2024 is finally over, so it’s time to reveal my Best Narrative Films of the Year list.
As always, I was able to squeeze in about a dozen additional films in the last couple weeks of December—mostly titles that others have told me are worth checking out that I either missed when they were released in Chicago, or movies that were never released in Chicago at all. I also tend to do a great deal of re-watching in those last two weeks, primarily to solidify the order of my top 10.
According to my count, I saw 560 films in 2024 (roughly the same as the previous year), either in a theater or via screening link—from the cultural phenomenon of the vastly underrated comedy The Book of Clarence (the first press screening of 2024) to the final press screening of the year, Sonic the Hedgehog 3 (a nice surprise at the end of the year).
This tally does include a few vintage titles, but only if I saw them in a theater (often as restored prints, but not always). If I simply watched an older film at home, that doesn’t make the overall count—so my actual count of movies watched in 2024 is much higher.
As I do every year, I’ve separated my Best Documentaries List from narratives because I want an excuse to call extra attention to a whole other group of 20 worthy films that might go unnoticed on a combined list.
In previous years, my Narrative Features list has reached anywhere between 30 and 50 titles; this year, 40 movies stood out to me. I often feel that after the first 10 titles, the rankings don’t mean as much, and that’s certainly true this year. As always, if you think a list of 40 films is annoyingly excessive, feel free to stop reading at 30, or 10. I have faith you’ll find ways of coping with my overly indulgent means of expression.
I’ve included excerpts of my original reviews of my Top 10 films, if I wrote one; if I didn’t, I scribbled down some thoughts. Hope you dig the list and that it gives you some ideas for future viewings on some platform.
10. His Three Daughters (Dir: Azarel Jacobs)
For all the bitterness in the air, there’s never really any doubt that the three smart, compassionate women at the center of this film (Carrie Coon, Elizabeth Olsen, and Natasha Lyonne) will find a way to a common ground and the means to make peace. The real question is one we’ll never know the answer to: what happens next? When we leave the sisters, they’re in a good place, but will they stay that way? The mark of any good film or finely drawn character is whether we wonder what happens to them when the cameras turn off and the picture fades. I still think about this family from time to time, both individually and as a group. You want them to stay close, but history suggests they might not. Because the impact of getting to know these women still lingers, the film is something special and worth seeking out.
9. Hit Man (Dir: Richard Linklater)
Just as I was afraid actor Glen Powell was on the verge of getting lost doing lightweight, unchallenging fare like Top Gun: Maverick and Anyone But You, he rediscovers his roots by re-teaming with Richard Linklater (the two worked together on Everybody Wants Some!!), both in front of the camera and as a co-writer (with the director), for Hit Man, the mostly true story of Gary Johnson, a solid citizen and professor who had a secret life helping the New Orleans police with surveillance operations and wire recordings. Hit Man works off the strength of its twisted, smart, funny screenplay, but Powell rises to the occasion, delivering a powerhouse, fully physical performance that you have to see to believe.
8. Conclave (Dir: Edward Berger)
Conclave takes the form of a political thriller despite being set in the world of the Vatican (and if you think religion and politics aren’t sometimes the same thing, shame on you). The pope has just died, leaving Cardinal Lawrence (Ralph Fiennes) in charge of one of the most secretive rituals in world history: the selection of a new Holy Father. Director Berger seems particularly impressed with how forces rally when a conspiracy threatens to rock the foundations of the Church, and everyone attempts to keep thinga secret from the outside world, which sometimes leads to even more trouble. Conclave has a doozy of an ending that you almost have to admire for its audacity and willingness to try something truly unexpected. But it’s the precise, laser-focused performances that pulled me fully in, especially from Fiennes, who can often be quite icy in roles of authority. Here, he’s warm, empathetic, and orderly to a fault. This is one hell of a movie.
7. A Complete Unknown (Dir: James Mangold)
The title of the skillfully made Bob Dylan biopic, A Complete Unknown, is appropriate, because it traces the short road Dylan (Timothée Chalamet) took from traditional folk singer (performing mostly covers) to acclaimed singer/songwriter to groundbreaking rock performer in the space of a little more than four years. The film’s costuming, production design, and styling are all exceptional, but it’s the performances from Chalamet, Edward Norton, Monica Barbaro, and Boyd Holbrook that are the core of A Complete Unknown. Elle Fanning’s work is far more understated, but no less important, as she guides without pushing and allows herself to be heartbroken because being close to genius is understandably intoxicating. The film is one of the better music biopics I’ve ever seen, and Chalamet has gone from being a fresh young face to a seasoned actor in a single year. So much of this film is praiseworthy and awards-worthy, and it’s a great way to cap off a wild 2024.
6. Heretic (Dirs: Scott Beck & Bryan Woods)
Two young Mormon missionaries (Sophie Thatcher and Chloe East) are forced to prove their faith when they knock on the wrong door and are greeted by a diabolical Mr. Reed (Hugh Grant), becoming ensnared in his deadly game of cat-and-mouse. Grant has infectious fun playing against type in Heretic, a religious horror that preaches the gospel of cerebral chills over cheap shocks, using words as the weapons of destruction rather than actual weapons. The film is anchored by three terrific, surprising, and smart performances and a screenplay filled with religious metaphors that are quite literally glorious.
5. Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga (Dir: George Miller)
I’m often skeptical of prequels that reveal what is essentially the origin story of a major character. Horror franchises attempt this a lot, and it almost never works. Knowing where a character came from rarely makes that character any more interesting, especially if audiences are already fully invested in said character. Writer/director George Miller’s latest entry in the Mad Max franchise, Furiosa, is an exception to that rule, primarily because there is a significant time jump between Mad Max: Fury Road and the previous Mad Max films, making it feel like we’d missed something in between. In some ways, Furiosa is all the more intriguing because it fills in some necessary gaps, not just in the title character’s story, but in the overall mythology of the Wasteland.
It’s a full hour into the two-and-a-half-hour film before Anya Taylor-Joy fully enters the picture, but nothing about Furiosa feels like we get short-changed because of that. Learning the inner workings of this fluctuating society is fascinating, and there’s still plenty of time for explosions, people getting squished by big truck tires, and dusty car chases that find new ways to up the stakes. Nothing about this film disappoints, and it’s especially impressive how a full-tilt action movie also manages to be the most emotionally driven entry in this series.
4. Flow (Dir: Gints Zilbalodis)
I’ve decided that the animated films of 2024 are trying to kill me with emotional overload. With titles like Inside Out 2, The Wild Robot, and the stop-motion masterpiece Memoir of a Snail, these films are crushing hearts while lifting souls, all in a concerted effort to make me cry. Add to the list Flow, from writer-director Gints Zilbalodis. The wordless story (co-scripted by Matiss Kaza) concerns a scrappy cat who embarks on a journey across unknown lands after his home (and seemingly the rest of the world) is devastated by a great flood. The high water covers almost the entirety of the surface of the world and leaves our feline hero scrambling for a safe place to make a new home. In various combinations, the cat joins forces with other animals in a small boat as they embark on a perilous journey.
The animation is both creative and absolutely stunning, while the story takes its cues from the modern world, emphasizing that unless we work together as a community, what’s left of society will fall apart. Flow somehow manages to feel both believable and fantastical, as it makes it abundantly clear that animation is not a genre, it’s a medium like any other and at least this year, it’s the medium that is most likely to attack my tear ducts.
3. Dune: Part Two (Dir: Denis Villeneuve)
Now that director Denis Villeneuve is done building his Dune universe, we can get to the good stuff. What results is Dune: Part Two, a sweeping, emotionally driven and sometimes disturbing epic science-fiction tale that has everything from beautifully realized action set pieces to a messiah story that takes a turn some might not expect. The villains are more interesting (both the ones we already know and the new one introduced in this chapter), and there are a handful of characters whose allegiances we still aren’t quite clear on, which makes them well worth keeping an eye on. I think for many, Dune: Part Two is the Dune movie they have been waiting for from Villeneuve. Splitting the films now makes sense in terms of telling this story properly and patiently, and this feels like the payoff for our patience. And the fact that things once again end on something of a cliffhanger only makes it more exciting that there’s seemingly more to come. At one point, Paul makes it clear that he sees his fate and the fate of the known universe as only a true prophet can. Here’s hoping Villeneuve has the same clear vision moving forward.
2. Nosferatu (Dir: Robert Eggers)
Writer/director Robert Eggers’ take on Count Orlok portrays the vampire as an entirely different cursed creature, one who resembles Dracula as described in Bram Stoker’s 1897 Gothic horror novel. Here, he's complete with a bushy, Eastern European mustache and flesh that doesn’t look well preserved, no matter how much blood he drinks (blood keeps Orlok alive but it doesn’t keep him young and free from decay). Nosferatu could have been just a good-looking film with powerful, in-camera visual effects, but it is truly bolstered by some of the best performances of the year by Lily-Rose Depp, Nicholas Hoult, Willem Dafoe and Bill Skarsgard as Orlok, as well as a masterfully ascending wall of tension that takes over the film, leaving its audience riveted and twitching on the brink of flipping out. It’s still not especially scary, but this was always meant to be a story about torment and dread, and this Nosferatu is overflowing with both.
1. Anora (Dir: Sean Baker)
The latest display of emotional chaos from writer/director/editor/truth-teller Sean Baker, Anora is the story of Ani, real name Anora (in a breakthrough performance by Mikey Madison), a stripper and occasional sex worker living in Brooklyn who has attitude for days and isn’t afraid to use her uncanny ability to shift from sweet and seductive to violent and vengeful on a dime. You’ve truly never seen anything like it, and I’m not sure all of you are prepared to. All roads in Anora lead back to Madison and her powerhouse performance as a young woman slightly ashamed of her roots, where she calls home, and how much she’s struggling to bring in a little money every week. Madison's performance is layered and nuanced when it needs to be, with the understanding that Ani has a sledgehammer hidden behind her back. Things get chaotic at times, but Baker is good at making certain the action isn’t messy just to be messy; there’s a purpose, and that purpose usually involves Madison flipping on the afterburners and going for it. Anora is a movie loaded with energy, passion, heartbreak, and thrills, often all in the same scene.
The rest of my top films of the year are as follows:
11. Nickel Boys (Dir: RaMell Ross)
12. All We Imagine As Light (Dir: Payal Kapadia)
13. The Beast (Dir: Bertrand Bonello)
14. The Substance (Dir: Coralie Fargeat)
15. The Fire Inside (Dir: Rachel Morrison)
16. Memoir of a Snail (Dir: Adam Elliot)
17. Hard Truths (Dir: Mike Leigh)
18. A Different Man (Dir: Aaron Schimberg)
19. Inside Out 2 (Dir: Kelsey Mann)
20. Thelma (Dir: Josh Margolin)
21. Alien: Romulus (Dir: Fede Álvarez)
22. The End (Dir: Joshua Oppenheimer)
23. I Saw the TV Glow (Dir: Jane Schoenbrun)
24. Challengers (Dir: Luca Guadagnino)
25. Sing Sing (Dir: Greg Kwedar)
26. Love Lies Bleeding (Dir: Rose Glass)
27. A Real Pain (Dir: Jesse Eisenberg)
28. A Quiet Place: Day One (Dir: Michael Sarnoski)
29. Kinds of Kindness (Dir: Yorgos Lanthimos)
30. Sasquatch Sunset (Dirs: Nathan Zellner & David Zellner)
31. The Wild Robot (Dir: Chris Sanders)
32. The Last Stop in Yuma County (Dir: Francis Galluppi)
33. Deadpool and Wolverine (Dir: Shawn Levy)
34. The Brutalist (Dir: Brady Corbet)
35. Queer (Dir: Luca Guadagnino)
36. Late Night with the Devil (Dirs: Cameron Cairnes & Colin Cairnes)
37. Good One (Dir: India Donaldson)
38. The First Omen (Dir: Arkasha Stevenson)
39. Hundreds of Beavers (Dir: Mike Cheslik)
40. Ghostlight (Dirs: Alex Thompson & Kelly O’Sullivan)