Most Anticipated Films of 2024:
Part IV (30-21)
aka
I Think I Can See a Light
30. Hard Truths
Director: Mike Leigh (Secrets & Lies, Topsy-Turvy) Cast: Marianne Jean-Baptist and Michele Austin.
Olivier Assayas isn't the only director with a pandemic-inspired drama this year. Veteran auteur, Mike Leigh, finally received enough funding last year for his 15th full-length feature: a tragicomedy that explores relationships and human strengths and weaknesses in a post-pandemic world. Leigh, who just turned 81, hasn't made a film since 2018's Peterloo, and despite his world-renowned reputation as one of Britain's most distinguished and venerable filmmakers, his work has always struggled financially at the box office, and therefore, hindered his ability to get another project rolling the moment he's finished one. His films usually employ a lot of improvisation (trying not to be too codependent to the script, lest it lose a sense of grounded-ness and authenticity), and his character-driven approach to storytelling has always produced wonderful results for his actors (helping catapult the careers of classically trained thespians such as David Thewlis, Sally Hawkins, and Lesley Manville.) Details regarding the cast of Hard Truths are even more scant than what we know about the plot, however, what has been confirmed is that it's an ensemble of mostly Black actors led by the luminous and underrated, Marianne Jean-Baptist (reuniting with Leigh for the first time since Secrets & Lies.) This is definitely a bit of a change-up for Leigh, whose stories generally explore lower-to-middle class white families. As I wrote back in the previous section about Assayas' Suspended Time, I have yet to see a pandemic-inspired film that's impressed me or adequately articulated the collective consciousness of our experiences in how we've been coping with this particular moment in history, but I do have enough faith in Leigh's wisdom and insightfulness to believe that his film could hit the mark.
RELEASE: TBA.
29. In the Hand of Dante
Director: Julian Schnabel (The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, At Eternity's Gate) Cast: Oscar Isaac, Jason Momoa, Gerard Butler, Gal Gadot, Al Pacino, Martin Scorsese, and John Malkovich.
The cinematic works of American filmmaker and painter, Julian Schnabel, may be few and far between, but are always a welcome surprise when he chooses to gift us with one. I think The Diving Bell and the Butterfly remains his strongest work yet (which won him the award for Best Director at Cannes when it premiered there in 2007), and I would love to see him knock it out of the park to that level again. His next film, In the Hand of Dante, is a joint American-Italian production that's based on the novel of the same name by Nick Tosches, which follows the dark and violent path of a man who plunges into a metaphorical hell until he reaches paradise in search of his forbidden and impossible love. Reception to Tosches' novel doesn't stand up to the author's best work, and it certainly isn't as acclaimed as the novel on which The Diving Bell and the Butterfly was based, so it will be interesting to see if Schnabel will be able to spin cinematic gold out of his source material this time. I'm also a little split on the casting choices at the moment (Oscar Isaac and John Malkovich are always welcome, while Jason Momoa, Gerard Butler, and Gal Gadot have me raising my eyebrows in concern), however, Martin Scorsese (whose coming off a fantastic year for Killers of the Flower Moon) is both a producer and star in the film, so I'm trying to remain optimistic.
P.S. Scorsese's performance in the film is already being teased as a genuine MVP that stands out amongst the stacked ensemble.
RELEASE: TBA.
28. Parthenope
Director: Paolo Sorrentino (The Great Beauty, The Hand of God) Cast: Gary Oldman, Celeste Dalla Porta, Silvia Degrandi, Isabella Ferrari, Lorenzo Gleijeses, Peppe Lanzetta, Silvio Orlando, Luisa Ranieri, Stefania Sandrelli, Alfonso Santagata, Nello Mascia, and Biagio Izzo.
Coming off his deeply personal coming-of-age drama, The Hand of God, Italian auteur, Paolo Sorrentino, once again returns to his roots in Naples with this decades-spanning story that follows the life of a woman who bears the name of her city. For those unfamiliar, Parthenope is the name of a siren whose story and image is deeply rooted in Neapolitan mythology and culture. While Sorrentino insists that the Parthenope of his film is neither a siren nor a myth, he does admit that the mythology itself has a tremendous influence on the story and the film's symbolic language, although I have a feeling that the fantastical may have a much more prominent role in the film than he alludes to... we'll see. Whatever the plot may be though, it's clear that Sorrentino's latest is a love letter to his native city, and a beautiful one at that- the first images of the movie are gorgeous, which showcase the sumptuous black and white cinematography lensed by Sorrentino's regular DP, Daria D'Antonio. Really looking forward to this!
RELEASE: TBA.
27. Mother Mary
Director: David Lowery (The Green Knight, A Ghost Story) Cast: Anne Hathaway, Michaela Coel, Hunter Schafer, Kaia Gerber, Alba Baptista, Jessica Brown-Findlay, FKA Twigs, and Sian Clifford.
David Lowery is without a doubt one of the most exciting new auteurs of this generation with a unique cinematic voice. His style blends folktale realism with poetic lyricism in ways that feel epic, soulful, and dreamlike (and sometimes all three of these things at once.) I'll admit that I had higher hopes for his Peter Pan & Wendy, but we'll just blame the faults of that one on Disney. Lowery has already moved on since then, and his next film once again reunites the director with A24 in an epic melodrama that follows the twisted romantic relationship of a pop singer (Anne Hathaway) and a fashion designer (Michaela Coel) both navigating fame and success. Lowery has demonstrated in the past his willingness to step out of his comfort zone and find ways to infuse his style in other genres (such as medieval fantasy in The Green Knight), but this is definitely a very different kind of story for him. For starters, it's an exclusively female-centric story (the director's first ever), and one that finds the director trading in his signature use of folk music for pop while marrying his brand of magical realism with melodrama. And it's not as if Lowery is adapting someone else's material either, as he wrote the script himself on which the film is based, so this will definitely be interesting. On top of that, the film is said to be somewhat "musical" in nature, and that songs and compositions play an instrumental role in both the storytelling and character development. Music has always played a part in Lowery's previous work, but it's clear that in Mother Mary Lowery will be taking that to a whole different level. His regular go-to composer, Daniel Hart, was brought on to composes the music, which will feature new and original songs written by Jack Antonoff and Charli XCX. For those who may be skeptical though of how all of this is going to translate in Lowery's hands, casting aside any those concerns or doubts are Hathaway and Hunter Schafer (who plays Coel's assistant in the film.) Both actresses have multiple upcoming projects this year, and yet appear in interviews to be the most excited about this one, describing it as "thrilling" and "mind-blowing." This is certainly one to keep an eye on this year!
RELEASE: TBA.
26. Hope
Director: Na Hong-jin (The Wailing, The Yellow Sea) Cast: Michael Fassbender, Alicia Vikander, Hoyeon, Taylor Russell, Cameron Britton, Hwang Jung-min, and Zo In-sung.
Na Hong-jin's last film, The Wailing, has to be one of my top favorite horror films of the last decade, and I've been eagerly waiting for whatever his follow-up feature would be since the film had its premiere at Cannes almost 8 years ago. The wait may nearly be over, as the Korean auteur looks set to unveil his next feature, Hope, sometime this year (fingers crossed it's once again at Cannes.) Set in a remote harbor town, the story follows how a mysterious discovery made on the outskirts of the village triggers a desperate fight for survival from the nearby residents. With an exciting international cast that includes real-life couple, Michael Fassbender and Alicia Vikander (reunited on screen for the first time since The Light Between Oceans), and an intriguing premise that already feels like it could be setting the tone for the director's signature blend of supernatural thrills and religious allegory, Hope seems destined to be of 2024's most memorable and talked about films.
RELEASE: TBA.
25. Maria
Director: Pablo Larraín (Jackie, Spencer) Cast: Angelina Jolie, Valeria Golino, Haluk Bilginer, Alba Rohrwacher, Pierfrancesco Favino, and Kodi Smit-McPhee.
Chilean auteur, Pablo Larraín, concludes his trilogy of famous and influential women (following 2016's Jackie and 2021's Spencer) with this biopic of the world's most renowned and beloved opera singer, Maria Callas, set in 1970s Paris during the singer's final days. I really appreciated Larraín's last two biopics (Jackie is personally my favorite), which are both soulful and heartbreaking portraits of their subjects that are brought to life by their beautiful central performances, and Maria Callas is such an incredible and fascinating figure with a tragic story, so (naturally) it should go without saying that I expect great things from this film as well. Stepping into the shoes of Callas is Angelina Jolie, whose performance already seems like it will be one of the frontrunners for Best Actress at next year's Oscars. If that writing on the wall is indeed correct, it would be her third Oscar nomination and her first in over ten years!
RELEASE: TBA.
24. OH, CANADA
Director: Paul Schrader (First Reformed, The Card Counter) Cast: Richard Gere, Jacob Elordi, Uma Thurman, Michael Imperioli, and Kristine Froseth.
Oh, Paul Schrader. The renowned writer behind Taxi Driver turned prolific indie auteur is definitely a "love him or hate him" kind of guy, recognized today more his brash and unwelcome opinions on Twitter than his current body of work that is actually quite good (First Reformed and The Card Counter are my personal favorites), his movies continue to make the case that he's still a filmmaker worth paying attention to. Regardless though of how anyone feels about his curmudgeonly antics on social media, no one could ever deny his deep love of cinema nor his excellent (if highbrow) taste in film, which is why I'm always looking forward to whatever he does next. Production of his upcoming film, Oh, Canada, wrapped last fall, in which the writer/director adapts the semi-new novel from Russell Banks, Foregone. The story follows an American leftist named Leonard Fife who flees to Canada to avoid the Vietnam War draft, shifting between two different time frames in his life: the young "draft-doging" political activist (Jacob Elordi) and the tormented writer he becomes many years later, who is now on the brink of death (Richard Gere.) Aside from the fact that Elordi and Gere look nothing alike, the film's fascinating premise of a man facing an existential crisis is perfectly attuned to Paul Schrader's strengths as a storyteller. It's also exciting just for the fact that it reunites Gere and Schrader for the time since American Gigolo.
RELEASE: TBA.
23. Emmanuelle
Director: Audrey Diwan (Happening) Cast: Noémie Merlant, Naomi Watts, Will Sharpe, Jamie Campbell Bower, Chacha Huang, and Anthony Wong.
Audrey Diwan could not have asked for a better breakout moment as a director. Her sophomore feature, Happening, premiered at Venice in 2021 to universal acclaim, ultimately winning her the coveted Golden Lion (the top prize at the festival.) The French-Lebanese director has partnered up with Neon for her next film, Emmanuelle, an adaptation of Emmanuelle Arsan's 1967 erotic novel of the same name. The story follows a sexually adventurous heroine and the erotic fantasies she entertains, contemplating ideas of love, lust, and sexual identity. Happening, which was released in US theaters in 2022 after its Venice premiere, is a bold and incendiary piece of filmmaking, and was one of the best films I saw that year, so I'm very excited to see what Diwan does next!
22. Bird
Director: Andrea Arnold (American Honey, Fish Tank) Cast: Barry Keoghan, Franz Rogowski, James Nelson-Royce, Joanne Matthews, Rhys Yates, and Jasmine Jobson.
Andrea Arnold's signature brand of social realism may not be to everyone's liking, but it's gained her a cult following of admirers who regard her as one of today's most valuable and unique cinematic voices. The British filmmaker has picked up the Jury Prize at Cannes a total of three times now (for Red Road in 2006, Fish Tank in 2009, and American Honey in 2016) and she continues to show different levels of range in her craft (whether it's through television on a limited series such as Big Little Lies, or in a documentary that follows the tragic life of a dairy cow named Luma as in Cow.) Up next for the director is her mysterious project for A24 titled, Bird, the plot of which is currently unknown. However, what has been confirmed is that Barry Keoghan and Franz Rogowski were both cast in primary roles and star opposite each other, and for me that's enough of a selling point right there. Both actors are coming off from strong performances last year- Keoghan for Saltburn (in a performance that felt like it broke the internet after its release) and Rogowski for his magnetic and transcendent turn in Passages- so the idea of them on screen together is just too exciting to turn down.
RELEASE: TBA.
21. Anora
Director: Sean Baker (The Florida Project, Red Rocket) Cast: Mikey Madison, Mark Eydelshteyn, Yura Borisov, Ivy Wolk, Karren Karagulian, Lindsey Normington, Emily Weider, Luna Sofía Miranda, Paul Weissman, and Vache Tovmasyan.
Sean Baker is another director (like Andrea Arnold) whose work is known for its social realism. The indie auteur behind films such as Tangerine, The Florida Project, and Red Rocket has created an entire filmography that takes his audience into the lives of those who are often ignored and overlooked in society- marginalized outcasts, immigrants, and sex workers- and building poignant, funny and compassionate stories around them that invite our empathy while affirming their humanity. His thematic focus and aesthetic have put his work in a category that draws comparisons to British auteurs Mike Leigh and Ken Loach (ironically, two of his biggest influences), serving as a kind of American alternative to their films. He wrapped production on his next film, Anora, last year, which was shot in 35mm in both Brooklyn and Las Vegas and follows the hilarious odyssey of a sex worker (Mikey Madison.) Baker is known for working really well with his actors and getting great performances out of them, and he generally casts people with no professional acting experience or who are relatively unknown in the industry. Madison definitely fits the bill for the latter, who's mostly known for her unhinged (albeit brief) performance that appears during the shocking finale of Quentin Tarantino's, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, and she also starred opposite Jack Quaid and Jenna Ortega in 2022's Scream.
RELEASE: TBA.
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