Filmotomy’s Best Films of the Decade – Katie Keener’s List

Looking back on decades of film it is always so nice to reflect on those that touched in such a way that only film can. The 2010s were no exception and delivered up their fair share of gems whether they be more well known or hidden gems we find underrated.

All the films I have listed below that make up my own look of the best of the decade are ones that have touched me in very meaningful ways. These are the films that have stuck with me, and I know without a doubt will be ones I will faithfully revisit in the years to come.

10. A Monster Calls (2016)

Sometimes a film comes out just when you really need it, and A Monster Calls served that purpose for me. In 2015 I lost my own mother to a very swift cancer diagnosis that turned my world upside down. When I first watched this film it felt very personal and felt like a mirror image of myself and the situation. It touched me on a profoundly deep level. The beauty in this film is how it talks about grief, guilt and realizing you’re already beginning to say goodbye to someone who is technically here but quickly fading.

I saw what I had gone through, telegraphed through young Conor (Lewis McDougall) as he deals with his own mother’s progressing illness, and the impact that can have on an only child and single parent dynamic. When a mystical tree monster (Liam Neeson) appears, the boy is reasonably skeptical, but goes along as the creature tells tales that all have more nuanced meaning than their surface level appearance alone. The art direction is something to behold as the sequences where the stories come to life explode on the screen in watercolor. Feeling as crisp and vivid as if you were flipping through a decades worn storybook.

9. Beginners (2010)

Grasping life fully and wholeheartedly with great zest is something many strive for but few actually try to achieve. Beginners, directed by Mike Mills, was based on personal familial experiences of his own. This is a film which heart lies in the subtle but extremely tender performances from Ewan McGregor, Christopher Plummer and Melanie Laurent.

Being told in a flip flop via flashback we get a good look into Oliver’s (McGregor) evolving relationship with his father (Plummer), after the older man comes out as a gay man. Then to the present following his death when Oliver pursues a relationship with the carefree Anna (Laurent). Mills delivers a very heartfelt story of how it is never to late for somebody. Never too late to change your perspective as seen with Oliver. Or never too late to embrace yourself as his father does in his old age.

8. First Reformed (2017)

First Reformed is a film first and foremost regarding the struggle to maintain one’s faith. Paul Schrader frames this in the picture of a man of faith slowly having that very faith he preaches trickle out of him as the bleak brutality of the world presses in.

Reverend Ernst Toller (beautifully portrayed by Ethan Hawke) on the surface may appear the docile head of a congregation but under the surface he is close to cracking, with everything that is inherently important to his station in life losing meaning to him. Besides being an emotionally heavy film it also pays great attention to political ennui and the sense of being helpless to change the world and what our responsibility to do so is.

7. Get Out (2017)

Jordan Peele is easily one of my favorite directors to emerge in the suspenseful horror genre in recent years, and his debut is quite easily a masterpiece. Get Out takes a social issue still prevalent today and strips it back even further. That being the fact that racism is still grossly common today, sometimes in blatant ways, but sometimes and even more scary it masquerades under the radar which can be even more sinister.

Peele shows us a world where behind gleaming smiles and apparent solidarity a true ugliness can hide, where the path to hell truly is paved with (apparent) good intentions. The cast is pretty, solid but Daniel Kaluuya gives a subtle performance that sneaks up on you with its brilliance. As a horror film there are definitely a fair share of scares befitting of the genre, but the true fright is how it makes us take a closer look around us, asking if our progressiveness is true action or just paper thin words.

6. The Last Jedi (2017)

Arguably no big franchise film has garnered as much fevered debate as The Last Jedi has. That being said, it is easily one of the best in the saga and rightfully worthy of a spot alongside the beloved films from the original trilogy. Rian Johnson took over directorial duties from J.J. Abrams after The Force Awakens. Subverting what one may be accustomed to in this world in a way that was surprising, enlightening and deepened the mythology in a way that felt fresh and right. This is a film about failure and how we must accept it when it comes and grow from it. The answers are not always easy ones and Johnson doesn’t shy away from that as every character and group accepts crushing defeat in one way or another.

The past is also a thing that not only weighs on the minds of characters such as Rey (Daisy Ridley), Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) , Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) and General Leia (Carrie Fisher) but also Rian Johnson himself. He tasks the characters under his stewardship to know when to let go and not to forget but to evolve, he also asks that of us the viewer. Here hope may not be the gleaming and obvious beacon it once was; maybe it is a little rough around the edges, with more care taken to find, but it is there and will always be found no matter what.

5. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2019)

Nostalgia can be a truly potent thing, and Quentin Tarantino takes that and crafts together a postcard to the past that can sadly never be revisited with Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. This film is truly unique in the way it balances the past with real life people and events running in tandem with the fictional heart of the tale.

At this core is fading action star Rick Dalton (Leonardo DiCaprio) and his trusted right-hand man and stunt double Cliff Booth (Brad Pitt). Both actors giving some of their best and most perfected performances in their respected careers. We witness them against the backdrop of Hollywood in 1969 with this blissful moment of pure Americana just about to come to a screeching halt with the grizzly Manson family murders. Margot Robbie deftly gives breath to Sharon Tate as the golden figure drenched in tragedy at the peak of her potential.

The ride is so exhilarating and fun that you almost forget what awaits us on that fateful August night. But Tarantino subverts your preconceived notions and fitting to the title gives us a fairy tale with the perfect Hollywood ending. Realism is not the point here and as all wraps up you are left in a state of cathartic bliss… Maybe such things never happen in real life, but oh aren’t we lucky that they can happen on film.

4. Portrait of a Lady on Fire (2019)

No better words describe Portrait of a Lady on Fire better than flawless and breathtaking. It is a feast for not just the eyes and mind, but also of the soul. Under Celine Sciamma’s hand we are briefly invited into a moment in time shared between two ultimately tragic lovers. Marianne (Noemie Merlant) is tasked with the role of painting the portrait of Heloise (Adele Haenel) which is to be used in secretly securing her a marriage, much to her chagrin. What starts off though as a routine job to Marianne becomes so much more as her connection to Heloise blossoms into something deeply rich and beautiful to watch play out on screen.

Attention rightfully needs to be given to cinematographer Claire Mathon as the eyes are drawn from grand seascape vistas to warmly lit intimate moments all drenched in a rich and warm color palette. It becomes obvious that the film is one crafted from love and tender attention to detail. In an almost musical sense it fills your heart, to then just turn around and break it. But when it does you are almost grateful that you were allowed to witness such beauty even if it departs on a truly bittersweet note.

3. Wonder Woman (2017)

Superhero films have become a dime a dozen over this past decade; you’ve seen one, you’ve seen them all and there is always one just around the corner waiting to become the next blockbuster titan. But sometimes a true gem can emerge and elevate its genre to new heights, Wonder Woman did that and in spades. Patty Jenkins gave life to a character that had unfairly sat in production purgatory for decades, and in handing the golden lasso over to Gal Gadot it was a combination that became magic in a bottle.

The true beauty here is the fact that it feels real and organic despite our hero being the creation of an almighty god and raised by the most revered and powerful amazonian warriors. All that alone could easily present an untouchable hero, but Gadot gives the role a gentleness balanced with power that is the true embodiment of an iron fist in a velvet glove. One would be remiss to not have their jaw drop when Diana slowly ascends onto No Man’s Land with pure assuredness and effectively wards off the opposition in truly bold heroism.

2. BlacKkKlansman (2018)

There is a quote out there that to sum it up says that those who do not learn from the past are bound to repeat it. We would like to think that such ugly parts of our past as people stay there and that we are better now than we were then – unfortunately this is not the case. In BlacKkKlansman we have Spike Lee expertly painting us a picture that in its mirroring to current events shows how in certain ways we still have many hard lessons to learn.

The story is based on true events of officer Ron Stallworth (John David Washington) who devises an intricate plan to infiltrate and expose local KKK groups with the help of his co-worker Flip Zimmerman (Adam Driver). Zimmerman is a jew and just as hated by the Klan as Stallworth is as a black man, but being white he can more easily go undercover and be the face of the mission without raising the eyebrows of the hateful yet paranoid members.

Hate is a disgusting thing and it is unfortunate that it must remain so prevalent. And that even the ghosts of the Ku Klux Klan still linger to this day and echo the same words through present figures. This film is smart and quite amusing as it takes care to show that these awful people beyond their pomp and circumstance are weak minded and foolish. BlacKkKlansman will undeniably age with grace for decades to come.

1. Lady Bird (2017)

Lady Bird is the wonderful directorial debut from Greta Gerwig, who I could quite easily spend a whole post heralding. What we got with this film was a nuanced coming of age tale of a young woman but evolved to a higher level than typical for the genre. Christine “Lady Bird” McPherson is someone who would like to think of herself as a cultured old soul removed from her uninspiring surroundings, but there are some tough lessons awaiting her.

I found it easy to relate to Lady Bird as a film and also to its title character. Much of this is credit to not only Gerwig’s prowess as a director but that of writer and storyteller. The film feels lived in and comfortable in the best sense of those words; and as eccentric as Lady Bird may be as a young woman coming into her own, I felt a kinship with her thoughts and plight.

This is so much more than coming of age though as threads weaved through pertaining to the relationships between mothers/daughters, friendship and self image are given equal weight and care. The transition into a new stage of life can be tough, there will be things you have to gingerly leave in the past and accepting the courage to walk into the unknown with purpose. Thankfully we have stories like this to help, and I for one look forward to all that Gerwig brings to the table in this new decade ahead.