Image via Complex
25.
Over the last six years, A24 Films has revolutionized the landscape of filmmaking and distribution. They’ve committed themselves to amplifying the voices of rising visionaries, upending industry norms, and championing films that disrupt mindless consumption. If any one company saw that Hollywood and moviegoers alike had become complacent, it was this New York-based independent film entity that rode in on a dark horse to lead us in a new direction.
A24’s banner is virtually inescapable these days with a ceaseless stream of indie hits that range from coming-of-age dramas such as Barry Jenkins’ Moonlight and Bo Burnham’s Eighth Grade to polarizing genre flicks like Claire Denis’ High Life and Robert Eggers’ The Witch. With over 80 titles under their belt, A24 has received 25 Academy Award nominations, several prestigious industry wins, and their films have landed at the top of countless year-end lists.
It’s hard not to stan, honestly. A24’s fierce commitment to underserved audiences has led to truly profound stories getting the opportunity to be made and seen for the first time. Moreover, they’ve become a household name for burgeoning directors and undiscovered talent.
Unsurprisingly, 2019 has delivered us more A24 excellence with no sign of letting up anytime soon. Now that Ari Aster’s newest horror sensation Midsommar is out in theaters and anticipated drops like Lulu Wang’s The Farewell and Peter Strickland’s In Fabric are on their way, now felt like the right time to celebrate A24’s continued success by looking at their top 24 films to date. It's a decision I would soon realize was a fool’s errand, because where the hell do you even start?
24.'Spring Breakers'
Director: Harmony Korine
Release Date: March 15, 2013
Divisive, uncomfortable, and wildly hedonistic, Spring Breakers established the ethos of an independent film company destined to shake shit up. Harmony Korine’s debaucherous fairytale arrived on the festival scene as A24 was in its infancy mapping out their first year of programming and anxious to make a definitive mark. Spring Breakers was that opportunity. They got their first wide release and more importantly, made their introduction to pop culture at large.
Following a group of girls who fall prey to the riffraff in St. Petersburg, Florida, this beach jaunt has been accused of sexism, heralded as feminist, and criticized for its shamelessness all at once. It’s peak James Franco, and I mean that however you receive it. And regardless of where I or anyone else lands on Spring Breakers, it turned people’s heads, which has been A24’s MO ever since.
23.'Mid90s'
Director: Jonah Hill
Release Date: October 19, 2018
Looking back at the evolution of Jonah Hill’s career, his decision to align with A24 for his directing debut was the only one to be made. All signs pointed to this partnership, which gave Hill’s ode to his most influential years the proper support and marketing it deserved. Having built this film from scratch, Hill’s perspective of the '90s exudes the blunt, defiant attitudes anyone familiar with skate culture can easily identify.
Mid90s carries the same aimless ambitions of the group of LA skate punks it centers on, often weaving from one misguided adventure to the next. It boasts weighty performances from its lead Sunny Suljic and promising newcomer Na-Kel Smith that gives this rambunctious outing a surprising amount of heart. Wearing the fleeting views and norms of the '90s on its sleeve, Mid90s is an earnest time capsule from one of Hollywood’s most consistent and gifted talents.
22.'Locke'
Director: Steven Knight
Release Date: April 25, 2014
Tom Hardy’s career is full of performance highs, and Steven Knight’s gripping single-location drama ranks chief among them. Here he plays a construction foreman who upends his life after discovering a woman with whom he shared a one night stand with is in premature labor. While driving from Birmingham to London, Ivan Locke comes to terms with his new reality in the span of 90 minutes and 36 phone calls. He’s banished from his home and loses his job in a desperate pursuit to overcorrect for his own father’s shortcomings. It’s here where Locke effectively raises disconcerting questions about the harm we cause while trying to prevent past grievances from repeating themselves. It’s a fascinating character study that inspires the best from its captivating lead.
21.'Midsommar'
Director: Ari Aster
Release Date: July 2, 2019
Ari Aster didn’t invent daylight horror, but with Midsommar he took an already unnerving concept and dressed it up with flowers, smiles, and joyous pagan rituals. It’s a flip of the light switch for this acclaimed director, who broke into the scene last year with his wildly dark and imaginative debut feature film, Hereditary. This time around, he brings similar excruciating trauma and a doomed relationship into the light for a presumably idyllic festival in Sweden.
Midsommar is a deeper dive into Aster’s psyche as he sharply marries personal experience with nightmarish folk-horror. It revels in uneasy moments, expertly balancing taboo humor and unforgettable dread. Here it’s Dani, played by the rising Florence Pugh, who grapples with severe family loss and a crummy boyfriend while contending with an ancestral commune devoted to its uber-rare and fatal midsummer festival. Pugh glows in the absurdity of it all and Aster’s creative affinity for the macabre makes for a beguiling viewing experience. May he terrorize our summers for years to come.
20.'Waves'
Director: Trey Edward Shults
Release date: November 15, 2019
Trey Edward Shults’ third feature film had all the makings of becoming an A24 hit. It’s This Is Us slapped in the face with Euphoria’s intoxicating flare. Waves crashes into the American Dream with brute force then graces it shore with thoughtful tenderness. To me, Shults helmed a grueling exercise in empathy, weaving together a family epic and putting his evolution as a filmmaker on full display. Where his previous works suggested he was yet unable to push past devastating finales, that hope beyond loss was futile, it’s here that he brings full resolution and meaning to tragedy. That’s why Waves, for all its anger and heartbreak, is his best work to date.
Then when you consider defining performances from his cast and crew—brimming with talent, ferocity, and compassion—Waves levels up to a vital piece of American cinema. Shooter Drew Daniels creates a rich, lived-in world with gorgeous 360-degree shots, vibrant color, and intimate framing. Sterling K. Brown leaves nothing on the table, mustering up all the tears and patriarchal angst that one man can possess. Kelvin Harrison Jr. cements his place as one of 2019’s MVPs with an explosive performance that rivals his work in Julius Onah’s criminally overlooked drama, Luce. Renée Elise Goldsberry, Lucas Hedges, and Alexa Demie offer surprising layers of perspective and nuance. And Taylor Rusell? She’s the light and heart of this entire story. A truly gifted actress that ties this two-act film together with assured compassion.
Waves' limited release combined with a crowded fourth quarter prevented it from garnering the audience it deserves, but I’m confident this one will find its following. It’s not only one of the Best Films of 2019, it’s an instant A24 classic.
19.'A Most Violent Year'
Director: J.C. Chandor
Release Date: December 31, 2014
J.C. Chandor has quietly established himself as one of today's most consistent filmmakers. Somewhat of an enigma in Hollywood, this writer-director cut his teeth on directing commercials before releasing his feature film debut in 2011. Since then he's dropped by on occasion when he's got something to say about the human condition placed under extreme stressors. With A24, Chandor released his third and only film to date where he directed, wrote and produced the final product.
Centered on the owner of a rising oil company, A Most Violent Year dives into the murky world of energy, politics, and violence of New York City in 1981. When forced to contend with stiff competition and unruly hijackers targeting his trucks, he's encouraged by everyone around him, his wife included, to operate outside of the law. Chandor poses some thought-provoking questions and thanks to a convincing collaboration between his cast and crew, he's had us thinking about them ever since.
18.'High Life'
Director: Claire Denis
Release Date: April 5, 2019
High Life ships Robert Pattinson into outer space for a morbid sci-fi study of the human condition and whether or not primal instincts will prevail over time. It centers on a group of criminals blinded by the promise of freedom in exchange for a suicidal mission to find alternative energy beyond a black hole. A fragmented screenplay reveals a hypnotic series of events that illustrates everyone’s eligibility to be on the doomed brick-shaped spacecraft, along with their grim fate.
Claire Denis’ work here is remarkable. With a modest budget, she’s captured the same awe-inspiring weightlessness of a Nolan or Kubrick epic while subverting the idea that all space missions are born out of optimism. It’s the antithesis of Ridley Scott’s The Martian and places a flaming hot question mark on our moral compass. Robert Pattinson delivers an engrossing performance and is supported by an equally enigmatic cast that includes Juliette Binoche, André Benjamin, and Mia Goth.
High Life begins with Pattinson’s Monte teaching his daughter the word taboo, perhaps as a warning to viewers that nothing would prepare us for Claire Denis’ interpretation of the word.
17.'Room'
Director: Lenny Abrahamson
Release Date: October 16, 2015
I still shed tears thinking about Lenny Abrahamson’s deeply moving and emotional adaptation of Emma Donoghue’s best-selling novel. Starring Brie Larson and newcomer Jacob Tremblay, Room tells the heart-wrenching story of Joy Newsome and her son Jack, who are held captive by her abductor for several years. During this time Joy is forced to make small, yet defining decisions to shield her son from the true horrors of their confinement.
When the two finally maneuver an escape, Jack is overwhelmed by outside stimulation and Joy is forced to acclimate back into a life stolen from her under the prying eyes of her reasonably distraught parents. For the Newsome family, It’s all too much to handle and painfully illustrates how traumatic experiences can disrupt a typically supportive environment. Room explores challenging themes with grace and empathy giving this story all the space it needs to breathe.
16.'Krisha'
Director: Trey Edward Shults
Release Date: March 18, 2016
Arguably one of A24’s most underrated gems, Krisha is a painfully raw and vulnerable examination of addiction. It centers on an estranged mother who seeks to make amends with her family after years of drug abuse. She offers to cook dinner for the whole family on Thanksgiving Day in hopes of convincing her son she’s reformed. When faced with mounting skepticism and doubt, Krisha crumbles under the weight of familial rejection and slips into old habits.
Trey Edward Shults’ decision to cast his own family members, including his aunt Krisha Fairchild, was a deeply effective choice that makes Krisha feel all the more palpable. It’s easy to relate to disappointment, especially when it rings so loudly in our own homes. That’s why Shults’ debut feature is so refreshingly honest and relevant in a time where families are struggling with these very same problems.
15.'Lady Bird'
Director: Greta Gerwig
Release Date: November 3, 2017
Greta Gerwig’s poignant coming-of-age drama was a long time coming. She spent years developing the screenplay before securing financing to produce the film, and the finished product is a complicated depiction of teenage angst and the incessant longing for more that we carry well into adulthood. At its center is Christine “Lady Bird” McPherson and her mother Marion. They share a general disdain for each other’s outlook on life, which leads to regrettable distance, and ultimately a deeper love between the two.
Gerwig possesses a strong understanding of where she wanted Lady Bird to go, and it gracefully sews empathy into what can be a very puzzling and often deflating chapter in a young person’s life. It’s a reflection of Gerwig’s truth as a creator, one that reverberates throughout her opus and signals more profound work ahead as she readies the release of her all-star period drama, Little Women.
14.'Eighth Grade'
Director: Bo Burnham
Release Date: July 13, 2018
No matter how much time passes, I will always remember the sting of unbridled humiliation in middle school. It’s a right of passage seemingly designed for all but truly felt by those on the outskirts of the cool kid table. For this writer, Bo Burnham’s first time in the director’s chair results in a sweet, sweet ode to all the times grade school reared its ugly head. But it also serves as an empathetic North Star for young girls trying to figure life out in a hyperconnected world riddled with anxiety-inducing standards.
Eighth Grade is a success in that it understands deeply personal experiences shared by generations of young kids who ever felt awkward and out of place. Elsie Fisher captures those uncomfortable truths so earnestly and with such clarity that we can distinctly recall similar moments in our own lives. Like most of the films A24 has distributed, Eighth Grade is the byproduct of a sharp connection between director and lead. There’s an undeniable synergy there that lets Kayla Day’s story progress authentically and gracefully, ugly moments and all.
13.'Enemy'
Director: Denis Villeneuve
Release Date: March 14, 2014
2013-14 was a momentous time for French Canadian director Denis Villeneuve. More famously regarded for his recent work with Sicario and sci-fi gems such as Blade Runner 2049, he screened and released his first two English-language films back-to-back roughly five years ago. More impressive was his decision to cast one of Hollywood’s most affable leading men to star in two undeniably challenging projects.
Under A24’s banner, Villeneuve released the psychological thriller, Enemy. It centers on Jake Gyllenhaal pulling double duty as Adam and Anthony, doppelgängers with more in common than either of them would care to admit. The discovery of each other’s existence puts them at odds with one another and ignites a disruptive rivalry. Villeneuve elicited polarized responses over its abstract ending, but for anyone watching with an open mind, Enemy’s sticky finish will have you retracing your steps trying to make sense of it all.
12.'The Lobster'
Director: Yorgos Lanthimos
Release Date: May 13, 2016
Did I mention how funny Yorgos Lanthimos is? He’s an auteur with few fucks to give and a lot to say about the inane societal norms we confine ourselves in. Here Colin Farrell stars in a ridiculous dystopian satire where single people must find companionship within 45 days or turn into an animal of their choosing. Lanthimos gleefully explores absurdist ultimatums in his films with a strange fascination for the preposterous suffering that comes as a result.
The Lobster is a unique experience designed to kick open viewers’ minds with heavy-handed ideas about partnership and the questionable sanctity of our established social institutions. And yet, it’s a wholly enjoyable film made more accessible by a talented cast led by Farrell and Rachel Weisz.
11.'The Witch'
Director: Robert Eggers
Release Date: February 19, 2016
Before helming his feature film debut, Robert Eggers worked as a designer for various short films and stage productions. That’s what makes The Witch’s attention to detail equal parts expected and impressive. Eggers tells a laborious story about a Puritan family on the edge of sanity as troubling events lead to a missing baby and an uninhabitable plot of land. Banished from their colony and threatened by dark forces in the woods, William and his family turn against each other allowing supernatural forces to take hold.
Stylized as The VVitch, Eggers’ morbid debut challenged moviegoer expectations on what horror can do. Without the use of CGI and jump scenes, this pre-Salem Witch Trial affair builds on unnerving atmosphere and one sinister billy goat. It plays out like a tragedy you shouldn’t be watching and lingers long after the credits roll.
Anya Taylor-Joy shines as a young genre star on the rise, and Eggers, he’s earned himself the right to direct just about anything. It’s clear at this point that A24 has a sixth sense for recognizing talent. And living deliciously, of course.
10.'The Farewell'
Director: Lulu Wang
Release date: July 12, 2019
Beautiful, poignant, specific and universal, Lulu Wang’s Chinese-American family drama hits every note. The Farewell marries progressive worldviews with traditionalism to explore familial dynamics in a modern age. Cultural and generational differences pull at Billi Wang and her family as they debate how to handle their matriarch’s terminal illness. Do they tell her as Billi pleads? Or do they continue to shroud her fate in secrecy? There’s nuance here that brings understanding to all perspectives, which Wang balances out with charming quirks and an abundance of love. It’s a touching journey supported by heartfelt performances from Awkwafina and Zhao Shuzhen aka Nai Nai, but I should mention the cast runs deep as does their talent. Wang’s work as writer-director is magnificent and fits squarely within the ethos of A24.
9.'The Florida Project'
Director: Sean Baker
Release Date: October 6, 2017
The Florida Project is an utterly heartbreaking look at the wonders of childhood trapped inside the grim reality of adulthood. Following up on his 2015 standout dramedy Tangerine, Sean Baker helms a stirring feature about a young girl named Moonee, played by the infectiously charming newcomer Brooklynn Prince. Moonee lives a fantastical life that rightfully ignores the hardships her wreckless mother puts them through. It’s not an easy watch, and for some, The Florida Project may be too difficult to digest more than once. But it’s essential. A film born out of empathy and destined to share its lessons for years to come.
8.'Green Room'
Director: Jeremy Saulnier
Release Date: April 15, 2016
Jeremy Saulnier’s bleak backwoods thriller is a lot to stomach. It’s premise centers on a punk band quite literally starving for their next gig. When they score a show at a neo-Nazi bar in the woods, they use their talents to send a very defiant “fuck you” during their set. It’s a surprisingly minor offense to walk away unscathed from. Stumbling in on a murder committed by those same ruthless skinheads, however, is decidedly not.
Green Room takes a rather simple idea and elevates it with inspired cinematography, brilliant writing, and brutal execution. It’s brass, in your face, suffocating, and fucking grim. It also brings the best out of Stewart and the late, great Anton Yelchin. Saulnier illustrates his technical prowess and taut direction through claustrophobic scenes of absolute terror and hard-hitting violence that makes us wish we’d look away sooner. Of course, we never do.
7.'Good Time'
Directors: Safdie Brothers
Release Date: August 11, 2017
Over the last few years, Robert Pattinson has redefined the legacy of a YA star. Dreaded Twilight references have become few and far between as he stacks up auteur-driven work from bold visionaries. And what better way to really screw with people’s heads than to star in an engrossing tour de force crime thriller set in the underbelly of Queens, New York?
Josh and Benny Safdie’s Good Time runs at breakneck speed keeping up with Connie, a degenerate thief who recruits his disabled brother Nick for a bank heist. When the escape plan goes south, Nick lands behind bars and Connie stops at nothing to set him free. I remember feeling overwhelmed by a potent blend of disgust and admiration as the credits rolled. It’s another divisive showing, depicting very real and ugly choices people make when clouded by greed and desperation. Even worse when you consider the state of 45’s America. Lace those elements with an intoxicating score by Oneohtrix Point Never and Sean Price William’s dizzying cinematography, and you’ve got yourself a new age crime classic.
6.'The Last Black Man in San Francisco'
Director: Joe Talbot
Release Date: June 7, 2019
Easily one of the best films this year, The Last Black Man in San Francisco is a stunningly intimate production made by two best friends. Joe Talbot and Jimmie Fails wrote a story based on Fails' life, which in turn Talbot directed and Fails starred in. It centers on Jimmie, a young Black man displaced in San Francisco after years of unchecked gentrification forced his family out of their Victorian home. He holds an emotional bond with aspiring playwright Montgomery Allen, brought to life by a charismatic performance from Jonathan Majors, as they work together to reclaim what was taken from Jimmie’s family.
Talbot’s directorial debut paints a sobering reality with the most beautiful colors. It’s earnest in its depiction of not only gentrification, but the societal indifference felt by those who lose everything. Fails is an undoubted thespian who possesses innate depth and empathy suited for a young rising star. And his story is given wings by a strong cast that also boasts Danny Glover and the ever-great Tichina Arnold. The Last Black Man in San Francisco weighs heavy on the heart, but it’s an essential story told in the most charming and heavenly way.
5.'Ex Machina'
Director: Alex Garland
Release Date: April 10, 2015
It’s been a little over four years since novelist and screenwriter Alex Garland made his directorial debut with Ex Machina, and I’ve yet to shake its final scene. Garland helms a slick and devious thriller that dissects the increasingly dubious relationship between man and machine. He asks all the right questions and proposes some hauntingly realistic outcomes. Domhnall Gleeson, Oscar Isaac, Alicia Vikander, and Sonoya Mizuno are entirely in sync here and expertly play off their character’s motives.
Ex Machina’s success is a lesson that many of A24’s films have in common. Garland’s story was distributed internationally by Universal Pictures, but the studio and its specialty division Focus Features passed on releasing it in the US. A24 swooped in to support the film, which became widely regarded as one of the best movies that year, landing on several year-end lists and picking up many trophies along the way. Even better, it became a hit at the indie box office as film writers and general audiences analyzed the film’s ominous ending.
Only time will tell how prophetic Garland’s sci-fi masterpiece really is, but he presents such a convincing reality that it’s impossible not to consider a future where man crosses one too many lines with artificial intelligence.
4.'Uncut Gems'
Director(s): Josh and Benny Safdie
Release date: December 25, 2019
Who does white-knuckled cynicism better than The Safdie Bros? Good Time may have put this coveted New York City duo on the map, but it’s Uncut Gems that’s made them the destination. A beacon for gripping, anxiety-inducing cinema. Pulling inspiration from their own lives, Benny and Josh Safdie set Adam Sandler up for a career-best performance with their signature grit and sound.
Howard Ratner: two-bit jeweler, gambler, family man...elite trainwreck. It’s Howie’s reckless ambitions, a perverse commitment to score big, that makes Uncut Gems so engrossing. A thrill ride that’s more or less elicited the same reaction from audiences across the country. Sandler is all-in here, willingly possessed by the Bros’ sharp intent to bring this chase of euphoric highs and crushing lows to a startling finish. It’s not just him, either. LaKeith Stanfield proves why he’s one of today’s brightest stars. And with NYC nightlife pulsing through her veins, Julia Fox’s convincing debut is sure to go down as one of the most memorable on-screen breakthroughs of the last decade. Career-defining and star-making efforts all around.
Uncut Gems is on track to becoming A24’s biggest hits yet. That should come as no surprise, though. Adam Sandler is a titan at bringing in viewers, just ask Netflix. But now he’s paired his box office draw with a prestigious role that strips away career cliches for something truly unforgettable.
3.'Hereditary'
Director: Ari Aster
Release Date: June 8, 2018
To know his work is to understand that Ari Aster has a lot on his mind when it comes to family, death, and the trauma that comes with both. His short projects have rocked the film community and challenge the idea of what’s deemed palatable. With Hereditary, he takes his perverse ambitions to the extreme while simultaneously carving his name into horror’s famed lexicon. Whether it’s Milly Shapiro’s abrupt decapitation or Toni Collette’s self-induced beheading, Aster forces us to fully see and realize increasingly dark realities bestowed upon the Graham family.
It was an audacious move for a directorial debut, but fitting nonetheless considering his record. This is Aster’s wheelhouse. And don’t be fooled, Hereditary’s strength lies beyond shock value. For starters, Collette delivers an all-time performance earning just as much praise for her impassioned monologue at dinner as she does during the film’s shocking final moments. Resonant themes about the destructive toll grief takes on a family are sewn together with haunting pieces of pagan lore and rituals. Even further, watching Annie’s descent into madness from the perspective of her husband Steve adds subtle, yet equally devastating layers.
Hereditary is crafted to stand the test of time. Aster rolled the dice and brought something fresh to the genre. He’ll be known as that auteur who will go to places few dare to go and actually flourish in the process. A dark beautiful twisted fantasy, indeed.3
2.'First Reformed'
Director: Paul Schrader
Release Date: May 18, 2018
Paul Schrader earned his first Academy Award nomination with First Reformed, a quietly powerful and studied drama about faith and morality. It was a well-deserved nod for an otherwise criminally underrated venture by a Hollywood legend.
Ethan Hawke stars as Reverend Ernst Toller, a crumbling man overseeing the operation of a historical church on its last leg. Struggling with alcoholism and a crisis of faith, Toller begins to counsel Michael, a radicalized environmentalist who believes his wife should have an abortion instead of giving birth in world doomed by climate change. Throughout their sessions Toller finds himself relating to his grim worldview and spirals into it completely when Michael commits suicide. Fed up with hypocrisy and industrial greed, he flirts with radical solutions that leads to a haunting and uncertain end.
First Reformed takes a taut display of direction and acting by two seasoned veterans and delivers a crucial understanding of the insurmountable and dire threats humanity faces today. A must-watch film and one of A24’s finest.
1.'Moonlight'
Director: Barry Jenkins
Release Date: October 21, 2016
Barry Jenkins’ Moonlight isn’t just A24’s best release to date—it’s one of the greatest films to come out of the 21st century. It wields compassion as a shield that drives this intimate, yet mighty coming-of-age drama through three stages of a young Black man’s life. Based on Tarell Alvin McCraney’s play, Moonlight is an unflinching look at sexuality, love, abuse and discovering oneself in a complicated and unjust world.
Moonlight gives voice, sight, and context to a journey often misunderstood and neglected by traditional Hollywood standards. It’s gorgeously shot, thoughtfully scripted, and delivered with extreme care by a top-tier cast. Barry Jenkins sees the world through a beautiful lens despite its ugly imperfections, and it’s that unmatched level of empathy that allows his work to flow so gracefully.
A24 set out to disrupt the landscape of filmmaking and usher in a generation of storytellers who are not only able to grab our attention but who can also create long-lasting impact on the artform. To create change. To be of consequence. Barry Jenkins and his historic Academy Award-winning masterpiece did that and more.