The Rachels - 2025

Much to my surprise, I have kept a list of the films I‘ve seen this year. I daresay it isn’t complete. There will be films that snuck in on a late night in front of the TV that I would’ve forgotten to note. Or others, that I went to watch at the cinema, but then had a red wine and promptly forgotten about. But it’s not a bad approximation of the films I’ve seen this year. In total, there are 53 films listed, so an average of one a week and one for good luck.

Most of those films will have been seen at Manchester’s art house cinema, Home, for which I have a monthly pass. My film-viewing will have been determined by how conveniently screening times matched with when I was nearby and with my own idiosyncrasies. I don’t do Superhero Movies. I’m a fan of character studies over action or special effects. I like small budgets, quirky angles and stories I’ve never seen before.

I watched most of the films alone, enjoying sitting in the dark while the screen washes over me. I say I was alone, but there is an imaginary 1940s screenwriter knocking my elbow, saying:

“What am I, chopped liver?”

Here is a summary of my film viewing and reviewing over the past 12 months, in a little ceremony I like to call “The Rachels”.

The Rachel for Best Musical Bio-Pic

I saw three films that fit this category. For some reason I went to see Better Man, the biopic about boy band member, Robbie Williams. Let’s be honest this was not a good film. I liked the premise: manufactured popstar being portrayed as a performing chimp and it had a great supporting cast (Alison Steadman and Steve Pemeberton, you did nothing wrong). But this is a story about a self-confessed narcissist with addiction problems, who also executive produced the film. Charming, but completely lacking in reflection or depth.

Pauline Black: A Two Tone Story was a birthday treat for my partner, a ska and two-tone fan. We saw it at a special screening with Pauline in attendance. Pauline’s narration is slightly stilted, because you can tell she is choosing her words carefully, to expose the nuanced story of racism, sexism and growing up black in white family. The story is fascinating, but the film never really got the pace right.

So, the award goes to A Complete Unknown. Timothee Chalamet as Bob Dylan gives a great and credible central performance in a screenplay that has the wisdom to choose a specific era, rather than a sprawling life-time narrative. Nuanced, interesting and layered with sensory details, where I could see the dust on the windowsills of a Manhattan apartment or smell the anti-sceptic of an isolated hospital ward. And most importantly, I heard the electricity fizz as Dylan took to the stage with a plugged-in guitar.

The Rachel for Best Romcom

I saw a lot of these. Romcoms are my cinematic comfort blanket. I both love them for the escapism and hate them for their gender politics. They become a barometer of how far we have travelled (or reversed) in terms of relationships and what can be portrayed on screen and what can’t. There were interesting examples using Jane Austen as a template (Jane Austen Wrecked my Life and The Materialists), but the Rachel goes to We Live in Time.

We Live in Time, had edge as well as sweet, flawed romance. Two rounded characters fall in love and have to deal with a range of awful stuff thrown at them. What really made this work were the performances from Andrew Garfield and the eminently watchable Florence Pugh.

The Rachel for Rachel

Just giving myself a quick award here. My favourite review of the year goes to my write-up of Steve. I loved this film and I wrote the review in a blur of the emotions that film made raw and tender. (Read it here).

The Rachel for Film that Social Workers Students Should See

This category is a little nod to my old self – the social work academic who showed films to students to allow them to think about social issues, case studies and the way we talk and portray people who need services. I still find myself thinking occasionally, ‘social work students should see this film.’ And I would still love to guide the discussion. Along with Steve, I Swear made it to the nomination list. I Swear is a biographical film of John Davidson, whose adolescence and adulthood were blighted by others failing to recognise, care about or believe in his diagnosis of Tourette’s Syndrome. It left me in an emotional puddle with its warm heart and tenacity.

However, the Rachel goes to Lollipop. This was an uncomfortable watch. It was about broken promises, principles and ideals left shattered by a struggling mother, a grieving grandmother and an over-stretched, complex welfare system.

A mother looks at a picture of herself as a child and says:

“I wish someone had looked after her”.

My heart hits the floor. I worry that such a small budget movie with little to no marketing and a limited release isn’t going to reach its audience, but it asks the biggest question:

How do we keep showing up for someone who keeps messing up?

The Rachel for Best Choreography

Let’s raise the mood. How about some dancing? I love dance on film. The way they big screen can show exuberance and artistry. But the Rachel for Best Choreography doesn’t go to a Musical. Instead, it goes to La Cocina, a film set in the underworld of immigration and New York Kitchens. But it also had the finesse of a Busby Berkley number as we watch kitchen staff take their places and then move as one to serve their customers, all beautifully shot in black and white.

The Rachel for Best Old Film

The Rachel for the Best Old Film was easy to decide, as one of my favourite films received a 40 year anniversary big screen revival – Amadeus. It is still a sumptuous, literary and musical delight. Still amazed me.

The Rachel from Rachel’s Alter-ego

My imaginary 1940s screen writer alter-ego is about to blow a fuse. If I can award an old film, she should be able to award a new film. So, the best modern day 1940s film is a Hitchcockian thriller, with cold manipulative characters and tense atmosphere – Black Bag.

The Rachel for Best Short Story Film

I told you this was idiosyncratic. This year I decided a new way to label films was to see some films as large-scale, sprawling, blockbuster novel films and others as short story films. The sort of films that have small casts, an intimacy with a couple of characters over a short period. They are filmed with the precision of short fiction, choosing lyrical intensity over pace and action. This was a close call between The Good One which was the film that originated the category, and the winner Sorry, Baby.

Sorry, Baby was the best little film I’ve seen this year. It is about the complexity of trauma following sexual assault, which sounds heavy and worthy. But it is dealt with deftly, a lightness of touch, and good humour, focusing on healing. The survivor of the assault is much more than her attack. She is funny, bright, endearing and loved.

The Rachel for Best Big Film

I don’t always get to see the Big Movies of the Year. (I haven’t seen Wicked, for example). But I did get to see two movies which were released with a whiff of Oscar buzz. The first is One Battle After Another and the other is Sinners. I loved them both. They were both bold, epic in scale and stylish. Both surprised me and it was a tough call to choose between them.

But drum-roll, the Rachel goes to … Sinners. It was just a bit more unexpected. It crossed genres, played with horror tropes and pushed the audience into uncomfortable places telling a complex story. It had jump-shocks that could not be avoided and the best sound track that throbbed in my chest.

Finally we reach the In Memorial segment of The Rachels. Just as I was winding down for Christmas and attending a family wedding the terrible news that we had lost Rob Reiner emerged. I hope to find time in the New Year to write about him and his legacy.

Of course, I typed this award ceremony wearing a glamorous gown and there may or may not have been a scuffle in the audience between handsome men who are paid too much. That is what most showbusiness reporters will concentrate on, so that the real winners will be forgotten. But I wrote this to celebrate the quirky creativity on display. Many of the films mentioned above don’t stand a chance of being nominated in the big awards ceremonies. This doesn’t take away from their sparkle and inventiveness. Like all writers I dream big, but I don’t write for awards. I write because I have something to say. And I’m guessing that’s why filmmakers make films. (At this point my 1940s alter-ego rolls her eyes and just whispers, “Darling, you’re so sweet, but I write for the money”.) I’m looking forward to another year of interesting stories that surprise and delight me whilst supporting my local cinema.

But that is it for The Rachels for 2025. As with all awards I expect there to be applause and disagreements. So, bring on the comments…