Relive the year in film with these double features

Some of the best films of the year meet their matches.

By BECCA JAMES

As 2020 comes to a close, it brings with it the gift of hindsight, which I have decided to use to play cinematic matchmaker—instead of recommending merely ten movies, here are 20. Pairing some of the best releases of the year together via a list of double-features allows us to reflect on how 2020 left its mark on the medium. It’s admittedly heavy on the horror—that’s fitting, though, in a year that saw its own share of scares, but also saw the genre strive as streaming replaced a trip to the theaters. And while we would have loved to see these on the big screen, as movies found their way into our homes it’s nice to think it made for not an isolating experience, but an intimate one.

The Assistant (Dir. Kitty Green) + Sound of Metal (Dir. Darius Marder)

The Assistant, released in January, and Sound of Metal, released in December, act as inter- esting bookends to a year that began like any other before quickly resembling none other. Pushed inside because of the pandemic, life became more insular. Or did it? Take The Assistant, which sees Jane (Julia Garner), who, while not confined to her home, spends nearly all her time in one place: the o ce. Sound familiar? Her job is her entire world save a single phone call to her family. Quiet anger hums through the sonically subdued film as Jane struggles in a toxic work environment. Similarly, Sound of Metal, another purposely quiet film, follows Ruben’s (Riz Ahmed) initially isolating journey from a tight-knit metal scene to a rural community for recovering addicts who are deaf, after he loses his hearing. What he longs for most is for things to return to normal (again, sound familiar?), but in the film, as in life, that’s not possible. Fittingly, both characters are left in a state of authentic ambiguity. Watch these as a meditation on the passing of time, the many faces of staying in place, and the pursuit of happier and healthier endeavors in the new year.

Gretel & Hansel (Dir. Oz Perkins) + Shirley (Dir. Josephine Decker)

This is a fever-dream double feature, as both films freshly stylize familiar tales of terror. Gretel & Hansel is a female-first title because it fleshes out Gretel’s (Sophia Lillis) character by making her a natural witch. She has to reconcile this innate gift in this visually gruesome and beautiful bildungsroman that gives the classic story new life. Meanwhile, Shirley is a look at the very morose Shirley Jackson (Elisabeth Moss), presented in a way that mimics the famed fiction author’s horror writing. Covered in the same heady haze, watch these when you want to take a trip without leaving your couch.

Come to Daddy (Dir. Ant Timpson) + Blow the Man Down (Dir. Bridget Savage Cole and Danielle Krudy)

Brutal violence abounds in these coastal mysteries, but they’re not all show. While Come to Daddy leans more toward horror and Blow the Man Down toward drama, both have a dark comedic undertow that pulls viewers into their provocative talking points. In the former, Norval Greenwood (Elijah Wood) travels to a remote cabin to reconnect with his estranged father before an abrupt mid-plot twist. In the latter, the Connolly sisters, Mary Beth (Morgan Saylor) and Priscilla (Sophie Lowe), uncover their small town’s darkest secrets after their mother dies. Watch these when you’re in the mood for a couple of murder movies with momentum.

The Lodge (Dir. Veronika Franz and Severin Fiala) +

Vivarium (Dir. Lorcan Finnegan)

In The Lodge and Vivarium, there’s no escape. Perfectly paced, each film places viewers in purgatory along with the protagonists. As time stretches into a never-ending and eerily repetitive pattern in The Lodge , prospective stepmother Grace’s (Riley Keough) limits are tested during a solo retreat with her boyfriend’s children. Little does she know things are not what they seem. Vivarium’s purgatory is more clear-cut, though that somehow doesn’t make it any less mysterious as couple Gemma (Imogen Poots) and Tom (Jesse Eisenberg) are tasked with raising a random child. While these surrogate parents struggle, their respective wards strive or su er based on the distinct dystopia they inhabit. Watch these when things seem stale and you feel stuck, to remind you it could be much, much worse.

(Dir. Tanya Wexler)

Looking for fantastical yet authentic characters? These films have them. Straight Up is admittedly a more substantial movie than Buffaloed, but they work wonders as companion pieces. A dialogue-driven film that invites viewers to question the elastic definitions of love and sexuality as Rory (Katie Findlay) and Todd (James Sweeney) navigate “a love story without the thrill of copulation,” Straight Up is a relevant and resonant rom-com. This is the impressive result of writer-director Sweeney’s clear vision as carried out by competent actors. But Buffaloed isn’t far behind. More silly than soul-searching, it retains the same