GENIUS SCREENPLAYS

BY: Amanda Jane Stern

 

2019 was a great year for films both foreign and domestic. Now that 2020 is officially underway and the race to the Oscars is in full effect, we want to take some time to acknowledge the eight best of the best scripts of last year. Of course, there were many other amazing scripts that did not make this list, but these eight set themselves apart in one way or another.

1917

Sure, we’ve had a lot of war movies over the years, but Sam Mendes’ 1917 is not just another war movie. Famously filmed in only long shots to add to the tension and claustrophobia of war, it’s not only the cinematography that makes this film fantastic, it’s also the script. Set during WWI, the film follows two young British soldiers who are tasked with delivering a message across enemy lines to save their fellow soldiers from walking into a trap. Mendes based the story in part on a story told to him by his grandfather. What sets this script apart from other war films is that the script was written in real time, which means there are no jumps in time but just one long sequential story.

Jojo Rabbit

More than just another WWII story, Taika Waititi’s Jojo Rabbit seamlessly blends laugh-out-loud comedy with the tragedy and horrors of WWII. Jeiwsh artists have long used comedy to deal with the traumas of their pasts, and in Jojo Rabbit, Waititi brings us a movie about a young boy named Jojo. Jojo is such a Nazi fanatic that his imaginary friend is a version of Hitler himself. Of course, his views are thrown for a loop when he discovers that his mother has been harboring a young Jewish girl, Elsa, within their walls. Unlike other stories of the sort, Elsa does not have to hold Jojo’s hand and show him his wrongs, she gets to be rightfully angry at what the Nazis have done. Waititi uses comedy to grapple with the very real-world effects of right-wing fanaticism and the rise of fascism.

Knives Out

We all love a good whodunnit, and Rian Johnson has created a wonderful entry into the genre with Knives Out. In Knives Out, when the wealthy patriarch of a family is killed at his estate a private detective is called in to investigate. Since the whole family was present when the crime occurred, they are all suspects. Now the detective needs to go toe-to-toe with the deceased’s combative family to get to the truth. And, like any good mystery, this one is chock full of red herrings and a plot twist you won’t see coming. Knives Out is the perfect combination of Clue and Murder on the Orient Express.

Little Women

Yes, Little Women is an adaptation of the classic Louisa May Alcott novel, and yes, Little Women has been adapted numerous times for the stage and screen, but not all adaptations are the same. Here, Greta Gerwig brought us a new take on the beloved story of the March sisters, choosing to focus the story mostly on their young adulthoods instead of their childhoods. What also sets this adaptation apart is that Gerwig’s script actually gives some focus to a part of the story that has long been speculated but never confirmed, Jo’s sexuality. While Gerwig’s version does not explicitly make Jo openly queer, as she has been thought by many to be, the film does delve more into the nuances of Jo’s identity and gender presentation in a way that has not been done in prior adaptations.

Marriage Story

Noah Baumbach’s Marriage Story has been getting a lot of hype, and for good reason. The film follows a couple, Charlie a director and Nicole an actress, going through a bicoastal divorce. Of course, the divorce is made more contentious by the fact that Charlie and Nicole have a young son and they cannot agree on whether he should live full-time with Nicole in LA or split time with Charlie in New York. The script was in part inspired by Baumbach’s own divorce from actress Jennifer Jason Leigh as well as his friends’ stories of divorce. The film expertly crafts a story of a marriage that breaks apart not because the two people are no longer in love, but because life has taken them in different directions.

Once Upon A Time… In Hollywood

Quentin Tarantino has long been known for his revisionist histories, giving a voice to victims of the past by rewriting their stories. Sometimes these films follow fictional characters in very real historical tragedies, like Django Unchained and Inglourious Basterds, and other times he chooses to focus on real people. Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood is Tarantino’s homage to the golden age of Hollywood. It follows an aging actor and his stunt double as they traipse through Hollywood during the end of Hollywood’s golden age and end up stumbling into the very real horrors of the Manson family. Of course, like with all Tarantino films, history takes a different turn, and famous Manson family victim, Sharon Tate is given a new chance at life, at least on screen.

Pain and Glory

Pedro Almodóvar has had a long career, and Pain and Glory is probably the most personal of all his films. The film follows an aging film director named Salvador Mallo, a stand-in for Almodóvar, and played by longtime Almodóvar collaborator Antonio Banderas, as he reflects on his past and the choices he made that led him to his present. Of course, like all Almodóvar films, Pain and Glory combines elements of surrealism with linear story to show how Salvador’s past comes crashing into his present in a cyclical loop. The film is a beautiful and poignant reflection of a man whose life didn’t go quite the way he expected and who now has to come to terms with his past. Pain and Glory was selected as the Spanish entry for the Oscars.

Parasite

This South Korean film by Bong Joon-ho has taken audiences by storm. After opening with a limited release in NYC and LA, the film received such acclaim that its run was not only extended in those two markets, but it received a wider release. A lot of that is due to the masterfully crafted script by Joon-ho. The tragicomedy thriller follows the impoverished Kim family as they insinuate themselves one by one in the lives of the massively wealthy Park family. As the Kim’s become more and more involved in the Park’s lives a sort of tenuous symbiosis forms, with each family leeching off of the other. Of course, a bond built on lies can never last, and things come crashing down in a way you’ll never see coming.