2020 SLEEPERS

                                                                 Part 1

        This is the first of a projected two-part series on 2020 movies I thought were pretty good but didn’t get much play. Not that anything got much play! I will note that in prior years I would have four or five sleepers columns. Alas, the pandemic took its toll on the number of films. (And on everything else.)

The last Brian Dennehy movie before his death was the excellent Driveways. It is the story of a young Asian-American mother and her son moving into her deceased sister’s house to clean it out. Next door is Del (Dennehy), an aging Vietnam veteran who lives alone. Shy 8-year-old Cody gradually becomes friends with him. The unlikely partnership grows closer with time. I loved this movie (gave it a 9)! 

Supernova is an incredibly moving film starring Colin Firth as Sam and Stanley Tucci as Tusker. They are a pair of same sex lovers who have been together for many years. Tusker is slowly dying of dementia and they take one last trip together, visiting family and friends throughout Britain. Tusker reveals he wishes to take his own life before his dementia gets any worse. Sam is horrified and they argue about it. The ending had me tearing up.

The oddly, but appropriately, named Dick Johnson Is Dead is the true story of director Kirsten Johnson convincing her father, the title figure, to film a number of scenes in which he is killed or just dies. He is suffering from dementia and goes along with her rather blackish humor plot. Not fo all tastes, and certainly off the beaten path.

Alone is not your cup of tea if “woman in distress” films bother you. But, if you’re ok with that plot, this is an excellent nail biter about a woman trying to get away from a stone cold killer. I won’t reveal the ending except to say it probably isn’t what you thought it would be. The actors are all unknowns, but they do a good job. 

Collective is from Romania, of all places. It is a documentary about corruption on the highest levels in that country. Investigative reporters unearth the fact that the disinfectant used in most hospitals is ineffective. It is made by the country’s largest drug company, which denies that their product is faulty. The journalists persist. This is one heck of a story and the only reason I gave it a 7 is I thought it stopped too soon. And I realize that a film nominated for Best Documentary and Best Foreign Film is hardly a sleeper. But it is still fairly obscure so I’m using it. 

All of the movies in this article are available on DVD. Driveways is fine for all ages. The rest are for adults.