Continuing my look at notable 2024 films, today I’m covering the Dramas.
A few of these nearly cracked my top ten, including writer-director Jesse Eisenberg’s A Real Pain. The fact that this movie might have just as easily fallen into the Comedy category is a testament to his excellent screenplay, which is alternately hilarious and touching.
A Real Pain follows two cousins who were once very close but have become estranged as their lives moved in different directions. They reunite to visit their recently deceased grandmother’s childhood home during a Holocaust tour through Poland. Eisenberg’s David is painfully reserved while Kieran Culkin’s Benji is an unpredictable extrovert.
The film gets a lot of mileage out of exploring the way these two personality types frustrate and reward each other. This is a lovely character study and a real feather in the cap of Eisenberg as a filmmaker.
I’ve written a few times about Challengers, praising its score, editing, and performances. This sexy and exhilarating relationship drama/sports movie got my adrenaline pumping. This is a movie with no sex scenes that somehow feels steamier than far more explicit material. Every tennis match is shot like a life-or-death showdown because the stakes are about so much more than what’s happening on the court.
The third film to almost make my top ten is September 5, a dramatization of the hostage crisis during the 1972 Olympics in Munich, and specifically the ABC Sports crew that found itself anchoring the news coverage. I’m a sucker for a great journalism movie, and this one checks all the boxes. I particularly enjoyed seeing the lo-fi production methods utilized by a live TV crew in the early 70s.
A host of other dramas ended up in the 20-50 range of my 2024 movie ranking:
Babygirl – The performances by Nicole Kidman and Harris Dickinson are the highlight of this sultry exploration of an affair between a CEO and an intern.
La Chimera – It’s a tad too artsy, maybe, but I found lots to admire in Alice Rohrwacher’s tale of a tomb raiding archaeologist struggling with grief.
Conclave – I adored this movie until its last 10 minutes. It wasn’t the final twist that lost me as much as the goofy (and telegraphed) development right before it. Setting that aside, this is brilliantly acted, beautifully shot, and features some of the year’s most crackling dialogue.
Didi – A very enjoyable, very Sundance coming-of-age film. I’ll admit my own bias and acknowledge that if this was about a girl I’d probably love it.
A Different Man – Not every moment works for me, but I love the wild chances this movie takes, and the excellent performance at its center.
His Three Daughters – My beloved Carrie Coon appears alongside Elizabeth Olson and Natasha Lyonne as three very different sisters navigating their father’s final days. A bit overwritten, but the performances make up for it.
The Last Showgirl – Rediscovering Pamela Anderson, a thoughtful and soulful person and performer, was a highlight of this movie year. It made me feel guilty for enjoying the Pam & Tommy miniseries. She’s perfectly cast in this ode to a woman clinging to a dying art.
Nightbitch – The return to form of Amy Adams is the highlight of this satire that isn’t quite sure what it wants to be.
Coming tomorrow… Action.
Meet Me In Montauk 
I share in your praise for A Real Pain, September 5, Nightbitch, the Last Showgirl and Conclave.
I also don’t think you should feel guilty about Pam and Tommy, as there were definitely indications in that movie of the greater depth behind Pamela Anderson.
Were you not a fan of Challengers?
I liked it, but didn’t love it, particularly the way it was directed in parts.
I loved A Real Pain, Challengers, Enclave. I didn’t see Didi, Babygirl and Last Showgirl and I started and didn’t stay with Night Bitch, Different Man, His 3 daughters and I’m still angry about Thelma 😢
Forgot to add Sept5 to the loved movies
A Real Pain is one of my top films of the year. I anticipated it for many months before it arrived, so I should have been disappointed. Instead , it fully delivered.
Challengers and Nightbitch were two bold films I just loved.
One you’ve not yet mentioned as it is in your top 10 is Anora, which currently rests just outside mine. Had the first act of the film been a tad shorter and the third a dad longer, this would have fallen even higher on my list.