Last month marked the ten year anniversary of production company A24 being founded. Over that ten year span, they’ve churned out Oscar winning films, cult classics, and have built a massive fan base that make it an event to go to the theater to see an A24 film. To be honest, I’m one of those people. I’ve traveled, at times over an hour, to theaters to see A24 films, and whether I’ve left disappointed or elated, I’ve respected the risks that these films take.
To celebrate their 10 year anniversary, I’m here to give me favorite film from every year A24 has been in existence.
2013: The Spectacular Now dir. James Ponsoldt
In A24’s opening year, they released one of the most underrated romantic comedies of the decade with James Ponsoldt’s The Spectacular Now. Where most coming of age romantic comedies lose me is when they add in a montage of the two young love birds having fun and growing closer with one another. It’s a played out schtick and Ponsoldt doesn’t use that here. He shows this couple, played by Miles Teller and Shailene Woodley, growing close through a bond of their dysfunctional families. I find it to be emotional and refreshing and really kicked off A24 the right way.
2014: Locke dir. Steven Knight
At this point, A24 is still trying to gain their footing and I don’t think 2014 was a great year for them. They did, however, release the innovative Steven Knight film, Locke. Starring Tom Hardy, Locke takes place in Ivan Locke’s car for the entirety of the film. Usually doing something like this can be risky and not work, but Knight pulled it off masterfully as he nailed the thriller genre by making us feel claustrophobic with Ivan Locke. It’s an under the radar film that if you’re into thrillers, you should watch. Many aspects of it made me squirm and that’s how I knew it was a solid flick that was boosted by the one location twist.
2015: The End of the Tour dir. James Ponsoldt
The End of the Tour was an emotional rollercoaster for me. James Ponsoldt’s second A24 film follows the story of Rolling Stone journalist David Lipsky spending time with innovative writer David Foster Wallace for a story. When I watched it, I cried in many parts. I cried at the idea of knowing how fragile life is. You look into a microscope of Wallace’s life and see that even those who are genius’ and revered as generational talents struggle with mental health. I also cried seeing the relationship build between Wallace and Lipsky. This started as a starstruck fan interviewing someone he idolized, but turned into a budding friendship where we peeled back the layers of Lipsky and Wallace.
The performance from Jesse Eisenberg was great, but Jason Segel should’ve been nominated for an Oscar for this role. I view this film now as both a comfort film and also one I’ll watch when I need to let out a good cry. It’s rare that a film can do that.
2016: The Witch dir. Robert Eggers
I feel very middle of the road on Robert Eggers’ films like The Lighthouse and The Northman, but my personal favorite is The Witch. He combines fantastic horror elements into this old New England themed flick and it started out his career of making macabre films that push you to your comfort limit. There are many uncomfortable scenes in this, but the one that made me nearly vomit was when we see Thomasin’s brother throw up the whole apple. Very tough to watch, but integral to the plot.
For me, this was A24’s first hit horror film and segued into them producing films like Hereditary, The Lighthouse, Midsommar, and Talk to Me. If you are interested in the old New England witch trials, then this is the film for you.
2017: Lady Bird dir. Greta Gerwig
One of the biggest names in film this year has been Greta Gerwig for her groundbreaking film, Barbie. But let’s not forget her second feature film and my personal favorite from her, Lady Bird. It’s a quaint, quirky, and beautiful spin on the coming-of-age genre. Gerwig smashes the traditional frame of that genre by making our main protagonist, Lady Bird, kind of narcissistic, yet sympathetic, very similar to the character Gerwig plays in Frances Ha. She also tackles something I love seeing in coming-of-age dramas, which is parental relationships. We see Lady Bird’s dad being the traditional “good guy”, while her mother is the “villain” and constantly butts heads with her daughter.
Where I think Lady Bird really lands is that there’s part of us that can relate to Lady Bird. Whether it’s feeling like you’re different from the crowd or you struggle to connect with your parents, we can all see a slice of our souls in Saoirse Ronan playing Lady Bird.
2018: Hereditary dir. Ari Aster
Quite possibly the greatest horror movie of the 21st century is Ari Aster’s magnum opus, Hereditary. I’ve never fancied myself as a horror fan, but Aster combines thriller and mystery aspects to craft a horror film like no other. His tactic that he’s used over his three feature films of slowing the pace down to add suspense that may not have been there prior is on full display here in Hereditary, and it works because as the viewer, you’ll be staring at the screen of Toni Collette’s character just standing and you’ll feel a chill run up your spine. It’s brilliant the way he combines slowed pacing and a sharp score, similar to David Lynch’s Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me to build suspense.
I could make a legitimate argument that this is the best film A24 has ever produced. It brings big stars like Toni Collette and Gabriel Byrne together under the direction of a young director in Aster, and he creates an eerie, cult film that isn’t for the faint of heart.
2019: Uncut Gems dir. Benny Safdie, Josh Safdie
There’s so much that can be said about Uncut Gems. Whether you talk about the exquisite plot or the gut wrenching tension, the first thing you must acknowledge is Adam Sandler. What the Safdie Brothers did with Sandler was unbelievable. We were pumped with so many shitty Sandler comedies that the general public, including myself, forgot he was an awesome actor, and the Safdies gave us that side of him as this slimy, degenerate gambling jeweler. The performance he gives is one of, if not the best of the entire 2010’s decade. If you think different, you’re just plain wrong.
Aside from Sandler, there are a lot of great moments and tactics this film presents. What sticks out most is that the Safdies made me feel sick by the tension they brewed. They did the same with Good Time in 2017, but they’re evil geniuses when they do this. When you see Sandler naked in the trunk or watching him sweat out the final bet, you get to the point that you want to lose your lunch — for me, it was more than most horror films. Just a dazzling take on gambling and how degeneracy can be a human beings demise.
2020: Boys State dir. Amanda McBaine, Jesse Moss
Due to Covid-19, I think that 2020 was a bad year of cinema and a slow one for A24. However, they did release an interesting documentary called Boys State. It centers around a thousand teenage boys attending the Boys State in Austin, Texas where they all work together in order to create a representative government from the ground up. I’ve seen it once and thought it was a neat concept as you watch all these teens from different backgrounds come together and mold their ideas and experiences into creating this government. It’s something I’d never seen before, so the originality really caught me by surprise and made this an enjoyable watch.
2021: Red Rocket dir. Sean Baker
Much like 2020, I thought 2021 was sort of a down year for A24, but it picked up a little with the Sean Baker directed film, Red Rocket. Red Rocket feels like a dirtier version of Annie Hall or American Beauty where there’s a very clear, inappropriate relationship between an older man and a younger girl, but you buy in to the protagonist as a viewer, even though he’s not a good person. While Annie Hall and American Beauty feel neater, the grungy feel Baker delivers makes you get a strange and uncomfortable feeling because the shots of the dirty home or an adult riding a bike to a donut shop just don’t sit right with you. It’s truly masterful work.
An innovative aspect of Red Rocket is how this film turns from being a troubled romance drama to a crime drama out of nowhere — but it works. It really works and makes you enjoy the film further. Performance wise, Simon Rex steals the show and gives his career best role.
2022: Marcel the Shell With Shoes On dir. Dean Fleischer Camp
The first time I ever saw Marcel the Shell With Shoes On was in theaters and it brought me to tears. That was because I connected on a deep emotional level with the relationship that Marcel had with his Nana Connie. It really stuck with me and made me think of my late grandmother who I had a great relationship with, so for that reason, I have Marcel the Shell With Shoes On as not only my favorite A24 film of 2022, but my second or third favorite ever. It’s very cute, touching, and transcends a one dimensional stop-motion that could lack heart. Dean Fleischer Camp packs this film with feel good elements along with humor that doesn’t feel corny.
It’s a perfect film that will be solidified as one of the greatest animated flicks ever and maybe one of A24’s greatest when we look back in ten or fifteen years.
2023: Past Lives dir. Celine Song
While the year hasn’t concluded yet, Past Lives has an early and large lead as A24’s best 2023 film. There’s so much Oscar potential surrounding this with Greta Lee and the film itself most likely getting nominated. I wasn’t sure how I’d feel about Past Lives when I went to see it in theaters because I’ve never been a huge romance film fan, but Celine Song made a film that transcends the romance genre. The idea of right person wrong time was so pertinent in Past Lives and was truly gutting. When you watch Hae Sung leave Nora and finally realize that they’ll never be together, you feel broken.
Past Lives also includes a super moving quote that ties the film together when Nora talks about what the past lives concept is. “There is a word in Korean. In-Yun. It means ‘providence’. Or ‘fate’. But it’s specifically about relationships between people. I think it comes from Buddhism, and reincarnation. It’s an ‘In-Yun’ if two strangers even walk by each other in the street, and their clothes accidentally brush. Because it means there must have been something between them in their past lives. If two people get married, they says it’s because there have been eight thousand layers of In-Yun, over eight thousand lifetimes.“