Shattering the Celluloid Ceiling
2019 was an eventful year for me, I grew so much as a person and found an outlet to express my writing and thoughts about film as a whole. This isn’t a definitive list by any means but a list of the films that have had the biggest impact on me personally. I have a lot to say about some of these so let’s get started, shall we?
As we approach the end of 2019, the ITOL team are compiling their end of year lists of their favourite films. Here's James Cain's list and his personal top 20 films of 2019! Another year, another fresh bout of shame. I didn’t see “Hustlers”! I didn’t fit “Always Be My Maybe” onto my list of favourite movies! Anyway, here are my Top 20 Films of 2019.
"Hereditary" and "Midsommar", directed by Ari Aster, disguise a family drama and a relationship drama under the facade of horror. They demonstrate women’s grief during the most heinous of circumstances, as well as the agency that each protagonist has in facing that grief and finally achieving a sense of peace. Toni Collette and Florence Pugh give stellar performances as women absolving their grief through the most extreme means possible. In Hereditary, Annie (Toni Collette) faces the loss of her mother, Ellen (Kathleen Chalfant), and her thirteen-year-old daughter, Charlie (Molly Shapiro). Ellen dies of old age and Annie’s son, Peter (Alex Wolff), accidentally decapitates Charlie (Milly Shapiro) on their way to the hospital (Charlie has an allergic reaction to nuts).
