Released on 25 December in the UK and 26 December in the UK
11. The Testament of Ann Lee
One of the last year’s most acclaimed films was The Brutalist, directed by Brady Corbet and co-written by him and his partner, Mona Fastvold. The Testament of Ann Lee is a kind of companion piece, in that it was directed by Fastvold and co-written by her and Corbet. And, like The Brutalist, it’s an ambitious historical epic, shot on 35mm film stock, about a European bringing radical ideas to the US. Its heroine is a real person, played by Amanda Seyfried, who went from being a cotton-mill worker in Manchester, England, to the leader of the Shakers religious sect in New York in the 18th Century. Daniel Blumberg, who composed The Brutalist’s Oscar-winning score, provides the music, including the songs sung by Seyfried. Yes, The Testament of Ann Lee is a musical, as well as everything else. „Its music, cinematography, costumes, and production design all deserve attention,” says Radhika Seth in Vogue, „as does Seyfried, who has always been excellent, but here finally gets a big-screen leading role worthy of her talent.”
Released on 25 December in the US
12. No Other Choice
Director Park Chan-wook is known for acclaimed works like Oldboy, The Handmaiden, and Decision to Leave, but No Other Choice is the best-reviewed film of his career. Adapted from a novel by Donald Westlake, Park’s satirical thriller stars Lee Byung-hun (the Frontman in Squid Game) as a happily married South Korean family man. He believes his life is perfect, but after he loses his job at a paper factory, his savings dwindle, and it looks as if he’ll have to sell his house to a neighbour he despises. Luckily for him, there is a job coming up which would suit him – but to be on the safe side, he decides to kill all of the other well-qualified candidates. Earning comparisons to Bong Joon Ho’s Oscar-winning Parasite, No Other Choice is „a masterclass of lithe, silky, sumptuous storytelling”, says Nick Schager in The Daily Beast. „Park locates just the right strain of zaniness for his quasi-Parasite critique of the modern fight to stay afloat, and his command (of tone and narrative) never wavers.
