Kimberley Jones’ Top 10 Films of 2019
By Kimberley Jones, Fri., Dec. 20, 2019
1) Parasite
Heist thriller. Pratfall comedy. Primal yell. Multitudes, y'all.
2) Marriage Story
Gutting, yes, but also the kind of generous and melancholy comedy Mazursky was master of.
3) Portrait of a Lady on Fire
A sumptuous, slow-burn romance anchors a larger portrait of women bound together as second-class citizens.
4) I Lost My Body
A severed hand goes on a hero's journey in this totally wackadoo, terribly sad animated picture.
5) Knives Out
Devilishly fun stuff.
6) Transit
Kafka meets Casablanca in this rattling romance set now, under Nazi occupation.
7) Long Shot
This slyly feminist Charlize Theron/Seth Rogen rom-com was just so dang likable.
8) Shadow
The visuals in Zhang Yimou's wuxia epic dropped my jaw again and again.
9) The Farewell
A beautiful evocation of family bonds; of being lost, and found.
10) Queen & Slim
Never mind the leads are played by two Brits: This is America.
Near Misses
Booksmart, Honey Boy, Diane
Most Overrated
The Irishman, Ad Astra
Most Underrated
Plus One, Diane
Wild Card
Phoebe Waller-Bridge's Fleabag was the best thing I saw on any screen, big or small, all year – pure catharsis.
Acting Kudos (Male)
Adam Driver (Marriage Story), Tom Burke (The Souvenir), Daniel Kaluuya (Queen & Slim)
Acting Kudos (Female)
Scarlett Johansson (Marriage Story, Jojo Rabbit), Tessa Thompson (Little Woods), Florence Pugh (Little Women)
Best Director
Bong Joon-ho (Parasite), Noah Baumbach (Marriage Story), Céline Sciamma (Portrait of a Lady on Fire)
Best Original Screenplay
Noah Baumbach (Marriage Story), Emily Halpern, Sarah Haskins, Susanna Fogel, and Katie Silberman (Booksmart), Rian Johnson (Knives Out)
Best Adapted Screenplay
Lulu Wang (The Farewell), Jérémy Clapin and Guillaume Laurant (I Lost My Body), Christian Petzold (Transit)
TV Series/Event
FX's Fosse/VerdonWorst Film
Serenity
The Little Film That Could
Little Woods