The Best Films of 2024
The Village East by Angelika theater in Manhattan, showing off a range of films playing during the early January awards season. Photo by Andrew Breen '25
2023 featured an incredible number of excellent films. “Oppenheimer,” “Killers of the Flower Moon,” “Barbie” and “The Holdovers” are just a few that stuck with audiences. For 2024, it has been frequently labeled as an “average” year among cinephiles. I would completely beg to differ, as this year has seen a continued level of quality among the year's best.
While I’m going to highlight my personal favorites of last year’s films, there are a few honorable mentions that are worthy of a viewing: “Sugarcane,” “Between the Temples,” “The Wild Robot,” “Memoir of a Snail,” “The Monk and the Gun,” “Kinds of Kindness,” “Furiosa,” “Sing Sing,” “Perfect Days,” “Soundtrack to a Coup d’État” and “Flow.” Onto the best of 2024:
Challengers
Directed by Luca Guadagnino
Initially, I was hesitant to watch “Challengers.” A love triangle tennis movie? Really?
I will never hesitate to watch another love triangle tennis movie again as “Challengers” is a pulse-pounding joy. Featuring my favorite screenplay of last year – and combined with its intricate editing – “Challengers” intelligently sets the stakes between our central trio played by Zendaya, Mike Faist and Josh O’Connor.
Wrapping the film together is its intoxicating EDM score by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross. As the film takes place in a tennis match between Faist and O’Connor– that truly means everything to them – it constantly ratchets up the drama until its knockout ending.
The Substance
Directed by Coralie Fargeat
Last year when I reviewed the gonzo horror-comedy “The Substance,” I doubted it would be a box office or awards season success. I’m happy to be wrong, as the film has defied the constraints of horror cinema and its strong following has brought it to awards season contention. This is earned, as the film’s escalating bonkers premise of a Hollywood star regaining fame with a gory, bone-crunching bite makes it the most entertainingly in-your-face film to be up for “Best Picture.” And if that doesn’t sell it for you, then Dennis Quaid annihilating an entire bowl of shrimp will.
Hundreds of Beavers
Directed by Mike Cheslik
What happens if you combine one-third black and white silent slapstick à la Buster Keaton, one-third video game-esque level design and one-third raging hate against beavers? This unique combination gives us the brilliant lunacy of “Hundreds of Beavers.”
This indie film, making only for $150,000, initially premiered back in 2022. However, it was finally released this year – and it was worth the wait. This is one of the best comedies ever made as it constantly showcases brilliant gags and a truly original vision – all the while allowing the wonderfully asinine to flourish.
Longlegs
Directed by Osgood Perkins
This dark, dread-inducing serial killer thriller stars Nicolas Cage as the titular suspect – dawning unrecognizable, botched ghostly-white plastic surgery make-up alongside a fondness of T. Rex.
“Longlegs” drew crowds this summer through its cryptic, frightening marketing campaign.
Where “Longlegs” didn’t work for some, it excelled for me. Having seen it numerous times, it is one of the breeziest watches I’ve had this year; as its weirdo rock ‘n’ roll mashup of innumerable horror cliches from serial killers, Satanism, killer dolls, psychic detectives and nuns ends up creating a devilishly nihilistic ride.
Queer
Directed by Luca Guadagnino
If there was one filmmaker who excelled in 2024, it was Guadagnino. Not only did he direct “Challengers” but the more unappreciated “Queer.” Set in Mexico City in the 1950s, it follows William Lee – played by a career-best Daniel Craig – a gay American man who lives in the city and frequently fails to find a meaningful connection with anyone around him.
Where “Challengers” features its romantic relationships in its most heightened sense; “Queer” meditates on the understated, looking to the psychedelic and surrealist to gain meaning out of Lee’s wandering existence for one of the most emotionally resonant dramas of the year.
Anora
Directed by Sean Baker
If there is one filmmaker in America today who understands people, it's Sean Baker. After the impeccable “The Florida Project” and “Red Rocket,” Baker continues his streak with “Anora,” an odyssey of a New York City stripper who meets the son of a Russian oligarch.
Mikey Madison, who plays the titular character, gives the best actress performance of the year as she nails Anora's vulnerabilities, boundless ambition and naivety. Where “Anora” surprises is its direction; it transforms from an excessive party film then spirals into a screwball comedy in its second half, bolstered by the incredible supporting performance of Yuriy Borisov.
Dune: Part Two
Directed by Denis Villeneuve
While most of my favorites of the year consist of lower-budgeted indies, “Dune: Part Two” proves the power of high-budget epics. Villeneuve continues to display his brilliant vision for science fiction, as “Part Two” sets up “Dune” for a trilogy status in the likes of “Lord of the Rings.” Where 2021’s “Dune” set the foundations of Frank Herbert’s novel, “Part Two” capitalizes on the first film’s heavy lifting.
Villeneuve leans into colossal, thunderous warfare sequences, explores the hypnotizing rise of a mad prophet and flaunts stunning sound and visuals worthy of all the technical awards you can throw at it. In an era of frequently over-budgeted and poorly conceived blockbusters, “Dune: Part Two” shows this caliber can be equally thematically rich and engrossing.
Nickel Boys
Directed by RaMell Ross
Based on the novel by Colson Whitehead, “Nickel Boys” is inspired by the Dozier School for Boys in Florida. The reform school, which operated from 1900 to 2011, was responsible for decades of abuse and disappearances, which was eventually linked to dozens of murders in an investigation in the 2010s.
“Nickel Boys” follows two Black teenagers, Elwood and Curtis, on the quest for survival and meaning in the institution. The framework “Nickel Boys” gains from its adapted work is strong, however, its execution makes it one of the most awe-inspiring films I’ve seen.
“Nickel Boys” is completely shot in first-person. You are both Elwood and Curtis; you see this world through – and completely inhabit – them. The cinematography of the film is revolutionary and, often, dumbfounding. The film is overwhelming emotionally and sensorily. Its colossal beauty not only navigates the eyes of our central characters but crosses over into the documentary. It jumps from unnerving, droning crime scene investigations and astronautical achievements back into the surreal as we see Elwood and Curtis’ imagination and dreams.
While the subject matter is uncomfortable, “Nickel Boys” is a powerful, experimental film that pushes the boundaries of cinema and is the best film of 2024.