profoundly lonely writer who lives in a nearly empty high rise in London. As he reaches out to the only other person in the building for human connection, the ghosts of his childhood cause him to question his path in life. I don't want to say anything more about the plot because it's unpredictable and gently shattering, but it's a gorgeous romance that has more to say about the human condition than anything I've seen in a long time.
"The Iron Claw:" Well, I was super Ef-wrong about Zach Efron getting a Best Actor nomination for his career-redefining work in "The Iron Claw," but for the film to not be nominated for a single award seems ridiculous. It should have been this year's "The Wrestler" in that it took a sport that not many people take seriously and told a deeply tragic and powerful story set in that world. From Sean Durkin's understated direction to Efron's gentle-giant performance to a script that bleeds empathy for the Von Erich family and Kevin's lifelong struggle to unlearn the lessons of his father, "The Iron Claw" was a powerhouse that didn't get the respect it deserved.
"Asteroid City:" I don't think I'll ever convince anyone that Wes Anderson is much more than a one-trick pony, but it really drove me crazy when audiences complained that "Asteroid City" was just more of the same from the idiosyncratic filmmaker. I would maybe agree that his last film, "The French Dispatch" felt like a pastiche of his greatest hits, but "Asteroid City" not only took on a metatextual deconstruction of storytelling and the loneliness of artistry, but populated his desert town with a dozen memorable characters and some truly indelible work by Jason Schwartzman, Scarlet Johansson, Tom Hanks and Jeffrey Wright. If you don't like Anderson's aesthetic, that's totally cool, but to dismiss his work as repetitive is demonstrably incorrect.
"Saltburn:" Did I expect this to get nominations? Not even a little. But even though it was criticized for its story, the actual filmmaking on display was jaw dropping. The sets, costumes, production design and cinematography were stunning and ended up building a world that felt just as dream-like and surreal as Barry Keoghan was experiencing. Maybe the film isn't perfect, but it's still one of the most entertaining experiences I had in a theater all year.
"Beau is Afraid:" Now, I'm still not entirely sure what I think about this movie, but on a technical side, there are moments of bravura filmmaking unlike anything I've ever seen. While the movie itself wouldn't be in my Top 10 of the year, the actual craftsmanship on display deserved to be recognized. Director Ari Aster moved the language of cinema forward with some of his choices here and celebrating that type of fearless filmmaking is how we get more films that take chances like this in the future.
"Showing Up:" I just love the quiet, lived-in world of the Portland art scene that Kelly Reichardt puts on display here as she also gets two of my favorite performances of the year from Michelle Williams and Hong Chau. Oh, and it has Andre Benjamin walking around and playing his flute when he's not firing pottery. There's nothing explosive here, just a well-told story that gently reminds us to be kind to each other.
"How to Blow Up a Pipeline:" When this first came out I wrote in these pages that it was "going to piss people off," but I'm not sure enough people watched the movie for it to make the waves that I expected. "How to Blow Up a Pipeline" is cinema as protest art, something that we forget movies have the power to be when they're made with the express purpose of changing the world...or at least a mind or two. I saw lots of people arguing about this movie when it was over, so anything that engenders discussion is important in my book.
"Fremont:" Gorgeous black-and-white photography where almost every frame is composed like a painting is only one of the reasons to love this throwback to the early days of Sundance-era independent cinema. At turns wryly funny and quietly moving, "Fremont" takes an immigrant story and makes it universal and ours. At turns laugh-out-loud funny and deeply, achingly compassionate, the fact that this isn't nominated for a single Oscar means that the Academy isn't watching the right movies. This is cinema. Look no further.
