DECEMBER 31 • 2020 | 33

Talking Heads frontman,
directed by Spike Lee, puts you
in the audience for Byrne’s rol-
licking live show (which I had
the pleasure of seeing in-per-
son in the Before Times). The
impeccable musicianship of
his backing band, the intricate
choreography and the passion-
ate calls to make a better world
all survive intact on the screen.
As does the genius of “Once in
a Lifetime.”
Where to watch: HBO Max.

#6: NEVER RARELY
SOMETIMES ALWAYS
“What’s important for me is
to show the pain that young
people go through in navi-
gating their identity,” writ-
er-director Eliza Hittman said
when the JN interviewed her
earlier this year. And that pain
is felt intensely — though
never overwhelmingly — in
Hittman’s naturalist drama,
which follows a pregnant
Pennsylvania teenager (incredi-
ble newcomer Sidney Flanigan)
as she hops a Greyhound to
New York City with her cousin
in order to obtain a legal abor-
tion. Delicately understated
and never heavy-handed, Never
Rarely Sometimes Always puts
us in this young woman’s head
as she weighs the consequences
of every decision she makes.

It’s a film that will linger for a
long time.
Where to watch: HBO Max;
also available for rental.

#7: BAD EDUCATION
Fair warning: This caustic sat-
ire of wealthy suburban school
districts might occasionally hit
a little too close to home. But
this real-life cautionary tale
about a massive fraud scheme
cooked up by a bunch of Long
Island public school adminis-
trators is too juicy not to enjoy.
Hugh Jackman is terrific as
the two-faced superintendent,
while Allison Janney and Ray
Romano round out an excel-
lent supporting cast. Fans of
Election won’t want to miss
this.
Where to watch: HBO.

#8: CITY HALL
If Bad Education (not to men-
tion all of 2020) leaves a bad
taste in your mouth regarding
taxpayer-funded institutions,
the latest documentary from
master filmmaker Frederick
Wiseman (who was raised in a
Jewish family) will restore your
faith. A lovingly detailed explo-
ration of Boston City Hall, the
film uses its leisurely four-hour
runtime to document the many
civil servants trying to make
their residents’ lives just a little

bit more manageable … and
the residents with the passion
to try and make their city bet-
ter.
Where to watch: Detroit
Public TV Passport.

#9: THE 40-YEAR-OLD
VERSION
No, not the Steve Carell sex
comedy … but it just might be
funnier. New York playwright
Radha Blank writes, directs
and stars in this uproarious
autobiographical story about
what you do when you reach
middle age brimming with
unfulfilled potential. Fed up
with the obtuse white produc-
ers who keep shutting her voice
out of the theater world, Radha
instead finds a second calling
— and new awakening — as
a rapper named “RadhaMUS
Prime.” And even though she
may not feel lively, the New
York she inhabits (shot in gor-

geous black-and-white) sure
does.
Where to watch: Netflix.

#10: REWIND
One of the JN’s most-read
online stories of the year was
my review of this poignant
and personal documentary, in
which director Sasha Neulinger
chronicles his years of recovery
from horrific sexual abuse he
suffered at the hands of his
own relatives — one of whom
was a prominent cantor in
New York City. Although often
understandably critical of the
institutional forces that pro-
tected his abuser from conse-
quences, Neulinger also finds a
way to reaffirm his own Jewish
faith through strength and
survival. Rewind is both devas-
tating and wonderous.
Where to watch: Amazon
Prime, Kanopy or Detroit
Public TV Passport; also avail-
able for rental.

MY NEXT FIVE:
11. Minari (releasing in
February)
12. Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
(Netflix)
13. Time (Amazon Prime)
14. The Personal History of
David Copperfield (available
for rental)
15. Crip Camp (Netflix)

GOOD MOVIES TO WATCH
WITH KIDS:
Wolfwalkers (on Apple TV+)
Soul (on Disney+)
Over the Moon (on Netflix)

HBO

Bad
Education

DAVID LEE/HBO

COURTESY OF JOHN SOLEM

Rewind