A24 is an independent film and television distribution company that thrust itself into the cinema mainstream following its 2012 birth, founded by Daniel Katz, David Fenkel, and John Hodges. Following the success of films such asEx Machina, Spring Breakers, Hereditary,andLady Bird, the company has created a cult following of its own. When the now-classic A24 logo encompasses the frame in a new film trailer, eyes turn and minds become engaged. Will it be a hypnotic, witch horror? A melancholic, slice-of-life drama? A surreal hero’s journey that bends and breaks conventional genre tropes?
A24 has taken lower-budget films and launched them to success. They provide a platform for early, experimental filmmakers who now have very recognizable, successful careers, such as Ari Aster, Robert Eggers, Greta Gerwig, Barry Jenkins, the Daniels, the Safdie brothers, and many more. Since 2012, A24-distributed films have seen great success at the Academy Awards, accumulating49 nominations with a total of 16 wins, including two Best Picture wins (Moonlight, Everything Everywhere All At Once).
Out of all 134 A24 feature films, only 20 reign supreme. Below are A24’s 20 best films, ranked by Rotten Tomatoes:
20C’mon C’mon (2021) - 94%
We have seen plenty of father-son, father-daughter, mother-daughter, and mother-son stories. However, it is rare that we dive deeper into the family bloodline and explore the relationship between an uncle and a nephew. InC’mon C’mon, we get that dynamic. Depicted in monochrome,C’mon C’montells the story of a radio journalist named Johnny (Joaquin Phoenix) and his nephew Jesse (Woody Norman) as they bond on a cross-country trip to temporarily escape the bustling life of Los Angeles.
Joaquin Phoenix shows once again why he is one of the most desirable actors of the 21st century. His performances show a range unmatched by most actors. When you gaze into his eyes, you can see the emotional complexity of his characters, and Johnny is no different.
Related:C’mon C’mon Review: Parenting Struggles with Joaquin Phoenix
19First Reformed (2017) - 94%
Faith-influenced movies can sometimes separate audiences. It is a tough topic to tackle, where believers may criticize the methods of following God, or atheists may be turned off by the subject in general. Every once in a while, however, a faith-based film breaks the barrier of religious pursuit and crunches the belief spectrum into a circle that is welcomed by everyone.First Reformedis a groundbreaking achievement by long-time filmmaker and screenwriter Paul Schrader. Set in upstate New York, we follow Pastor Ernst Toller (Ethan Hawke), an alcoholic Protestant minister whose life spirals out of control when confronted with an unbalanced environmental activity and his pregnant wife.
Between this andMishima: A Life in Four Chapters, it is tough to pick a magnum opus for Schrader.First Reformedbreaks many conventions of modern-day filmmaking, provides an otherworldly, well-rounded performance by Ethan Hawke, and is just weird enough for a rewatch (or several, rather).
Related:Best Paul Schrader Movies, Ranked
18You Hurt My Feelings (2023) - 94%
You Hurt My Feelingsis a Nicole Holofcener-written and directed satirical comedy about what it means to be dishonest through protection. Beth (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) is a novelist who has been working on a new project for over two years. Her longstanding husband, Don (Tobias Menzies), reads every single draft Beth hands over to him, telling her constantly how good it is. The conflict of the film starts when Beth overhears her husband bashing her writing and the novel to her brother-in-law Mark (Arian Moayed). Don’s dishonesty towards Beth is meant to protect her, claiming that the truth would kill her.
Ironically, Holofcener purposefully made both of their occupations processes of healing or growth: Beth teaches writing to adults, while Don is a therapist. Even while trying to help other people, they still struggle to stand ground on what they feel is right as they sit on the fence between holding onto a supportive relationship, or an honest one.
17Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022) - 94%
Talk about taking the world by storm,Everything Everywhere All at Onceis the film equivalent of a volcanic eruption: it explodes with vibrancy and luminance and spreads rapidly without a stoppage in sight. It dominated the 2022-2023 award season, being nominated for 11 Academy Awards and taking home seven wins, including the illustrious Best Picture award.Everything Everywhere All At Oncedoes the multiverse better than the MCU (sorry) in a gripping tale about a Chinese immigrant who connects with the many, diverse lives she could have lived in different universes. It is epic, violent, full of jokes, and possibly 100 original ideas, all tightly packed into a nearly two-and-a-half-hour long amusement park ride.
We receive great, versatile performances from the entire cast, which includes Michelle Yeoh, Ke Huy Quan, Stephanie Hsu, and Jamie Lee Curtis, all who received Oscar nominations for acting in their respective roles. Laundry and taxes may seem like an insignificant, mundane, and stressful life to live, but if you connect with your family and loved ones properly, then any insignificant, mundane, and stressful life would be worth living.
16Talk To Me (2023) - 95%
Kicking off the list at #20 is A24’s newest twisted horror darling, the Danny Philippou and Michael Philippou-directedTalk To Me. Starting as a seemingly harmless, ouija board-esque game, a group of friends attempts to conjure spirits using a mummified hand. This spiritual summoning becomes addicting to the group, but eventually the haunting experiment gets taken to a place separated from reality that they will forever regret.
As thrilling as it is terrifying, the Philippou duo manages to jam-pack horrific scene after horrific scene into an adrenaline-induced 95-minute runtime. A24’s newest horror flick clearly solidifies itself as one of their best, as well as one of the more polarizing horror films of the past decade.
15Krisha (2015) - 95%
Krisha,simply put, is a tough watch. It follows an elderly woman named Krisha (played by Krisha Fairchild), who brings her alcoholism and addiction to her estranged family as she reconnects with them for Thanksgiving dinner. Unfortunately, even though she is so late in her life, she still doesn’t know what she wants out of her one chance on Earth, and these demons of her past create a sort of tension or destruction within the reconciled family dynamic.
What makes this film so interesting is the process of the film getting made. Director Trey Edward Shults cast much of his family in roles in the film, including his aunt Krisha Fairchild as the lead role and even himself as Krisha’s distant son.Krishais a brutal film inspired by true events; one that have left a lasting impact on Shults and his family.
14De Palma (2015) - 95%
De Palmais a Noah Baumbach and Jake Paltrow-created documentary about notorious Hollywood film director Brian De Palma. Brian is the director of some of America’s most beloved films from the ’70s through the ’90s, includingScarface,Mission: Impossible,The Untouchables, Carrie,andCarlito’s Way.Fans of De Palma will be in cinema heaven with the heavy dose of clips from his 55-year film career, but more than anything, it is heavily educational, exploring the artistic endeavor of one of cinema’s top auteurs.
13Boys State (2020) - 95%
The New Republic writerJo Livingstone describesBoys Stateas a “depressingly accurate microcosm of the American electoral circus,” which couldn’t be more accurate. Boys State is a real, week-long camp where a thousand 17-year-old Texas boys learn about the true nature of politics, where they then take what they learn and build a representative government completely from scratch.
Boys Stateaims to tell the truth behind the brutal reality of American democracy; the vicious nature of winning and losing. Exposing these boys to these processes at a young age becomes eye-opening for a large group of politically-employed hopefuls.
12Amy (2015) - 95%
Amyis a documentary about the polarizing, powerhouse singer Amy Winehouse. In this film, we follow Amy practically through her entire life: from her teen years, when her raw talent and passion were glaring, to the worldwide success of her singing career, and to her inevitable downfall, where she spiraled and plummeted into an alcohol and drug addiction. The constant flashes of the paparazzi can be mentally tolling on a celebrity, but in this documentary, we see the behind-the-scenes side of Amy that the journalists never really got to witness.
Although the rise and fall of a superstar can be skewed as a tragedy,Amydoes a pleasant job at immortalizing her amongst some of her contemporary greats, such as Billie Holiday, Aretha Franklin, and Dinah Washington.
11Menashe (2017) - 95%
In a new, enhanced age of cinema where representation of all races, genders, sexual orientations, etc. has become more prominent than ever, the Hasidic community remains one of the most underrepresented. The reason, we’re not so sure, but a good story can be told from any perspective, andMenasheproves that.Menasheis a 2017 film co-written and directed by Joshua Z. Weinstein. to further represent the Hasidic community in New York City, Weinstein strategically casts only non-actors who speak in Yiddish for all the roles. Menashe (played by Menashe Lustig) is a widower who is fighting over custody of his son Rieven (Ruben Niborski). Menashe, quite frankly, is a screw-up who can’t seem to hold his life together.“A good wife, a good home, nice dishes,“are what every good man should have, according to the Talmud. Menashe has none.
Mensahe is a beautiful, poignant redemption story that explores regret and grief in their most organic forms. Menashe’s inner shame is the driving force in the custody battle for his son, and Weinstein teaches us that a second chance is worth pursuing for everyone.
