2018 has gone by like a whirlwind filled with nothing but superheroes. While there have been plenty of films without Iron Man, Deadpool, or The Incredibles, a good portion of them have so far been largely overshadowed by all things demi-God.
What else is new? Movies, large and small, get lost today quicker than they ever have before. Serious indies made for adults or wannabe blockbuster franchises trying to hold their own alike, a number of quality films have slipped by unseen this year because the louder, shinier, and/or more critically lauded toys were distracting us from them.
Again, what else is new?
While we’re all killing time before Marvel takes over the world again, take a look at these lesser-known smaller films and/or unjustly maligned big-budget failures from this year and help give them the second life they all deserve.
1. Tully
Charlize Theron plays Marlo, a suburban mother who’s just had her third child and is entering something of a postpartum depression mixed with midlife crisis. In spite of herself, she hires the young and vibrant Tully (Mackenzie Davis) as a nanny. Tully turns Marlo’s world upside down, reminding her of how she once saw the world before her daily routine clouded her spirit.
Tully is screenwriter Diablo Cody’s and director Jason Reitman’s (both the forces behind the celebrated Juno and the highly underrated Young Adult) return to form, as it is one of the smartest and most human films to hit theaters so far this year. It features another great performance from Theron, as well as wonderful supporting turns from Mackenzie Davis and Ron Livingston.
Unwisely dumped in the aftermath of The Avengers earlier this summer, Tully should have been a fall awards contender. It is a funny, raw, and beautifully surprising film that has yet to be given the chance it so fully deserves.
2. Upgrade
The story is like an elongated but heightened Black Mirror episode: Grey (Logan Marshall-Green) witnesses the murder of his wife during an attack that also leaves him paralyzed from the neck down. He is given a new chance when an eccentric billionaire software designer (Harrison Gilbertson) inserts an unapproved computer chip called Stem into his body. Stem not only allows Grey to move again, it also talks to him and starts helping him solve his wife’s murder. Not to mention, Stem can also take over his body at a moment’s notice and turn Grey into a brutal and skilled killing machine.
Upgrade is every bit as smart, original, and thrilling as it sounds. Writer-director Leigh Whannell (writer of the original Saw) delivered one of the best movies of the summer, fulfilling production company Blumhouse’s mission to release low budget but high quality films with original storylines to theatres. Green delivers star-quality work, combining impeccable dramatic chops with one of the most graceful and unique physical performances put on film in recent years.
It’s just too bad that hardly anyone saw it. Change that immediately.
3. Allure
This year’s female equivalent to Ethan Hawke’s jagged and painful performance in First Reformed is Evan Rachel Wood’s portrayal of a predator in Allure. Wood is devastating to watch, playing a house cleaner who convinces the teenaged daughter of one of her clients to run away with her. Her character is seemingly unaware of her own intentions and is compulsively unable to stop herself, watching herself with horror as she becomes exactly what has hurt her the most in her own life.
Writers-directors Carlos Sanchez and Jason Sanchez (in both of their debuts) deliver one of the most powerful and uncompromising films of the year. Neither audiences nor critics have gotten behind it, seemingly eager to write it off due to the unpleasant subject matter. While it’s by no means an easy viewing experience, Allure’s thunderous emotional realism is well worth the discomfort it creates, ultimately providing an unforgettably cathartic experience.
4. Arizona
Director Jonathan Watson’s and screenwriter Luke Del Tredici’s darkly comedic thriller, Arizona, is one of the most surprising pleasures so far this year. Set during the 2009 housing crisis, the film follows a realtor (Rosemarie Dewitt) who witnesses a frustrated client (Danny McBride) murder her sleaze ball boss (Seth Rogen).
McBride is neurotically horrifying as the inept murderer who keeps digging a deeper and deeper hole for himself. Tense, funny, and fast-faced, Arizona is an under 90-minute thrill ride that, thankfully, never lets up until its over.
5. Zoe
Zoe is a beautifully realized exploration of the relationship between man and artificial intelligence. Ewan McGregor, in an effortless performance, plays an A.I. engineer who begrudgingly falls in love with one of his creations. While the film explores themes that are becoming increasingly common, Zoe does so in a uniquely tender, though unflinchingly honest, fashion that makes it stand out.
The film works on many levels. It raises big questions about the advancement of technology and how far humankind can or should go in embracing it. It’s also a beautiful and romantic tale told with grace and intelligence that features one of the best and most whimsical soundtrack compilations of the year.
6. Chappaquiddick
Chappaquiddick tells the story of Senator Ted Kennedy (Jason Clarke) and the aftermath of his drunk driving accident that caused the death of his campaign strategist, Mary Jo Kopechne (Kate Mara), in 1969.
Kennedy is faced with the decision to take responsibility for his actions or to allow his powerful family to cover them up. The moral dilemma is a fascinating one, and director John Curran (Stone, We Don’t Live Here Anymore) guides it to the emotional heights it needs without stealing focus from the work of his flawless ensemble cast (Mara, Ed Helms, Bruce Dern, Jim Gaffigan, Clancy Brown).
Clarke’s humanity in his portrayal of Kennedy is essential to the film’s success. His controlled performance is one of subtlety and clarity, portraying the tortured and divided emotions of a corrupted soul that knows it has one chance to save itself– by losing everything it has ever had or could ever have.
The performance, like the film, is one of the most thoughtful and haunting of the year.
7. Thoroughbreds
This scathingly dark teenage comedy/character study is about a psychopath (Olivia Cooke) and a sociopath (Anya Taylor-Joy) who bond and concoct a plan to kill one of their hated stepfathers.
Thoroughbreds is the directorial debut of playwright Cory Finley, who also wrote the screenplay. Finley is a name to watch, as he exhibits a discipline in his first film that even older and more experienced filmmakers would have a hard time controlling—especially with material as twisted as this.
Finley never goes for cheap jokes or thrills, however, as the film’s humor and its more disturbing observations stem from a grounded and distanced approach. He never succumbs to the temptation of sensationalizing the subject matter, and the dry, chilly result is all the more shocking because of it.
Both Cooke and Taylor-Joy deliver breakout performances, portraying two young women who have no empathy or real connection to humanity outside of each other. The late Anton Yelchin, in one of his very last performances, delivers a predictably standout performance as a sleazy drug dealer who gets caught up in the girls’ self-advancing scheme.
8. Solo
This heavily maligned Star Wars entry never had a chance. No one wants to see Han Solo portrayed by anyone other than Harrison Ford, and most of us could have gone on the rest of our lives perfectly happy without knowing, exactly, how Han and his beloved Wookie companion Chewbacca first met.
Solo may be a completely unnecessary film, but that doesn’t mean it’s not also one of the most entertaining and fun ones of the year– not to mention, it’s probably the best Star Wars effort since the original trilogy.
Ron Howard, it turns out, is the perfect choice to helm an installment of the franchise. He provides the film with the perfect combination of humor, character relationships, world building, and action. Not since Willow has the director delivered such an entertaining and rewarding piece of spectacle entertainment.
Alden Ehrenreich does the best anyone could do in his portrayal of a young Han. He exudes Ford’s essence, but not without making the part his own, which he has the charm, timing, and presence to do. Donald Glover’s portrayal of a young Lando Calrissian, as you’ve most likely heard, is the true standout. Glover gives Lando an electric and sexually ambiguous quality, making him the one of the most interesting characters in today’s series of Star Wars films.
9. Hotel Artemis
Screenwriter Drew Pearce (Iron Man 3, Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation) makes his directorial debut with this noirish futuristic tale that takes place over the course of one evening at an emergency medical station for criminals.
Jodie Foster, Sterling K. Brown, Sofia Boutella, Dave Bautisa, Zachary Qunito, Jenny Slate, and Jeff Goldblum are just some of the members of the stellar ensemble cast. They all effortlessly deliver heightened, hard-boiled dialogue that fits the world’s specific and unique style.
Hotel Artemis delivers solid characters, great action, and a fresh perspective to its genre settings. Like Upgrade, it’s a smaller and original story with aspects of both science fiction and action that was lost in the shuffle of remakes and sequels this past summer.
10. Dark Crimes
This unrelentingly somber and slow-paced thriller is one of the major hidden gems of the year– if you can call a film that stars Jim Carrey as a Polish policeman who’s soul is wholly corrupted while investigating a brutal murder within a sadomasochistic underworld a “gem”.
Carrey is understated and disturbed, showing an intense ability for drama that will serve the comedic star well in the years to come.
Dark Crimes is a thriller that will get under your skin with the same subject matter that infects its protagonist in the most enthralling and brutally enchanting way possible. It’s understandable why no one’s getting behind this slickly nihilistic and mean-spirited mystery, but it’s a film that’s well worth checking out when you’re in the mood to explore some of life’s darkest shadows.
