It’s time again for my annual awards. Eligible films are those that were released in the UK for the first time in 2020. Obviously this has been a weird year with the line between theatrical releases at home releases completely blurred. With a vastly reduced number of cinema visits but a massively increased numbers of films rented/streamed at home, I ended up seeing 307 eligible movies. That is a record number for me, so I have expanded the numbers in my categories below as a result. However, with three of my most anticipated movies of the year in Death on the Nile, Halloween Kills and No Time to Die being moved to 2021, I have dropped the Best Remake/Sequel/Reboot category this year. Even so there were some I missed because they had a cinema release only so far most notably An Honest Thief, St Maud, and One Night in Miami.
MOST OVERLOOKED
This year it was even easier for notable films to slip through the net with the proliferation of platforms to watch them on…
Honourable Mentions: Lost Girls, Offering to the Storm, Finding the Way Back, Disappearance at Clifton Hill, The Public and Legacy of the Bones
Winner: Days of the Bagnold Summer
MOST OVERRATED
There are always a few films that I don’t see what the fuss is about. This year, the number was greater than usual…
Runners Up: Dick Johnson is Dead, Queen and Slim, The Lighthouse, Time, The True History of the Kelly Gang,
Borat Subsequent Movie Film, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom and Seleh and the Spades.
Winner: Jo Jo Rabbit
BEST SCORE
Not a great year for memorable scores but a few stood out…
Honourable mentions: Anton Sanko (Amanda), Thomas Newman (1917), The Newton Brothers (In the Line of Duty), Nathan Halpern (Swallow), Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross (Waves) and Bear McCreary (The Babysitter: Killer Queen)
Runner Up: Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross (Mank)
Winner: Ludwig Goransson (Tenet)
BEST DOCUMENTARY
It was an incredibly strong year in this category with the runner up likely to have topped the pile in most other years.
Honourable Mentions: Echo in the Canyon, White Riot and Circus of Books
Runner Up: Athlete A
Winner: Collective
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
A lot of competition but the obvious winner is someone who has gained legendary status in his field.
Honourable Mentions: Erik Messerschmidt (Mank), Claire Mathon (Portrait of a Lady on Fire), Thomas Scott Stanton (Bulletproof) and Miguel Ioann Littin-Menz (The Vast of Night)
Runner Up: Hoyte Van Hoytema (Tenet)
Winner: Roger Deakins (1917)
BEST SCREENPLAY
The most notable thing this year is the rise in great scripts by women who occupy three of the top four places on my list, although they ultimately lose out to arguably the most consistently impressive living screenwriter.
Honourable Mentions: Armando Ianucci and Simon Blackwell (A Personal History of David Copperfield), Sadaf Faroughi (Ava), Theresa Ikoko & Claire Wilson (Rocks), Kefi Chadwick & Rene van Pannevis (Looted) Henry Blake (County Lines) and Louis Godbout (Life with Music)
10: Kelly O’Sullivan (Saint Frances)
9: Emilio Estevez (The Public)
8: Benny and Josh Safdie (Uncut Gems)
7: Tom Hanks (Greyhound)
6: Jack Fincher (Mank)
5: Joe Murtagh (Calm with Horses)
4: Kitty Green (The Assistant)
3: Eliza Hittman (Never, Rarely, Sometimes, Always)
2: Lisa Owens (The Days of the Bagnold Summer)
Winner: Aaron Sorkin (The Trial of the Chicago 7)
WORST PERFORMANCE
Before moving onto the great acting achievements this year, time to highlight the terrible ones, dominated by one film…
Dishonourable Mentions: Lavern Cox (Can You Keep a Secret), Michele Morrone & Anna Maria Sieklucka (365 Days), Johnny Depp (Waiting for the Barbarians), Julian Dennison (The Christmas Chronicles Part 2), Carmel Laniado and the voice cast (Dolittle)
Loser: Robert Downey Jr (Dolittle)
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Once again, this section is heavily skewed to newcomers…
20: Kelly Chapman (Never, Rarely, Sometimes, Always),
19: Shaneigha-Monik Greyson (Rocks)
18: Keeley Hawes (Rebecca and Misbehaviour)
17: Kosar Ali (Rocks)
16: Andrea Riseborough (Burden)
15: Ilanah Cami-Goursolas (Cuties)
14: Thomasin MacKenzie (The Lost Girls and Jo Jo Rabbit)
13: Afi Okaidja (Rocks)
12: Sarah Solemani (Greed)
11: Tuppence Middleton (Mank and Possessor)
10: Dinita Gohil (Greed)
9: Ruby Stokes (Rocks)
8: Luanne Bajrami (Portrait of a Lady on Fire)
7: Dae Al Hilali (The Perfect Candidate)
6: Amanda Seyfried (Mank)
5: Mia Wasikowska (The Devil all the Time and Blackbird)
4: Phillipine Velge (Summer of ’85)
3: Talia Ryder (Never, Rarely, Sometimes, Always)
2: Morgane Polanski (Looted)
Winner: Ji-so Yung (Parasite)
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
As with Kelly Chapman in the Supporting Actress category, Andrew Scott and Matthew McFadyen show how to make a big impression in just one scene of their film
20: Steve Speirs (Concrete Plans and One Way to Denmark)
19: Joel Fry (Love Wedding Repeat and One Way to Denmark)
18: Eric Bergosian (Uncut Gems)
17: Richard Schiff (Clemency)
16: John Carroll Lynch (The Trial of the Chicago 7)
15: Charles Dance (Mank)
14: Djebril Zonga (Les Miserbales)
13: Frank Langella (The Trial of the Chicago 7)
12: Steve Watts (Incidental Characters)
11: John Lithgow (Bombshell)
10: Hugh Laurie (Personal History of David Copperfield)
9: Matthew McFadyen (The Assistant)
8: David Tran (Monsoon)
7: Joseph Gordon-Levitt (The Trial of the Chicago 7)
6: Sam Rockwell (Richard Jewell)
5: Andrew Scott (1917)
4: Brian Dennehy (Driveways)
3: Thomas Turgoose (Looted)
2: Harris Dickinson (County Lines)
Winner: Barry Keoghan (Calm with Horses)
BEST ACTRESS
Once again, this is the most hotly contested of the acting categories with even the legendary Sophia Loren (The Life Ahead) and Catherine Deneuve (The Truth), newcomers Ella Hunt (Kat and the Band), Bukkry Bakray (Rocks) and Natalia Dyer (Yes God Yes), as well as Elisabeth Moss (The Invisible Man), Amdis Hronn Egilsdottir (The County), Sarah Megan Turner (A Call to Spy), Emannuelle Devos (Perfumes) and Mahour Jabbari (Ava) all incredibly unlucky not to be in my top 20.
20: Lauren Coe (Nocturnal)
19: Kelly O’Sullivan (Saint Frances)
18: Roxanne Scrimshaw (Lynn + Lucy)
17: Noemie Merlant (Portrait of a Lady on Fire)
16: Betty Gilpin (The Hunt)
15: Valerie Pachner (The Ground Beneath My Feet)
14: Sierra McCormick (The Vast of Night)
13: Hermione Corfield (Sea Fever)
12: Mila Al Zahrani (The Perfect Candidate)
11: Mara Etura (Offering to the Storm and The Legacy of the Bones)
10: Juliette Binoche (Who You Think I am and The Truth)
9: Andrea Riseborough (Luxor and Possessor)
8: Molly Windsor (Make Up)
7: Alfre Woodard (Clemency)
6: Sidney Flanigan (Never, Rarely, Sometimes, Always)
5: Tuppence Middleton (Disappearance at Clifton Hill)
4: Julia Garner (The Assistant)
3: Carolina Sanin (Litigante)
2: Jessie Buckley (I’m Thinking of Ending Things)
Winner: Lola Petticrew (Dating Amber and A Bump Along the Way)
BEST ACTOR
2020 was the year that a up and coming British actor cemented himself as one of the best of his generation, just edging out a well-established name to my top spot.
20: Bill Nighy (Hope Gap)
19: Hugh Grant (The Gentlemen)
18: Dev Patel (Personal History of David Copperfield)
17: Oscar Martinez (Live Twice, Love Once)
16: Gregory Montel (Perfumes)
15: Tom Hanks (Greyhound)
14: Edgar Ramirez (The Wasp Network
13: Earl Cave (The Days of the Bagnold Summer)
12: Vlad Ivanov (The Whistlers)
11: Richard Dreyfuss (Astronaut)
10: Denis Menochet (Only the Animals)
9: Mark Ruffalo (Dark Waters)
8: Conrad Khan (County Lines)
7: Andy Garcia (The Guardian)
6: James Norton (Mr Jones)
5: Riz Ahmed (Mogul Mowgli)
4: Charley Palmer Rothwell (Looted)
3 Adam Sandler (Uncut Gems)
2: Mark Rylance (The Trial of the Chicago 7 and Waiting for the Barbarians)
Winner: Cosmo Jarvis (Calm with Horses and Nocturnal)
BEST DIRECTOR:
20: Armando Ianucci (Personal History of David Copperfield)
19: Emilio Estevez (The Public)
18: Liz Garbus (The Lost Girls)
17: Bong Joon Ho (Parasite)
16: Eliza Hittman Never, Rarely, Sometimes, Alawys
15: Spike Lee (Da 5 Bloods and David Byrne’s American Utopia)
14: Kitty Green (The Assistant)
13: Aaron Schneider (Greyhound)
12: Rene van Pannevis (Looted)
11 George Clooney (Midnight Sky)
10: Celine Sciamma (Portrait of a Lady on Fire)
9: Benny and Josh Safdie (Uncut Gems)
8: Ladj Ly (Les Miserables)
7: Aaron Sorkin (The Trial of the Chicago 7)
6: Nick Rowland (Calm with Horses)
5: Andrew Patterson (The Vast of Night)
4: Alexander Nanau (Collective)
3: Sam Mendes (1917)
2: Christopher Nolan (Tenet)
Winner: David Fincher (Mank)
WORST FILM:
As in all years, there have been some real stinkers, badly scripted acted or directed. Only one film was all of those this year and was also horribly offensive
Dishonourable Mentions: Dreamland, Infamous, The F**k It List, Dolittle, The Stand at Paxton County and 24 Hours in London
Loser: 365 Days
BEST FILM
30: Disappearance at Clifton Hill
29: Perfect 10
28: Never Rarely Sometimes Always
27: The Personal History of David Copperfield
26: Finding the Way Back
25 Offering to the Storm
24: Lost Girls
23 The Midnight Sky
22: The Public
21: Bombshell
20: County Lines
19: Misbehaviour
18: Echo in the Canyon
17: Tenet
16: Perfumes
15: Portrait of a Lady on Fire
14: Uncut Gems
13: Rocks
12: Athlete A
11: The Assistant
10: 1917
9: Les Miserables
8: Mank
7: Days of the Bagnold Summer
6: The Vast of Night
5: Looted
4: Greyhound
3: Calm with Horses
2: The Trial of the Chicago 7
Winner: Collective