Miss En Scene's Top 10 Films of 2024
My favourite films of the year 📅
It’s been an interesting year in film! We are still getting the usual franchise films and familiar IP titles doing the rounds, with Kung Fu Panda, Bad Boys and Despicable Me all releasing sequel no. 4, as well as the release of big epics like Dune: Part Two and Gladiator II (after a 24 year gap!) - both of which have been positively received.
Studios are reviving certain titles like Ghostbusters (Frozen Empire) to bring known and loved stories to a new generation, as well as recalling nostalgia for its original fans, though the audience scores for Ghostbusters aren’t wholly convincing that a follow up to the 2021 film was needed at all.
Disney/Pixar’s Inside Out 2 tops the box office charts this year with Deadpool vs Wolverine not far behind - both summer releases - perhaps proving that sequels are still huge moneymakers. Looking at the global box office list, only three films in the top 20 are original or first titles, suggesting that studios are incredibly reliant on pre-existing audience appetite and they are very risk averse when it comes to investing in new stories, filmmakers and… well, the unknown.
For what it’s worth, I loved Inside Out 2, thought Moana 2 was hugely disappointing and was surprised by how much I enjoyed both Wicked and Dune: Part Two. A couple of my favourites from the box office top 20 were Twisters and The Wild Robot. Kung Fu Panda 4 and Despicable Me 4 were big hits with our son - we probably did 8 cinema trips to see those films alone!
Anyway, besides the big earners and tentpole movies, there were a lot of incredible releases this year that may not have got as many bums on seats, but some garnered a lot of attention and praise in other ways. Honorable mentions for me go to We Live In Time, My Old Ass, Monkey Man and Robot Dreams, and here are my favourites:
The Outrun (Dir. Nora Fingscheift)
I have recently written about The Outrun, so this should come as no surprise! Saoirse Ronan and Nora Fingscheidt is a dreamy combo and the end result is wonderful. The focus on the connection between people and place is particularly special, and Saoirse Ronan’s performance is, of course, phenomenal.
Babes (Dir. Pamela Adlon)
Babes is Pamela Adlon’s feature directorial debut and if you have seen her in anything else before, the comedy and tone of this totally checks out. Ilana Glazer and Michelle Buteau are hilarious together and it is a very unfiltered portrayal of pregnancy packaged in a chick flick shaped story. I saw it at FilmBath Festival sandwiched between a great short called Push and then later watched Nightbitch, so it was an intense day of films about motherhood, but the lightness it brought was most welcome and I enjoyed how well it reflects on how utterly bonkers pregnancy and childbirth is.
The Substance (Dir. Coralie Fargeat)
The IMDb poster for The Substance has a pull quote from Indie Wire that reads, “Absolutely f***ing insane” and if you ever watch it you will probably get about half way through and think. ‘Yes, this is pretty unhinged but that quote was a tad OTT’… and then you’ll reach the denouement and realise that the phrase is wholly appropriate for the last 20 minutes. The Substance is perhaps the breakout indie hit of 2024 for me - it received the Best Screenplay award at Cannes and friends that are more casual cinema goers have seen it and expressed their shock and delight in response to it. That sort of excitement about a film that just lands unannounced and blows you away is so rare that I hope it continues to be celebrated for all its daring originality and thrilling, stand out elements.
Challengers (Dir. Luca Guadagnino)
Challengers is the film that I obsessed over for the longest time. It is flawless in its direction, casting, writing, editing, score - for me, it is the whole package and it showcases the sort of filmmaking that really excites and inspires me. And I don’t even care about tennis! I have seen some Zendaya bashing online recently because she is frequently cast in popular films, but will have none of it. She is extremely talented and here it’s clear why (ditto for Josh O’Connor and Mike Faist). I am already booked in to see Guadagnino’s Queer early Jan 2025 so let’s see if he can top this year’s effort!
Love Lies Bleeding (Dir. Rose Glass)
Continuing the theme of fearless filmmaking, Love Lies Bleeding was another film that impressed me with its bold creative choices and the world that Rose Glass built to immerse us in a gritty world of bodybuilding and crime. As an aside, the film comes with the perfect tagline: ‘Revenge gets ripped’.
La Chimera (Dir. Alice Rohrwacher)
This is the second film in the list that Josh O’Connor stars in - what a year he’s had! In this one, he plays an archaeologist who has a gift for finding things (priceless things) and is part of a group of tomb/grave-robbers. It’s a layered and haunting film inspired by ‘The Great Raid’ and leans into the historical elements that drive the narrative, as well as providing social commentary on the things that we treasure as individuals and a society. A really thought provoking and special film.
Twisters (Dir. Lee Isaac Chung)
Twisters is the only film on my list that was a big box office smash, but with merit (and largely due to a huge promotional campaign - the marketing of the stars and the press tour was actually a bit of a masterclass in how to bring people along for the ride). As learned from the much loved 1996 Twister film that this blockbuster pays homage to, the pursuit of giant tornados lends itself well to large screens and although I didn’t get to experience the 4DX version of Twisters, I still left the cinema feeling energised, thrilled and entertained. It makes a considerable difference when the leads are capable of delivering convincing back stories and chemistry and in this, Daisy Edgar-Jones and Glen Powell are fantastic. It’s also worth a mention that the film’s soundtrack was on heavy rotation for a long time after watching too!
My Favourite Cake (Dir. Maryam Moghadam and Behtash Sanaeeha)
As part of the FilmBath 2024 Festival, I saw My Favourite Cake and was immediately charmed by its warmth and subtle irreverence. It's a film that lets you into a lonely Iranian woman’s life and is therefore thematically and narratively rich. It balances joy and sadness with incredible skill, and the lead is consistently enchanting in the way that she lives and loves. A real gem.
Bird (Dir. Andrea Arnold)
I was struck by the genre defying nature of Bird, its blend of reality with fantasy and Andrea Arnold’s approach to a particularly complex coming-of-age story. She throws a lot at Bailey (Nykiya Adams), the main character, who lives in a squat with her father, Bug (Barry Keoghan), and the setting helps us empathise with how hard life can be for young people (in this case, in the south east of the UK). Although at times it is heartbreaking, ultimately I found it an uplifting film and adored the ambition with which it was made.
Anora (Dir. Sean Baker)
Anora won the Palme d'Or at Cannes so one might expect it to top a lot of end of year lists. Sorry to disappoint if it is unsurprising to see it in my number one spot, but experiencing this film is such a wild ride that I really had no other choice! Sean Baker is one of the best writers and directors working today, and if you have seen any of his previous films, this one won’t be surprising in terms of its subject matter and general content. He has previously explored the life of sex workers in Tangerine and Red Rocket (and also in The Florida Project to a certain extent), but never on this scale. And so, the portrayal of the eponymous Ani (Anora), is empathetic, multi-layered and completely compelling because there is a genuine love for the character that you don’t always see in other films where there are people in roles as exotic dancers or sex workers. While fun and absolutely bonkers, it is also incredibly thoughtful and introspective and being able to do all that in a single film - and do it this well - is a rarity. Hence the pole position.
What made your list? Let me know in the comments below or on Insta! Happy new year to anyone reading this, and here’s to an awesome year of film ahead!