I’ve found it increasingly difficult over the years to condense my favourite films down to a top ten. But 2018 has been the hardest yet. There’s been so many gems this time around, despite the fact that I’ve definitely missed out on a few that will be amongst other people’s lists (The Phantom Thread, Halloween, First Reformed and Sorry to Bother You to name just a couple). Still, I’ve managed to compile a list of what I felt were the best of the best in 2018. As usual only one rule applies at square-eyed-geek: the films have to be released in the UK in 2018 (hence a few I’m missing out, but which I’m sure will make the list next year!). So with those brief technicalities out of the way, read on for my top ten films of 2018!:
10. Climax
Tamer than other Gaspar Noé films, this is still a shocking piece of cinema. The story might be simple (a dance troupe’s celebrations slowly descend into chaos after someone spikes their drinks) yet it’s undeniably effective, Noé’s trippy visuals and acrobatic camerawork making this a tale you experience alongside the characters, rather than sit back and watch. With a thumping soundtrack and superb dance numbers, Climax is a beautiful but hellish film that you’ll want to see more than once…if you can stomach it.
9. Lady Bird
Yes, some people will argue this is a 2017 release. But for us UK folks, it wasn’t until this year that we finally had the chance to see it. And it was more than worth the wait. Greta Gerwig’s film about a girl who’s fed up with small-town life is about as personal as it can get, Gerwig injecting her story with her own experiences of living in Sacramento, California. However this is very much Lady Bird’s (Saoirse Ronan) tale, her struggle to find her own identity and path in life fascinating and stunningly realistic, as well as breathtakingly relatable. Funny and deeply moving, especially during later scenes between Lady Bird and her mother (the amazing Laurie Metcalf), Gerwig’s film is beautifully constructed and filled with so much heart that it’s easy to fall in love with it.
8. Upgrade
It’s a shame that Leigh Whannell’s film didn’t get a bigger release, as this was one of the smartest sci-fi thrillers to come out this year…or maybe even longer. Set in the near future, a man (Logan Marshall-Green) is given a tech implant that can help him do all sorts of things, including go on a much-needed revenge mission. What could go wrong? Violent, action-packed and often darkly funny, Whannell captures this futurescape in all its brilliant yet grubby glory, while the astonishing camerawork gives the fight sequences a fresh and fierce energy that will make your jaw drop. The twists and turns that Whannell’s story offers keep this gripping and will have you guessing right up until the end, but it is Logan Marshall-Green’s excellent performance that emphasises the true horror of the tale, leaving us with an ending that leaves the future looking terribly bleak indeed.
7. Revenge
Another vengeance-fuelled film, but this time with a whole new gloriously fresh perspective. While the words ‘rape revenge film’ often carry with it certain exploitative expectations, especially when it comes to female characters, writer-director Coralie Fargeat here plays around with the genre’s usual tropes, turning the male gaze (and our own viewpoint) back in on itself and slowly (and gorily) destroying it. Matilda Lutz is superb as victim turned survivor, her character hell-bent on getting revenge on the men who tried to kill her, the violent and bloody journey Fargeat paints for her brutal yet completely compelling. With buckets of tension throughout and an ending that had me almost jumping up and down in my seat, Coralie Fargeat is certainly a name to look out for in the future. (Check out The Digital Fix feature I wrote about Revenge here).
6. Bodied
Like Upgrade, it’s a huge disappointment that this didn’t have a big cinematic release (and even more so that the only way to currently see it is through YouTube Premium), as Joseph Kahn’s film really is best watched with the biggest and loudest audience possible. A story about battle rappers doesn’t sound like much fun, but where Bodied soars is in its clever and hilarious commentary on everything from race, cultural appropriation, gender, and freedom of speech. Centring around a guy (Calum Worthy) who suddenly discovers he has a gift for battle rapping, and featuring a whole host of real battle rappers (you’ll want to look up their material immediately after seeing this – trust me), Kahn’s film instantly grabs you and flies by in a sea of incredible rap battle scenes, funny visuals, and moments that will make you gasp and yell out at the screen. I saw it at FrightFest and it was absolutely one of the best things I’ve experienced with a crowd this year. Hopefully when it’s released on DVD and Blu-ray over here it’ll attract a lot more attention – which is without a doubt what this exceptional film deserves.
5. Summer 1993
A child’s eye view is brought to stunning life in Carla Simón’s powerful and poignant film, the writer-director drawing us into the world as Frida (Laia Artigas) sees it. A biographical tale about grief and family, 6-year-old Frida finds herself suddenly having to adjust to monumental changes in her life when she goes to stay with her Aunt (Bruna Cusí) and Uncle (David Verdaguer) – a change that Frida struggles to cope with alongside the emotional loss that has led her to this point. Simón’s subtle direction gives Summer 1993 the feeling of watching a home video come alive, especially when she simply lets her camera take in the children (Artigas and Paula Robles) at play – a method that lends this a striking realism that is felt throughout. The natural performances Simón ably coaxes from the children in other moments compliments this feeling, while those playing the adults (the standouts are Cusí and Verdaguer) are all superb, each of them expertly adding to the emotional complexity that always bubbles just below the surface. A beautiful film filled with nostalgia, and one guaranteed to bring a tear to your eye, particularly with its heartbreaking conclusion. (Check out my LFF review of Summer 1993 here).
4. Custody
This French drama begins unassumingly enough, an extended courtroom scene slowly pulling us into the story of a custody battle between two separated parents (Léa Drucker and Denis Ménochet). But what’s to come is even more horrifying than this first appears, with so many moments that will leave your heart in your mouth. Writer-director Xavier Legrand gradually unravels his captivating tale, yet often without ever giving us the full picture, preferring instead to let us draw our own conclusions. It’s an effective method that brings us into this family’s world, while the performances from the whole cast lend it a palpable realism (especially Mathilde Auneveux and Thomas Gioria as the children) as well as a nail-biting tension that is increasingly felt throughout. However even that can’t prepare you for one of the most unsettling and heart-pounding endings you’ll ever see – a scene that will stick in your mind for a long, long time. (Read my Digital Fix review of Custody here).
3. Shoplifters
Hirokazu Kore-eda’s films often deal with families of all shapes and sizes, his stories regularly questioning just what exactly defines a ‘family’ unit. And with Shoplifters, Kore-eda has crafted his most intriguing and bold answer to this question so far. The family at the centre of this particular story are already struggling when we meet them, the low wages they receive forcing them to steal in order to keep food on their table. But when they come across a little girl (Miyu Sasaki) who’s been left out in the cold, they know that the only solution is to take her in and treat her as their own, even if this means more mouths to feed. From this simple premise, Kore-eda has crafted an emotionally complex tale that he brings to powerful life, the writer-director gradually allowing us to learn more about the family, while allowing us to make up our own minds about their dubious moral choices. It grips us throughout, the performances from the excellent cast pulling us in further (Lily Franky and Sakura Andô are particularly great, while the late Kirin Kiki will bring a tear to your eye several times). As it hurtles towards an ending that feels increasingly inevitable, Kore-eda pulls at our heartstrings without ever being exploitative, resulting in several final moments that are devastating, but which he leaves up to us to interpret – a brave approach, and one that makes this his most fascinating film yet.
2. Hereditary
I have rarely had a cinematic experience like the one I had when I went to see Hereditary for the first time. It haunted and mesmerised me in a way few films ever have, with certain scenes and images that I will never, ever be able to erase from my mind. The combination of drama and horror is what makes Ari Aster’s film so powerful, the story of a family dealing with grief potent and brilliantly relatable. Yet for Annie (Toni Collette who is astounding as always) coping with the death of her mother also begins to throw up all sorts of questions, particularly about how she has raised her own children (Alex Wolff and Milly Shapiro). And slowly but surely, the true chilling nature of Aster’s film creeps in, the writer-director beginning to reveal to us all sorts of terrifying moments – moments that are all the more horrifying when Aster avoids jump scares and instead reveals to us something that our eyes gradually adjust to. Some balked at the insane ending, but for me it works with what has come before it, Aster embracing the madness that surrounds the family as they eventually succumb to an outcome that was always on the cards for them. With scenes that literally gave me nightmares (which is an achievement in itself as I watch a LOT of horror films), incredible performances, and an intricate and surprisingly poignant narrative about loss, Hereditary is without a doubt one of the best horrors of the year.
1. You Were Never Really Here
Lynne Ramsay’s brutal revenge drama pulls no punches, Ramsay immersing us in the grimy and sordid world that Joe (Joaquin Phoenix) inhabits. His muscle-for-hire is tasked with finding the missing daughter of a politician, a job that leads to all sorts of skeletons coming out of closets, including his own. Ramsay’s expert direction is electrifying, the tension palpable and the pace frantic, while the violent outbursts she peppers throughout are sickening and shockingly raw. However she also takes the time to step back and allow the quieter scenes of the narrative to take over – moments that are startlingly hypnotic and which pull us further into the life and crumbling mental state of the world-weary Joe. Joaquin Phoenix’s performance is the very definition of the word ‘powerhouse’, his bulky frame and silent intensity terrifying but often hinting at a surprising gentleness hidden beneath his gruff surface. Throw into the mix entrancing imagery and a piercing soundtrack by Jonny Greenwood, and You Were Never Really Here is one of the most effective and nightmarish thrillers of 2018 – a dark, visceral yet beautifully captivating journey that disturbs well beyond its final frames. It isn’t hard to see why this flawless film is the number one in my top ten. (Read my original review of Ramsay’s film here).
(Films that just missed out on the top ten: Roma, Blindspotting, The Square, Widows, Apostasy, Beast, Happy New Year Colin Burstead, The Shape of Water, I Tonya, Avengers: Infinity War, Cam, Tully, Searching, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri, Black Panther, Annihilation, Suspiria, Apostle).
And with that, 2018 winds to a close – another year that has been filled with so many superb films. 2019 seems like it might even surpass it, with The Favourite, If Beale Street Could Talk, Captain Marvel, Us and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood already looking like excellent highlights. So Happy New Year to you all! Hope you have a great one, and that 2019 has lots of fab things on the horizon for you.
(And as always, if there’s anything you think should have been in my top ten let me know in the comments below!).
square-eyed-geek 