Despite the constrictions of the pandemic, the otherwise disastrous year of 2020 yielded some amazing films by its end (Per usual, awards season delivered revitalizing goods in a crippling cinematic drought). However, last year’s midpoint was contrastingly bleak with few great films on the horizon as the vast majority of blockbusters and indies alike abandoned ship for more viable release windows. The only upper-quality pictures I can even conceive of from this deprived period are Blumhouse’s The Invisible Man, released mere weeks before that enigmatic virus began to ravage our global infrastructure, and HBO’s Bad Education, absolved from the logistics of monetizing art in the midst of said virus’s reign.
To say the least, compiling this list only a year ago would have proved strenuous, but with theatres reopening and a heavier influx of new films, composed of both pandemic delays and regularly scheduled programming, reflecting on the best films of 2021 so far was actually exhilarating and extremely fruitful. I firmly believe the five films I have selected are fantastic on their own terms and was even pained to exclude others, including animated hits Luca and The Mitchells vs. the Machines and late Oscar bloomers Judas and the Black Messiah and The White Tiger. I have also chosen to excise films I saw at 2021’s virtual Sundance Film Festival so that other pictures that were actually released can be highlighted. Sorry, Mass, CODA and Flee: You will have your day in the sun.
Without further ado, the best films of 2021 so far are:
5. Together Together
In this endearing comedy, Anna (Patti Harrison), a young loner, agrees to become a surrogate for a middle-aged man named Drew (Ed Helms), who is desperate to have a baby and progress to the next chapter of his life. They soon forge a close connection, which tests the constructs of relationships in a modern society.
Tracking this relationship from her subjects’ first meeting to the instance the infant is born, writer-director Nicole Beckwith has conjured a lovely vein of deep human empathy that is expounded beautifully by her richly observant screenplay and the nuanced performances of stars Helms and relative newcomer Harrison; the latter is destined to become a star with her hilarious, authentic work.
Perhaps the first platonic romantic comedy, this indie charmer skillfully subverts and eschews cultural perceptions of friendship and love. It’s witty, incisive and poignant simultaneously, like a socially conscious Woody Allen movie. Some of the most potent love is not romantic but fulfilling nonetheless. Occasionally, we just need someone to tell us we’re okay along the way, and Together Together elucidates that so eloquently. It’s sweet and substantial.
4. Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar
In this unabashedly gonzo film, middle-aged and fervently devoted besties Barb (Annie Mumolo) and Star (Kristen Wiig) decide to expand beyond the horizons of their midwestern town and finally take their inaugural vacation to the painterly Floridian resort of Vista Del Mar. Just as these riotous ladies begin to regain their shimmer in this vibrant locale, their idyllic connection is tested by the enigmatic Edgar (an inspired Jamie Dornan), who has been deployed by a nefarious supervillain to unleash murderous mosquitoes on the town.
A joyous seaside lark populated by deliriously silly characters and gags, Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar is a tightly structured exercise in unencumbered lunacy – a euphorically hilarious romp dexterously crafted by Mumolo and Wiig (reuniting after their comedy mega-hit Bridesmaids roughly a decade ago) in their screenplay and performances and Josh Greenbaum in his mirthfully ostentatious direction.
It’s a jubilant film that earnestly celebrates friendship, individuality and adventure in equal measure and one that strikes the perfect balance between irreverence and sentimentality, reflecting the fruitful relationship at the film’s center with meticulous absurdity. Barb and Star Go Del Mar makes ex-machina sea spirits, regal talking crabs and the aerodynamics of culottes not only feasible but warmly welcomed. What more could you ask for?
3. A Quiet Place Part II
Following the total calamity that occurred previously by lethal monsters that hunt via echolocation, the Abbott clan must traverse beyond the domestic sands paths of their decimated farm and vie for solace during the apocalypse, but those vile beasts may not be the only insidious beings lurking in the outside world.
My worst fear for any sequel to a great film is that it will mechanically run the gamut again without innovating, thus squandering its potential and never matching the original’s ingenuity. Krasinski, however, has deftly crafted once more a tense nerve-shredder with more to say beneath its genre trappings- and one that may even be a richer experience than its predecessor. Expansive, raw and gripping in every frame, A Quiet Place Part II is yet another thrilling cinematic experience that will leave you desperate to stay silent.
After a year of separation from theaters by the pandemic, this film once again substantiates their utmost worth. It’s a blistering, horrifying and captivating experience told with simmering tenderness and compassion and highly assured visual and craft choices, most notably its taut use of sound. It’s not simply a fantastic genre movie – it’s a superb motion picture that excels on every conceivable level.
2. In the Heights
This splashy summertime toe-tapper chronicles the everyday struggles of the Latinx community in the New York City neighborhood of Washington Heights, whose identity is gradually being whittled down by gentrification. Adapted from Lin-Manuel Miranda’s breakout Broadway hit, this vibrant, kinetic musical masterfully paints a kaleidoscopic tapestry of the Latinx-immigrant experience. It’s a film brimming with life, affection and pride that moves with the grace of a New York breeze yet sizzles with the unfettered energy of its sweltering-hot summer setting.
In the Heights is certainly a grand and exuberant spectacle, but virtuoso filmmaker John M. Chu understands how to steep its characters in earnest authenticity and incisive subtext, making something so innately cinematic in the process. His direction is vivid and rhythmic, employing a vast array of camerawork that feels completely cohesive, while also masterfully capturing the intimacy and vulnerability of these characters. Everything is so utterly assured from the emotive close-ups framed through shelves or glass doors to the wide shots scintillating with propulsive choreography.
In the Heights seamlessly transports us to a realistic yet fantastically mesmerizing place where the human spirit perseveres in even the darkest of times- one where the fire hydrants rain heavenly showers, wall graffiti produces breathtaking mosaics, and the screeches of the train ring angelic. It is a transcendent experience wrought with ingenuity intended for exclusively the big screen- an awe-inspiring whirlwind of boisterous, indelible discoveries of meaning in its people’s specificities, strife and, ultimately, strength.
1. Shiva Baby
Shiva Baby follows the chaotic day of a young woman uncertain of her future as she attends a shiva, a Jewish funeral service. There, she must contend with several former and current romantic partners, all of whom must be kept a secret, and the extremely perturbing sensation of family gatherings, brimming with invasive questions about her personal and professional life.
Prickly and uncompromising, Shiva Baby is an immensely impressive feature debut for writer-director Emma Seligman, whose vision of a claustrophobic, anxiety-inducing afternoon with family is cultivated to pristine effect. It’s a razor-sharp blending of genres that stings and blisters with each scare, observation or sorrow – one that is as wickedly insightful as it is hysterically uncomfortable.
With a horror-infused score and inspired lead performance from Rachel Sennott, Seligman has deftly crafted something that succeeds on every level and covers gargantuan ground, including familial and religious guilt, female empowerment, adolescent ennui and self-doubt – all in a concise 77 minutes.
Photo Credit / Bleecker Street-Warner Brothers- Utopia- Lionsgate- Paramount
