It’s time for the awards announcement that nobody asked for and that has got nobody talking – well, except me, and to anyone who will listen. My entirely emblematic movie awards for 2020 – a bizarre year, but one in which film continued to wow audiences albeit in unfamiliar ways.

The COVID-19 pandemic might have derailed our plans for 2020, particularly if those plans involved consistent trips to the movie theatre. Despite the closures, plenty of films have still graced our screens this year, with some incredible performances, scenes and scores.

So, here is my take on this year’s best in movies;

Best Actor

George MacKay – 1917

Releasing in UK cinemas back in January, it would be easy to forget that 1917 is a 2020 movie. That would be the case, of course, if it hadn’t spent over three months in theatres and had it not been the deeply compelling spectacle that it was.

George MacKay’s performance was superb. Roger Deakins’ cinematography facilitated the immersion, but it was MacKay’s performance as Lance Corporal Scofield that kept us hooked once the novelty of the continuous shot wore off. When Dean-Charles Chapman’s Lance Corporal Blake is killed halfway through the movie, MacKay becomes the undisputed quarterback of the film and was up to the task.

His determination through bewilderment as he crosses the battlefield to reach Colonel MacKenzie is a highlight. One of the most emotional scenes of 2020’s movie roster. Uplifting and crushing, all at once.

Notable Mentions;

• Eddie Redmayne – Trial of the Chicago 7
• Chadwick Boseman – Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
• Bill Murray – On The Rocks
• Mark Ruffalo – Dark Waters

Best Actress

Elisabeth Moss – The Invisible Man

Abject terror for (nearly) 120 minutes is quite the feat for an actor, but Elisabeth Moss’ performance in The Invisible Man is frightening in it’s believability. I’m pretty sure her descent into perceived madness is just as scary as the kitchen fight scene or the “Golf Ball Man” moment – (if you know, you know,) – and that’s a credit to her acting.

And after all the torture and torment, the final five minutes and “surprise” end to the movie is chilling. Cecilia frees herself and the final shot lingers on her face – the relief is so clear and needs zero dialogue. Moss’ subtle acting, combined with Benjamin Wallfisch’s superb score makes for one of the most powerful curtain-closing scenes in cinema in 2020.

Notable Mentions;

• Margot Robbie – Birds of Prey
• Charlize Theron – Bombshell
• Jessie Buckley – I’m Thinking of Ending Things
• Rashida Jones – On The Rocks

Best Supporting Actor

Colin Farrell – The Gentlemen

You might think this is a weird choice. Sure, artistically Song Kang-Ho’s performance in Parasite was heads and shoulders above anything in The Gentlemen, but I don’t approach these lists as a movie critic, but instead as a movie fan. And Farrell’s portrayal of Coach in The Gentlemen made for my favourite character of any film in 2020.

The Gentlemen is a gangster movie that just so happens to be the funniest movie of the year, and that’s as a result of not just a brilliantly witty script but the comedic timing of the actors. Farrell is hilarious from his first scene to his last in the movie. Given that they’re developing a spin-off TV series, I’m desperately hopeful that it’s going to be Coach-led.

Notable Mentions;

• Hugh Grant – The Gentlemen
• Song Kang-ho – Parasite
• Kenneth Branagh – Tenet
• Michael Keaton – Trial of the Chicago 7

Best Supporting Actress

Elizabeth Debicki – Tenet

The USP of Tenet is without question Nolan’s brand of in-camera effects and spectacle. I mean, it’s a movie where they literally crash a plane into a building in-camera. As such, it would be easy to overlook the acting talent on show between the high-adrenaline moments.

Elizabeth Debicki has a lot to do in this one, playing the part of a domestic and psychological abuse victim with both physical and mental scars. Kat has the most significant arc through the movie of any of the characters and she executes it pitch perfectly, from terror to triumph.

Notable Mentions;

• Margot Robbie – Bombshell
• Tilda Swinton – The Personal History of David Copperfield
• Kathy Bates – Richard Jewell
• Park So-dam – Parasite

Best Director

Bong Joon-ho – Parasite

Parasite might only by my #2 movie of the year – little spoiler for my favourite movies of the year list coming up later on, but you’ve read this far so you’ve earned it – but it would be impossible to place any director in front of Bong Joon-ho in 2020.

It seems like five years since that incredible Oscars night, but no, it was this year that Bong scooped four Oscars including Best Picture for Parasite. It’s truly a masterpiece. The most striking aspect of the movie, unquestionably being the way it manages to pivot genres halfway though while sustaining a consistent tone. It’s shocking and brilliant in equal measure. I don’t even know which genre the movie lands in. It literally transcends the established genre barriers.

“The Napkin Scene” is one of the most well directed scenes I’ve ever watched. An effortless montage that has incredible rhythm, with 60 shots across a five minute period that bridges acts one and two. It’s my favourite five minutes of movie all year. Credit both to Bong and the film’s editor Yang Jin-mo.

Notable Mentions;

• Guy Ritchie – The Gentlemen
• Sofia Coppola – On The Rocks
• Sam Mendes – 1917
• Christopher Nolan – Tenet

Best Original Score

Thomas Newman – 1917

This was a tough call. A close race between two outstanding composers, Thomas Newman and Ludwig Goransson. 1917 vs Tenet. Two scores that both set the rhythm and tone of the respective movies. Both equally atmospheric.

However, Newman’s soundtrack for 1917 was the bedrock of the movie’s emotional highs. I remember the first time I watched the movie, as the credits rolled to the “Come Back to Us” theme, the cinema was silent. No one moved, the usual scurry to the exits was paused. No doubt Newman’s music played a role.

And “Come Back to Us” wasn’t the only crushing theme in the score. “Sixteen Hundred Men” matched the scale of the imagery as Schofield ran across the battlefield, dodging bombs with every step, while the manner in which the score gradually builds to a crescendo as Blake and Scofield reach the German trench after a harrowing trip through no-mans land was seat-grippingly intense.

Simply epic.

Notable Mentions;

• Ludwig Goransson – Tenet
• Daniel Pemberton – Trial of the Chicago 7
• Benjamin Wallfisch – The Invisible Man
• Alexandre Desplat – The Midnight Sky

Track of the Year

Come Back to Us – 1917

Whatever appears in my Spotify Wrapped is usually a good barometer of what track of the year will be. A piece of movie music that both elevates the scene and works in isolation. This year, that was “Come Back to Us” composed by Thomas Newman, and the music that accompanies the final scene of 1917. My 20th most listened to song of the year, according to the boffins at Spotify. Not bad.

Notable Mentions;

• Rainy Night in Tallinn – Tenet
• Denouement – The Invisible Man
• Sixteen Hundred Men – 1917
• Mulan Rides Into Battle – Mulan
• The Belt of Faith – Parasite

Trailer of the Year

Tenet

The score, plot intrigue and locations featured in the Tenet trailer showed what an epic action trailer can do. It dangled the movie’s concepts in front of us without giving the game away. A perfect cocktail for anticipation.

And without a doubt, one of my favourite meta trailer moments. I’d love to one day get confirmation that the conversation that Neil and The Protagonist have at the end is exactly how Nolan’s pitch to Warner Bros went down.

Studio Exec: “So you want to crash a plane?!”
Nolan: “Well, not from the air. Don’t be so dramatic.”
Studio Exec: “Well how big a plane?”
Nolan: “That part is a little dramatic.”

You tell me that conversation never happened…

Notable Mentions;

Favourite Movie

So, it’s the moment you’re unlikely to have been particularly waiting for. The list of my favourite movies of the year. Unlike in 2019, I’ve not crafted a Best Pictures list separate from my Favourite Movies list because, to reiterate, I’m not a critic – in case you hadn’t already picked that up.

For what it’s worth, my Best Picture is Parasite, but my Favourite Movie of 2020 is Guy Ritchie’s The Gentlemen.

The Gentlemen is one of the funniest movies I’ve ever watched, which was wholly unexpected from what we had seen in the trailers. The entire cast is superb and the movie is effortlessly rewatchable.

Special shout for On The Rocks too. I literally purchased an Apple TV+ subscription solely for that movie and didn’t regret it. Sofia Coppola’s film is like a love letter to New York with great cinematography and incredible chemistry between Bill Murray and Rashida Jones. Definitely my favourite on-screen pairing of 2020.

Let me know what you think to my list on social media, @KyranGibbons on Twitter or leave a comment on this post.

Happy New Year.