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The 20 Best Movies You Missed in 2020

This was an easy year to lose focus with regards to new releases, but we’re here to remind you of the best of the most under-seen movies.
Best Movies You Missed
By  · Published on December 23rd, 2020

10. Buffaloed

Buffaloed movies you missed in 2020

All hail Zoey Deutch! The actress stars (and shines) as Peg Dahl, a plucky mini-Jordan Belfort eager to hustle her way out of her working-class background. She sets her sights on debt collecting, soon going toe-to-toe with the heavy in her hometown of Buffalo. The film is an energetic and frenetic thrill ride with a pace and a penchant for complex terminology that rivals The Big Short. Credit here undeniably goes to the charming and effervescent Deutch, who delivers quips with ease and brings clarity to even the most complicated of schemes with her performance. She’s endlessly watchable and perfectly suited to this rollicking tale of greed and getting even. (Anna Swanson)


9. Sea Fever

Sea Fever movies you missed in 2020

We’ve already discussed elsewhere how Sea Fever is an unintentional but frighteningly fitting film for 2020, but all of that aside? It’s also a damn fine little sci-fi/horror movie. It follows a fishing boat that enters forbidden waters in search of a catch, but what they find is something terrifying and possibly apocalyptic. Writer/director Neasa Hardiman fills her film with paranoia, ecological concerns, and the fear that these localized events are putting humanity on the precipice of extinction. Claustrophobic despite the vastness of the ocean, and visually stunning at times despite the small budget, this is a film worth seeking out immediately. Before it’s too late… (Rob Hunter)


8. Time

Time movies you missed in 2020

Unspeakably heartwrenching, Time is a portrait of devotion and resilience more than twenty years in the making. Assembled from a vast collection of home movies and current footage filmed by director Garrett Bradley, the documentary follows Fox Rich‘s commitment to getting her incarcerated husband released from prison. The film is an emotional experience that is profoundly moving in its portrayal of Fox’s hopeful spirit. On top of its ability to pull on the heartstrings, Time is a magnificent accomplishment in editing. It swiftly assembles two decades’ worth of footage, deftly capturing the distinguishing features of various formats while compiling something that at once coheres and conveys the gaps of time. This is an astounding chronicle of insurmountable losses experienced and the years spent hoping for it all to be worthwhile. (Anna Swanson)


7. I Was At Home, But…

I Was At Home But movies you missed in 2020

There’s a trick with I Was At Home, But… and it’s that you need to go into it without expecting that you’ll “understand” what it’s “about.” The Angela Schanelec film is a haunting and often thorny portrait of a family disturbed by the disappearance and inexplicable reappearance of Philip (Jakob Lasalle), son of Astrid (Maren Eggert), a single mom flustered by the gaps in what her children are willing to share with her. Indeed, this is a film about gaps: gaps in relationships and time, as well as gaps in narratives and pieces of knowledge. With subplots and flashbacks often diverting the flow of the story, it can be challenging to piece together every bit of information into something that makes sense. For the same reason it will enchant some, it will frustrate others. But either way, you won’t find a more melancholic cover of “Let’s Dance” in any other movie. (Anna Swanson)


6. Martin Eden

Martin Eden movies you missed in 2020

Adapted more than one-hundred years after Jack London’s novel was released, Pietro Marcello‘s Martin Eden is a fresh and boisterous look at London’s legendary story. The title character, played by Luca Marinelli, evolves from a poor sailor to a celebrated poet. Marcello positions London’s story in Italy as it spans decades, but without a distinct time period. The commanding force of the movie is undoubtedly Marinelli’s performance. He is aggressively passionate and unbelievably charming even as Martin Eden becomes a jaded has-been. Alongside Marinelli’s performance, Marcello infuses the film with archival footage that utilizes imagery from various time periods, creating a look that transcends time. Martin Eden is one of the best artistically crafted movies of the year. If you haven’t fallen in love with Marinelli after his role in The Old Guard, you certainly will after this movie. (Emily Kubincanek)

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Anna Swanson is a Senior Contributor who hails from Toronto. She can usually be found at the nearest rep screening of a Brian De Palma film.