The Drama films genre is the last genre summary I do, mostly because it is the biggest genre of all. Because it encompasses a large number of films, writing this summary gives me an opportunity to, in essence, do a review of the year.
For 2024, 26 out of the full slate of 38 nominees are considered dramas. I suppose that isn’t too surprising since the significant stories that elevate our understanding of human nature are really the stuff that movies are made of. One sure fire way of defining the genre is to ask whether the movie pulls a tear or two – if it does, then it is properly labeled as “drama”.
Another way to help define the genre, is to identify the films that aren’t considered “dramas”. Of the twelve not-drama movies, half of them are considered documentaries. In some sense, I’m not sure that’s fair. For example, American Symphony told a heart-warming story of Jon Batiste which aroused many of the same emotions as standard “dramas”. But, hey, I don’t define these categories, nor do I put movies in their filing boxes. But if you want a review of some of the films that aren’t considered dramas, start with the 2024 Oscar Documentary Films.
Four more of the not-dramas are movies that clearly fall in the Action and Adventure categories. These films generate thrills and tensions, but rarely do you need a Kleenex. The four films, with links to my reviews, are Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-verse, and Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny. (Note that if the movie title is really long, it probably isn’t a drama!)
The last two not-dramas are interesting cases, . Barbie, a movie I liked, had some dramatic moments, but was mostly just a delightful comic sendup of sex roles. And El Conde, a movie I didn’t like, was a black and white horror/comedy/fantasy film that had a difficult time deciding what it wanted to be when it grew up.
So, now let’s talk about the films that DO fall into this genre. I’ll do them roughly in the order that I rated them, top to bottom.
Four movies fall into my highly recommended category and, if by some slight chance you haven’t seen them yet, I heartily recommend you do – and if you have seen them, consider seeing them again. Oppenheimer (5*) tells a complex tale of a complex man living in a complex time. The movie is long and Christopher Nolan’s bouncing around in time and space intentionally blurs some of the mental boundaries, but the film is rich in character development and story elements. In Poor Things (5*), Emma Stone won an Oscar for her performance as a mature woman with the new brain of her own baby. As she “grows up”, she must learn anew simple things like walking and more complex things like having sex. This all happens in a lushly developed set of worlds, as she travels. This is one of the weirdest and best movies I’ve ever seen. Maestro (4.5*) tells the Leonard Bernstein (Bradley Cooper) story, focusing on his marriage to Felicia (Carey Mulligan). You can get all bothered by the fact that he is an elite, or you can simply appreciate the complex dynamics of relationships. And for a completely different story, watch Society of the Snow (4.5*). This recreates the 1972 story of a rugby team stranded for more than two months high in the Andes mountains. Their survival ultimately depended on breaking a very strong thread of human morality. This is a difficult movie and will make you think about where your own limits are.
The next dozen movies are definitely films you should see, although not with the same urgency as the first four. Many of them involve strained relationships. Killers of the Flower Moon (4*) is the sad story of greed and murder as white men marry Native American women in Oklahoma in the 1920s only to secure their oil rights. One of them (Leonardo DiCaprio) bucks his white culture to sustain his love for his Native American wife (Lily Gladstone), providing a glimmer of hope in an otherwise mean world. In Anatomy of a Fall (4*), the husband dies early on and we spend the rest of the movie trying to figure out whether it was an accident, a suicide, or the wife actually murdered him. It is an intriguing look at marital communication and how amazing it is that a marriage lasts at all. And that wonder becomes even more intense when we look, in another movie, at the marriage between a teacher and her student many years later, after she had their baby and they raise him. In May December (4*) there is the added stress of an actress entering the family scene to prepare for a role playing the teacher. Questions of who is seducing who become important. In Past Lives (3.5*), two Korean childhood friends are separated for more than a decade and then he, having never really gotten over her, seeks her out in Canada. Their reconnection is complicated by the fact that she is now married.
Two films deal with life in an academic setting. In American Fiction (4*) a black writer (Jeffrey Wright) finds that the only way he can get published is by pretending he is from the ghetto. And that becomes absurd when we see that his upper middle class life is more than comfortable, and full of middle-class problems. He learns much about himself as he navigates fame under pretense. A student, a cafeteria worker (Da’Vine Joy Randolph), and a gruff professor (Paul Giamatti) also learn a lot about themselves and each other as they are forced to spend the holiday break on campus together in The Holdovers (3.5*). (Despite protests from the director, this one is, indeed, a Christmas movie!)
The next three stand out as being unique and unlike any of the rest. Godzilla Minus One (4*) is obviously a monster movie. Normally a movie like this would fall into the action/adventure set noted at the beginning of this review. It becomes a drama, though, because of its story of a conflicted man trying to protect a young mother and her baby from the monster’s wrath. The film won a well deserved Visual Effects Oscar and is certainly worth a watch. As is another disaster story, The Zone of Interest (3.5*), about a German family living next door to the factory of death at Auschwitz. Although director Glazer had notions of an art film that, in several places, spoils the overall effect, his use of sound – it won the Oscar – to convey the unseen horror occurring on the other side of the wall is exceptional. And on an entirely different note, see Perfect Days (4*), the Japanese submission that quietly relates the story of a man who cleans public latrines and finds happiness looking at the light filtering through the trees. It is a perfect movie for those needing some relief from the stress and strains of today’s hyperactive world.
Finally, there are three, very different, animated films that are dramas on my recommended list. The Boy and the Heron (3.5*), is the swan song from the acclaimed Japanese anime filmmaker Hayao Miyazaki. You should see this film mostly for the superb hand-crafted animation and the brilliant use of color. The story is a bit strange, though, and has something to do with Miyazaki’s take on the meaning of his life, which he admits that even he doesn’t understand! Nimona (3.5*) relates the story of a gender-uncertain person who becomes the squire for a knight in a fantasy adventure world. She is a shape-shifter and uses her skills to help the knight at the same time she delivers some great one-liners. And finally, Robot Dreams (3.5*) has no humans and no dialog. It is intriguing, though, in its chain of visually interesting vignettes that explore the nature of relationships. The story of a robot who has feelings for a dog, it addresses what happens when circumstances force a relationship to end.
There are five movies that I wanted to like, but couldn’t find them worth recommending. Maybe the reader has particular interests that would justify viewing one or more of them. Rustin (3*), recounts the work of Bayard Rustin in the 1960’s, organizing the 1963 March on Washington. Colman Domingo gives a great performance, but, for some reason, the script writers chose to develop a fake character to illustrate Rustin’s gay life instead of using real relationships. I didn’t like the dishonesty. In Nyad (3*) we learn the story of Dianne Nyad’s swim from Cuba to Key West. Despite some good chemistry in the actors behind the two main characters (Annette Bening and Jodie Foster), the characters and the story-line fall flat. The Color Purple (3*) might satisfy folks who like musicals, but as a story there are too many discrepancies and unexplained turns. Executed by television professionals, they seem to miss the cinematic demands of tying things up before the end. The Teacher’s Lounge (3*), from Germany, has some interesting premises, exploring the tensions of a mathematician’s precision in a world of multiple cultures and viewpoints. It generates anxiety nicely, but has a very unsatisfying finish. Finally, this year’s animated film from Disney, Elemental (3*), does some terrific world building but tells a very ho-hum story.
The last five movies are, in my opinion, just not even worth the bother. Sometimes I question the Academy’s sanity to even nominate some of this stuff. The Creator (2.5*) had a really great idea of exploring the human/artificial intelligence interface, but a weak script, and bland characters ended up washing out this movie. Although the hole-through-the-head idea is cleverly done (and earned it a visual effects nomination), the film wastes its time with action stuff instead of exploring the real issues involved with AI. Golda (2*) attempts to paint a picture of Golda Meir as she led Israel through the 1973 Yom Kippur wars. The makeup and Helen Mirren’s acting is terrific. But the movie is weak on character development, cheap on visual portrayal of war, and empty on emotion. Io Capitano (2*) is a movie in search of a purpose. Supposedly about the Black African emigration to Italy, the film is disconnected and lacking any real message. Too much time is spent on fantasy scenes while the last chapter, the actual boat ride to Italy is a huge letdown. You can admire these people for trying to better their lives, but not the filmmakers who have made no sacrifice to make this movie. Flamin’ Hot (1.5*) is supposedly a true life story of the man who created Flamin’ Hot Cheetos. The movie takes advantage of so many stereotypical tropes about Mexican Americans, pretending to elevate their status, while really portraying dependence on the white man for success. Not only that, but it likely isn’t mostly true! And finally there is one of the most expensive failures of the year, Napoleon (1.5*). A biopic of the famed French leader, it attempts to attribute his successes and failures to his love for Josephine. But their relationship is hinted in undeveloped ways and the film relies on CGI special effects on the battlefield for its major impacts. It is also too damn long!
So there is my pithy assessment of 26 of this year’s movies with links to the other twelve. And that completes the 2024 Oscar year here at Michael’s Movie Moments! Stay tuned as I have already started work on the 2025 Oscar season!
