Thread by @MrNeilScott

A thread of films watched in 2023

1. Aftersun (Charlotte Wells, 2022)

So beautiful, so affecting. Makes sense that it was produced by Barry Jenkins but totally its own thing.

2. White Noise (Noah Baumbach, 2022)

As a Don DeLillo fan, I had high hopes for this but it is a mess. The dialogue needs David Mamet to work and Adam Driver looks like Alan Partridge half the time.

3. Glass Onion (Rian Johnson, 2022)

Laura is a fan of detective novels and chose this leaden bit of fluff. Quite insufferable.

4. Jeanne Dielman, 23, quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles (Chantal Akerman, 1975)

To paraphrase Simone Weil: "A housewife left in an apartment on her own would have no rights, but she would have obligations."

It's 3h21m of everyday life that you can't help but be absorbed by.

5. The Menu (Mark Mylod, 2022)

Deliciously funny satire of pretentious fine dining, karmic inequality, and artistic obsession.

6. The Banshees of Inisherin (Martin McDonagh, 2022)

When I wrote about falling out with a friend (), Ian texted to ask if I'd watched this film. Well, I have now and can totally relate to the feelings evoked by it. Strange, unique, resonant. neilscott.substack.com/p/unclear-fall…

7. The Velvet Underground (Todd Haynes, 2021)

The first hour is utterly sublime as rock meets avant garde to make the coolest band ever. The second hour is bittersweet as they drift towards being a normal-if-still-great band.

8. Decision to Leave (Park Chan-wook, 2022)

Not really sure what to make of this Hitchcockian romantic detective mystery. While the plot and motives are confounding, the relationships are compelling.

9. All the Beauty and the Bloodshed (Laura Poitras, 2022)
I adore seeing photography on the cinema screen and Nan Goldin’s pictures are so beautifully tender and raw. Connecting it to the opioid crisis gives the film contemporary emotional relevance, but the photos are the star.