The Fifth (and possibly annual but probably not because this was fucking exhausting) Dixon Movie Awards
For the past five years, I’ve written this article cataloguing my thoughts on all the films I saw since the earth last rounded the sun. Despite the fucking exhausting nature of this endeavor, writing down my opinions on the year in film has always brought me joy. I love talking about movies and engaging with people who love them too.
I watched 144 films released in the year of our Lord 2021, a paltry sum compared to the 213 I watched in 2020. I was planning to finish this post earlier this year instead of cramming right before the Oscars like I usually do, but life got in the way. Or rather, death got in the way.
My father took his final breath on February 16th, 2022. He contracted COVID-19 on December 26th and was admitted to the emergency room on January 4th. He spent the next forty-three days fighting for his life in a depressing hospital full of cold, uncaring doctors who could barely be bothered to show up to his room for two minutes each day, let alone understand the details of his situation and provide adequate care.
During that time, I spent every day at the hospital with my mom and sisters, aside from a brief period in late January when I couldn’t handle it anymore, and I went back home to Austin for a few days to recover before returning to Dallas.
We had to have at least two people at the hospital at all times because the doctors refused to call us, and we had no idea when they would come to his room. If you went to the bathroom, that’s when the fucking pulmonologist would show up. It was like they purposely timed their visits with our bathroom breaks so they wouldn’t have to answer any questions. Living at the hospital was the only way to understand his condition and his treatment.
At night, my mom and I would research treatment options to propose to the doctors the next day. We read about doctors in different parts of the world who claimed to have success with inhaled steroids, antihistamines, and other low-risk drugs. When we talked to his doctors the next day, their response was always the same. They were unwilling to try any treatments that were not supported by double-blind, peer-reviewed studies.
There are no double-blind, peer-reviewed studies for any treatments of COVID pneumonia. That fact was irrelevant to them. They gave him one intravenous steroid, which I researched and found no evidence to support its efficacy. That was as much as they were willing to do.
After several rejected treatments, I asked one of the doctors when he thought it would make sense to try some less proven options. After all, my dad was on his deathbed, and he was getting worse every day. He looked me straight in the eye and said, “We don’t do that here. Either he gets better, or he doesn’t.” Then he turned around and disappeared down the hall. I’ve never wanted to punch someone so badly in my life.
I started mourning my dad’s death the day he tested positive. He was seventy-two years old, overweight, and recently recovering from a multi-year battle with Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. I begged him to get vaccinated, but he refused. I knew his chances of survival were slim. Throughout his hospitalization, I struggled against a deep depression as I fought to get him adequate care.
I understand that pulmonologists likely harbor some resentment against unvaccinated patients. It’s probably tough to care about someone’s life who chooses not to take easy precautions to preserve it. But that’s not an excuse to forego potentially life saving treatments or to be an asshole to the patient and his family.
One of his nurses compared COVID pneumonia to running a marathon that never ends. My dad was constantly exhausted, and every day was harder than the last. When he finally passed, I felt nothing but relief.
We immediately began planning funeral arrangements and held the memorial service ten days later. However, the cemetery was unable to bury him until March 18th, his 73rd birthday. While there was poetry in this coincidence, it delayed the start of the healing process. We had a beautiful graveside service with a small group of close family members and then celebrated his birthday with takeout from his favorite Italian restaurant. It was the perfect way to say goodbye.
This has been the most grueling experience of my life, and I am existentially fatigued. For the entirety of 2022 thus far, I’ve struggled to find the energy to do literally anything. As always, movies have been a source of comfort for me during this time, but I don’t possess the strength to write about them right now.
Therefore, to my dismay and everyone else’s relief, I’ve decided to do a truncated version of my annual movie manifesto. I’m still ranking everything I watched and naming all the usual awards, but I’m only writing a sentence or two about each winner. It’s all I can do right now.
Every 2021 Movie I Saw, Ranked
B- and above is a thumbs up. C+ and below is a thumbs down. I highly recommend anything A- or higher.
A
1. The Worst Person in the World
2. Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised)
A-
3. Red Rocket
4. Drive My Car
5. Bergman Island
6. Pig
7. Memoria
8. This Is Not a Burial, It’s a Resurrection
9. The Killing of Two Lovers
10. The World to Come
11. Attica
12. Procession
13. Inside
14. The Card Counter
15. The Last Duel
16. Petite Maman
17. Dune
18. The Green Knight
19. Passing
20. Faya Dayi
21. I Carry You with Me
22. Don’t Look Up
23. National Champions
24. Derek DelGaudio’s In & Of Itself
25. Final Account
26. Judas and the Black Messiah
B+
27. Undine
28. The Souvenir Part II
29. The Power of the Dog
30. The Tragedy of Macbeth
31. CODA
32. Blue Bayou
33. Flee
34. F9
35. Azor
36. The Disciple
37. The Get Together
38. A Quiet Place Part II
39. Nobody
40. Plan B
41. C’mon C’mon
42. The Humans
43. Werewolves Within
44. Language Lessons
45. The Viewing Booth
46. Cusp
47. Mass
48. Ema
49. Test Pattern
50. Identifying Features
51. Raya and the Last Dragon
52. Preparations to Be Together for an Unknown Period of Time
53. The Lost Daughter
54. Jockey
55. Saint Maud
56. A Glitch in the Matrix
57. The Obituary of Tunde Johnson
B
58. Parellel Mothers
59. A Man Named Scott
60. Pieces of a Woman
61. Nine Days
62. Titane
63. Licorice Pizza
64. The Mitchells vs the Machines
65. Le Choc du Futur
66. The French Dispatch
67. The Harder They Fall
68. Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn
69. About Endlessness
70. Days
71. Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy
72. The Scary of Sixty-First
73. Lamb
74. Roadrunner: A Film About Anthony Bourdain
75. The Eyes of Tammy Faye
76. American Gadfly
77. Writing with Fire
78. The Night House
79. All Light, Everywhere
80. Quo Vadis, Aida?
81. A Hero
82. El Planeta
83. You Will Die at Twenty
84. Cryptozoo
85. Summertime
86. The Rescue
B-
87. Luca
88. Last Night in Soho
89. Swan Song (this one; I didn’t see this one)
90. Benedetta
91. West Side Story
92. Prisoners of the Ghostland
93. The Velvet Underground
94. Jumbo
95. No Time to Die
96. WeWork: Or the Making and Breaking of a $47 Billion Unicorn
97. Those Who Wish Me Dead
98. New Order
99. The Inheritance
100. Night of the Kings
101. The Sparks Brothers
102. The Lost Leonardo
103. Spencer
104. Riders of Justice
105. Candyman
106. Shiva Baby
107. Death of a Telemarketer
C+
108. Mainstream
109. The Matrix Resurrections
110. Nightmare Alley
111. Cry Macho
112. I Care a Lot
113. The White Tiger
114. Night Raiders
115. Censor
C
116. Willy’s Wonderland
117. Annette
118. Godzilla vs. Kong
119. Wrath of Man
120. In the Earth
121. Zola
122. Encanto
123. A Cop Movie
124. King Richard
125. Belfast
126. The Beta Test
127. House of Gucci
128. Finch
C-
129. Eternals
130. Black Widow
131. In the Heights
132. Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar
133. The One You’re With
134. Gunpowder Heart
135. Antlers
136. Mayor Pete
D+
137. Cat in the Wall
138. The Suicide Squad
D
139. America: The Motion Picture
140. Film Fest
141. Good
D-
142. American Skin
F
143. Paper Tiger
144. Space Jam: A New Legacy
Best Picture: The Worst Person in the World
Joachim Trier’s romantic dramedy captures exactly what it feels like to be a self-absorbed millennial drifting through life full of doubt and lacking purpose. I know this because I am one. The movie follows Julie, a talented yet indecisive woman, as she navigates her late twenties and early thirties, changing careers and relationships in an effort to discover who she is and what brings her joy.
The story is broken into fourteen sections (a prologue, twelve chapters, and an epilogue). Some are funny. Some are melancholy. Some are weird as shit. The tone shifts considerably from chapter to chapter, giving the film a nice pace and allowing Trier to explore the full spectrum of the millennial experience. It’s been a long time since a movie has hit me this close to home, and I wish I had the strength to write more about this beautiful film.
Best Director: Joachim Trier — The Worst Person in the World
He made the best movie of the year. Go check it out.
Honorable Mentions
Questlove — Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised)
Sean Baker — Red Rocket
Ryûsuke Hamaguchi — Drive My Car
Mia Hansen-Løve — Bergman Island
Michael Sarnoski — Pig
Apichatpong Weerasethakul — Memoria
Lemohang Jeremiah Mosese — This Is Not a Burial, It’s a Resurrection
Robert Machoian — The Killing of Two Lovers
Mona Fastvold — The World to Come
Best Actress: Renate Reinsve — The Worst Person in the World
Renate Reinsve is the breakout star of 2021. In her performance as Julie, she creates a shockingly relatable character that represents the modern human experience better than anything I’ve seen put on screen.
Honorable Mentions
Jody Comer — The Last Duel
Katherine Waterston — The World to Come
Vanessa Kirby — The World to Come
Rebecca Hall — The Night House
Martha Plimpton — Mass
Vicky Krieps — Bergman Island
Joséphine Sanz — Petite Maman
Best Supporting Actress: Bree Elrod — Red Rocket
Sean Baker’s follow-up to his 2017 masterpiece The Florida Project is so much fun, and it’s full of incredible performances. Bree Elrod is outstanding as a former pornstar trying to make things work with her estranged husband in Texas City against the backdrop of the 2016 election.
Honorable Mentions
Suzanna Son — Red Rocket
Brenda Deiss — Red Rocket
Gaby Hoffman — C’mon C’mon
Amy Schumer — The Humans
Kathryn Hunter — The Tragedy of Macbeth
Gabrielle Sanz — Petite Maman
Best Actor: Nicolas Cage — Pig
Nic Cage is fucking great. Check out my thoughts on his greatest performance here.
Honorable Mentions
Simon Rex — Red Rocket
Hidetoshi Nishijima — Drive My Car
Clayne Crawford — The Killing of Two Lovers
Oscar Isaac — The Card Counter
Richard Jenkins — The Humans
Fabrizio Rongione — Azor
Best Supporting Actor: Anders Danielsen Lie — The Worst Person in the World
Anders Danielsen Lie stars in two of my favorite films of 2021 — The Worst Person in the World and Bergman Island — despite also working as a medical doctor.
Honorable Mentions
Herbert Nordrum — The Worst Person in the World
Daniel Kaluuya — Judas and the Black Messiah
Woody Norman — C’mon C’mon
Ethan Darbone — Red Rocket
Chris Coy — The Killing of Two Lovers
Pablo Torre Nilson — Azor
Best Screenplay: Joachim Trier and Eskil Vogt — The Worst Person in the World
Watch it.
Honorable Mentions
Ryûsuke Hamaguchi and Takamasa Oe — Drive My Car
Sean Baker and Chris Bergoch — Red Rocket
Mia Hansen-Løve — Bergman Island
Michael Sarnoski — Pig
Paul Schrader — The Card Counter
Nicole Holofcener, Ben Affleck, and Matt Damon — The Last Duel
Adam McKay and David Sirota — Don’t Look Up
Best Cinematography: Greig Fraser — Dune
This movie is a visual feast. I watched it in IMAX and at home, and I was blown away on both occasions.
Honorable Mentions
Edu Grau — Passing
Andrew Droz Palermo — The Green Knight
Sayombhu Mukdeeprom — Memoria
Jessica Beshir — Faya Dayi
Bruno Delbonnel — The Tragedy of Macbeth
Pierre de Villiers — This Is Not a Burial, It’s a Resurrection
Oscar Ignacio Jiménez — The Killing of Two Lovers
Best Score: Yu Miyashita — This Is Not a Burial, It’s a Resurrection
Yu Miyashita’s high-pitched strings add a terrifying tension to this beautiful African film about a widow whom death has forgotten. Check out the above trailer to see what I mean.
Honorable Mentions
Daniel Hart — The Green Knight
Hans Zimmer — Dune
Carter Burwell — The Tragedy of Macbeth
Uncredited — The Killing of Two Lovers
Daniel Blumberg — The World to Come
Harry Gregson-Williams — The Last Duel
Best Documentary Film: Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised)
Summer of Soul is a joyous celebration of black culture that made me smile more than any other film this year.
Best Animated Film: Flee
Everyone should see this touching film about an Afghani refugee struggling to confront his past.
Best Foreign Language Film: The Worst Person in the World
It’s really good, you guys.
Best Comedy: Red Rocket
Sean Baker’s new film is equally hilarious and empathetic, and it’s fun as shit.
Best Horror: The Killing of Two Lovers
Clayne Crawford is sensational in this tense, slow-burn horror film as a man at the end of his rope, desperately trying to hold his marriage together as his wife starts a relationship with another man.
Best Sci-Fi: Dune
I’m not that into the characters or plot, but Dune is one of the most impressive pieces of filmmaking I’ve seen in a long time. Hans Zimmer’s score might be the best of his career.
Best Action: Nobody
Bob Odenkirk is the man.
Best Romance: The World to Come
Katherine Waterston and Vanessa Kirby are incredible in this romantic period piece about two housewives in the American West who long for something more than their reserved husbands are able to provide.
Best Superhero Movie: F9
Vin Diesel rips down some massive pillars and kills a bunch of bad guys like fucking Samson. This movie rules.
Best Live Action Short Film: Ala Kachuu - Take and Run
Ala Kachuu - Take and Run tells the story of a young Kyrgyz woman named Sezim who leaves her small rural community to get an education in the city. Soon after arriving, she is kidnapped and forced to marry a man in a town that closely resembles the one she grew up in. The plot resembles the plight of many women in Kyrgyzstan who are pushed into traditional lifestyles and relationships against their will. Writer/director Maria Brendle brings a personal touch to this national epidemic by focusing on one woman and her struggle against the patriarchy.
Best Documentary Short Film: Lead Me Home
Homelessness is a topic that we as a society like to ignore. When we’re confronted with it, we do everything to avoid it. In Austin, our way of fixing the homeless problem was to pass an urban camping ban. Where did the homeless people go? Beats the hell out of me, but I don’t see them on my walk to work anymore.
Directors Pedro Kos and Jon Shenk look homelessness dead in the eye in their short film Lead Me Home. They interview homeless people about their current situations, how they got there, and what they’re doing to try to find a place to sleep. Kos and Shenk juxtapose these intimate portraits of desperate people with images of luxury apartments under construction, often right next to tent cities.
The growing homeless epidemic is an abject failure of the richest nation in the history of the world. It’s an economic issue that has to be solved with policy, but we can’t expect change without empathy for those battling homelessness every day. Hopefully this film can turn some eyes to the problem. Lead Me Home is available to stream on Netflix.
Best Animated Short Film: Bestia
I have no idea what this film is about, but it’s fucking mesmerizing, and it reminded me a lot of Taxi Driver. You can rent or purchase Bestia here.
Most Underrated Film: National Champions
National Champions tells the story of college football players standing up to the people that make money off their free labor and demanding fair treatment. The film presents this dynamic in a fascinating, realistic way, pointing a damning finger at the NCAA, conferences, boosters, television networks, and everyone else who profits from this ruthless cartel. This movie was buried when it released in theaters because it challenges the existing American power structure and asks uncomfortable questions. Ironically, you can rent it through the tech monopoly of your choice for $5.99.
Most Overrated Film: Belfast
This movie is boring, and Kenneth Branagh sucks.
Worst Picture: Space Jam: A New Legacy
This movie deeply upset me. It’s a joyless pile of shit that serves as nothing more than a 115-minute advertisement for every piece of intellectual property that Warner Brothers currently owns. Lebron looks like he wants to kill himself in every single scene. It is without a doubt the worst movie I’ve ever seen, and I’ve seen Jurassic World.
That’s all I’ve got, folks. Thanks for attending my personal therapy session. I’m gonna go console myself with a glass of scotch. I’ll pour one out for you, Dad.
Michael Dixon is a mild mannered accountant by day and a mild mannered movie watcher by night. He will not do your taxes for you. He’s trying to put one foot in front of the other and get a little bit better every day. He lives in Austin, Texas with his lovely television and collection of fine whiskies. Follow him on Twitter @mDixon00 and check out his podcast here. You can’t purchase his book anywhere because it doesn’t exist. Check out his previous annual movie award posts below.
