Five 2020 movies you should stream
Movie theaters have (mostly) been closed for six months now, but that doesn’t mean there haven’t been good movies released—it’s just been harder to find and pay attention to them. Here’s a selection of some of the best 2020 movies you can stream for free now.
Bad Education
Where to Watch: HBO Max
Based on real events, Bad Education tells the story of how administrators for a New York school district stole millions of dollars from taxpayers. The success of the movie comes from the patience in which it builds out its main character, Frank Tassone (Hugh Jackman). Bad Education walks a line between condemnation and empathy; the players in this scandal are seen to be lonely, reasonable, and sociopathic all at once. It’s anchored by a stellar performance from Jackman, whose guarded presence allows the film to manage this balance.
Onward
Where to Watch: Disney+
Onward technically was released in theaters in early March, but was quickly swallowed up by the onset of the pandemic. It’s a shame, because it’s a sweet Pixar movie that hasn’t gotten its due. The film follows two brothers, Ian (Tom Holland) and Barley (Chris Pratt), who embark on a road trip to complete a magic spell and resurrect their late father for just one day.
Onward doesn’t reach the heights of the best Pixar movies, but it’s an unfair bar to make the movie clear. Holland and Pratt deliver great voicework, there are a ton of genuine laugh-out-loud moments, and the ending made me cry like a baby.
The Assistant
Where to Watch: Hulu
Upon its release The Assistant was deemed to be a sort of fictionalized account of Harvey Weinstein, and the parallels are obvious: the film stars an assistant named Jane (Julia Garner) at a film production company working for an executive who, it quickly becomes clear, is a sexual predator.
But the comparison minimizes what the film accomplishes. It is not an evisceration of a single man, but an examination of how power operates in the workplace, and how the things unsaid and the actions not taken sustain a fundamentally immoral institution. The film also centers the story on a young woman at the bottom of the hierarchy. It’s not about the man at the top but the people who support him and the pain, intimidation, and complicity they hold.
The Vast of Night
Where to Watch: Amazon Prime
The Vast of Night comes from first-time director Andrew Patterson, but you wouldn’t know it watching the movie: it has the look and feel of an experienced artist. The film follows two residents of a small town in 1950s New Mexico as they investigate some unexplained, and possibly extraterrestrial, occurrences. The Vast of Night clocks in at 90 minutes and Patterson made it on a tiny budget, so it’s exhilarating to feel the sense of boundless wonder he’s able to create under these restrictions. I can’t wait to see what he does next.
Unpregnant
Where to Watch: HBO Max
Earlier this year Never Rarely Sometimes Always examined the emotional burden wrought by the inaccessibility of women’s health services, as two young women travelled across state lines so one of them could get an abortion. Unpregnant traces the exact same storyline with a lighter, more comedic approach. I’m happy to say that both films work: Unpregnant is a fun watch with solid performances from Haley Lu Richardson and Barbie Ferreira, and crucially, the comedy doesn’t come at the expense of feeling the struggle each character is going through.