Favourite Movies – 2020
STREAMING FAVOURITES
I watched way too few movies in 2020 to claim that this is any kind of "best of the year" list. But, these are the films I enjoyed the most this year, many of them because they brought an unexpected delight.
Netflix
Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga (2020)
The spread between Eurovision’s dire critical rating and hugely positive audience rating is one of the widest I’ve ever seen. Which is fair, given that objectively it isn’t very good. It’s another half-baked Will Ferrell vehicle, full of lazy plotting, saggy pacing, and slapdash writing. And yet… The subject is so loopy, the cast so completely committed to the madness, the songs so catchy, the affection for its Icelandic underdogs so genuine – that somehow this thing grows heart and earns that audience response. Like the bumblebee, it shouldn’t fly, and does. Bonus delights include Canada’s sweetheart, Rachel McAdams, showing real comic chops as the loopy Sigrit. And, the revelation that those supposedly sophisticated Yuropeans put on Eurovision every year — the tackiest, schlockiest, weirdest reality show of them all.
THUMB UP
Mank (2020)
The days when each new Netflix Original was A Very Big Deal, indeed, are long gone, but Mank was one of their bigger swings in 2020. Directed by David Fincher and featuring an A-List cast (Gary Oldman, Amanda Seyfried…), Mank is a fictionalized retelling of the month a bedridden Herman Mankiewicz spent writing the screenplay for Citizen Kane (yes, that Citizen Kane). With its self-consciously artistic style, Mank provides a lot for literature majors to think about. Citizen Kane was filmed in B&W and featured a circular story structure; Mank likewise is filmed in B&W and told in a circular fashion – between Mankiewicz’ isolated present, and his past as a celebrated writer in the decadent, roaring days of 1920’s Hollywood.
This is clever, and an exploration into the nature of creativity, or the relationship between art and reality, or… something. At a more prosaic level, however, there are issues with the storytelling. The flashbacks are split between fun recollections of studio movie making in Hollywood’s golden age and a rather less interesting story (if you’re not into California politics) of Louis Mayer’s corrupt intervention in a state election. Mank also portrays our hero as the sole author of the Citizen Kane script, casting Orson Wells’ efforts to claim the writing credit in a very negative light.
In fact, forensic examination of various Citizen Kane drafts makes a convincing case that Mankiewicz did write most of the scenes, but set them within an overly long, conventional story. Wells trimmed his version considerably and rewrote the film into its famously circular structure. That both justifies Wells’ co-writing credit and makes the circular structure of this biography look more like a gimmick than an insight into Mankiewicz's creative process. The real story of Citizen Kane shows it to be a collaborative effort, whereas this film would rather promote romantic myths about a solitary writer in his garret. Ah well, it's still a fun watch, with a lot of terrific dialogue brilliantly delivered, in classic old movie style, by Oldman.
WOBBLY THUMB
Apple TV+
Wolfwalkers (2020)
Wolfwalkers is an animated fairy-tale set in mediaeval Ireland. It follows Robyn Goodfellowe, the young daughter of an English hunter who has been hired to kill the local wolves. Determined to prove she can be a hunter too, Robyn follows her father into the woods and meets an Irish girl who seems to have a mysterious connection with the wolves. Adventures ensue, full of youthful high spirits, delightful performances, and a unique animation style – the whole made even better by the charming accents and lively dialogue. As a bonus, Sean Bean voices the hunter, so that's a bonus for anyone who's been missing him playing a dad since Game of Thrones.
THUMB UP
Greyhound (2020)
A slight but intense WWII drama, Greyhound is made better by the presence of Tom Hanks. He plays the Captain of the destroyer USS Keeling (call sign Greyhound) as it protects an Atlantic supply convoy at the height of the U-boat menace. In the tradition of Saving Private Ryan and Band of Brothers, the action is authentically portrayed, close-up, and gripping. The focus is Hanks’ Captain fighting exhaustion and despair during several days of unremitting combat. And this is where he earns his pay, bringing a depth and humanity to the character despite an almost complete lack of character development or background.
Except for a brief (and almost pointless) flashback the entire movie is taken up with the battle with the U-Boats. We learn a fair bit about WWII anti-submarine tactics but almost nothing about why such a relatively old Captain is commanding his first convey, how he has worked with or trained his crew, or how he has gained their loyalty and trust. This focus on the mechanics of battle, rather than the humans engaged in it is why I rate Greyhound as very good, but slight.
Perhaps because it’s based on a British novel (The Good Shepherd by CS Forester), Greyhound does have the virtue of remembering that other nations besides the US fought the Nazis. Keeling’s escort group includes British and Polish destroyers and a Canadian corvette. All figure prominently in the action. (The corvette is portrayed by HMCS Sackville, which is still on strength of the Royal Canadian Navy as a floating memorial.)
THUMB UP