It may seem odd that in a year that was so oppressively grim that documentaries would be an escape, but when you think about it, what better way to get a better grip on reality when it feels like reality is unraveling? 2020 was a year like nothing we’ve ever experienced, and yet the best documentaries of the year let us know the world was still here. Whether it was in societal ills we still need to address or hopeful avenues to show us life beyond the walls of our isolation, the best documentaries of 2020 brought us closer to the world when that world never felt further away. Whether they affirmed life in the face of death, showed us clandestine plots of foreign governments, or simply brought us closer into the world of a pop star, these documentaries transported us in the best way possible.
American Murder: The Family Next Door
DirectorJenny Popplewellreopens what feels like a still-healing wound withAmerican Murder: The Family Next Door, a re-examination of the murder of Shanann Watts and her daughters, Bella and Celeste, in 2018. The Watts family murders was a case that shocked the nation as it played out in the summer and autumn of 2018. Initially, Watts' husband, Chris Watts, led authorities and the press to believe his wife and young daughters were missing. However, Chris eventually confessed to murdering his family and was sentenced to five life sentences for the murders.
Popplewell leans on pathos as she paints a portrait of Watts' life as a wife and mother before her murder. Through archived Facebook Live videos, transcripts of text messages, personal cell phone videos, news footage, and police body cam and interrogation videos, Popplewell attempts to understand why events played out the way they did for Watts and her family. It’s a somewhat uneven documentary due to its reliance on letting the footage speak for itself (with the help of editing), but it’s also chilling. The marriage we see play out through video and text, the stories that are told, the family we are presented — in all their happiness and sorrow — is recognizable. We know this family even if we’ve never met Shanann and Chris Watts and their daughters. Though we know how this story ends,American Murder: Family Next Dooris an insightful true-crime documentary that removes the cold investigative lens of the genre and shines a light on the heart of the matter. -Allie Gemmill
A Secret Love
It would be wise to keep a few tissues handy as you watch the extremely moving documentaryA Secret Love. DirectorChris Bolan’s documentary introduces you toTerry DonahueandPat Henschel, a nonagenarian lesbian couple who have lived together for the better part of their lives. The doc traces Terry and Pat’s life together, weaving the past into their present day, which includes scenes like looking for an LGBTQ-friendly retirement community and watching Pat take care of Terry as her health declined. (Terry passed away in March 2019.) Here is a couple who could, like many other LGBTQ+ folks of their generation, had to live two lives: The public one, where they were roommates and platonic friends, and the private one, where they could be a romantic couple but only behind closed doors. Terry and Pat speak candidly, but there is a calm matter-of-factness about their recollection of their lives together (it might help that they’re Canadian).
A Secret Love is a deeply intimate portrait as much as it is a piece of living history. Viewers will have some basic understanding of the emotional toll of the kind of life Terry and Pat led together for decades, which certainly helps to form an empathetic bond as you watch. But to have the camera poke in and capture the lives of a lesbian couple who have ridden so many waves of the LGBTQ+ civil rights movement and still landed on their feet, together? It feels like an honor and a treat. And while A Secret Love is very much an exploration of living as a queer person during a time when being in the closet was de rigueur as it is a documentary about growing old and grappling with the past. Bolan captures aging in all its beauty and sadness; I’m not exaggerating about that tissue warning. Ultimately,A Secret Loveis a precious documentary and one worth seeking out ASAP. -Allie Gemmill
Honestly, this was the best movie that I saw at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival. The story is so incredible, I don’t even think you could write it. Such is life… and in this case, death, as implied by the title. Directed byRyan White(The Keepers,The Case Against 8),Assassinsfollows two young women who are tricked into assassinatingKim Jong-nam, the half-brother of North Korean leaderKim Jong-un. Basically, they think they’re part of a prank show that involves them placing their hands over the eyes of strangers from behind. Despite having a very capable legal team working on their behalf, their pleas seem to fall on deaf ears, since the fact that the women were involved in Kim Jong-nam’s murder was never in doubt – it was all about what they knew, or didn’t know, in this case. The film points an accusatory finger at Kim Jong-un, and was apparently controversial enough to cause problems behind the scenes, as Magnolia acquired the movie out of Sundance, only for Hulu to take over domestic rights before dropping the film, which was eventually released in the U.S. by Greenwich Entertainment. This is a weird, wild story that simply has to be seen to be believed, and I promise it’s as gripping as any thriller that came out this year. -Jeff Sneider
This harrowing, heartbreaking Netflix documentary from directorsBonni CohenandJon Shenkmay be tough to watch, but it’s an excellent look at theLarry Nassarscandal that puts the emphasis on the survivors first and foremost. The film follows a team of investigative journalists from The Indianapolis Star as they break the Nassar story after interviewing numerous gymnasts who were sexually assaulted by the once well-respected doctor. This is a stomach-churning documentary and one I felt a personal connection to, having grown up just a few minutes from Olympic gymnastAly Raisman, who appears in archive footage here – though the focus is firmly onMaggie Nichols, as well asRachael Denhollander,Jessica HowardandJamie Dantzscher.
As a journalist who once worked a story involving the sexual abuse of a minor, I can only tip my cap to the dogged reporters seen in this film, because their hard work left no doubt that Nassar was an unspeakable monster who needed to be brought to justice. He is now in prison, serving a life sentence. It’s as close to a happy ending as this story was ever going to get. And with many more Nassars hiding in plain sight, the important thing is to make sure it never happens again. One way to ensure that is not to shy away from challenging films likeAthlete A, but to watch them in the hopes of identifying other predators lurking in our midst. -Jeff Sneider
Boys State
Since I’m not terribly interested in politics, I might not have seen this award-winning Apple documentary if not for its intriguing trailer, but I loved this eye-opening movie and its charismatic starSteven Garza, who I’m sure I’ll be voting for one day down the line. Directed byAmanda McBaineandJesse Moss, the film follows a thousand teenage boys as they attend Boys State in Austin, Texas, where they essentially build a mock government within the span of a few days. This includes campaigning for different positions, making speeches, and ultimately, voting for various representatives. I went to an all-boys summer camp for 12 years, so there were certain elements of this testosterone-heavy film that I could maybe appreciate more than most. Of course, I played sports all day, whereas these boys are more interested in talking politics, which makes them a unique type of individual. Watching this movie was both funny and frightening, as you really see what kind of person is attracted to the political sphere, and what kind of person that political sphere tends to embrace. This is a rollicking must-see for anyone curious how America got to where it is now, and where it might be headed in the future. -Jeff Sneider
Beastie Boys Story
Beastie Boys Story, currently available to stream on Apple TV+, is a total hoot. The price of admission is a baseline appreciation for the New York City trio (yes, just liking “(You Gotta) Fight for Your Right (to Party)” counts), but trust me, you wanna watch this one. Directed by longtime Beastie Boys bestieSpike Jonze, two of the founding members —Adam “Ad-Rock” HorovitzandMichael “Mike D” Diamond— take the stage to give an oral history of their lives as band members and best friends weathering the fickleness of fame together. (The lateAdam “MCA” Yauchpassed away in May 2012.)
It’s a delightful, enlightening, heartwarming traipse through time with Horovitz and Diamond, who use archive footage and photos to bolster their own recollections of their lives as a band.Beastie Boys Story is, in many ways, an extension of the personalities of each of the dudes, including Yauch, as it unspools an irreverent yarn. Sometimes, Horovitz and Diamond have to stop and break their storytelling spell because they mess up their lines or a bit of video doesn’t play the right way. Such is life! And the spontaneous and carefree way in which the fellas handle the messier moments of their onstage special only makesBeastie Boys Storymore relatable. Horovitz and Diamond also don’t shy away from getting honest about their lows as a group, from the heartbreaks to the break-ups to the creative blocks that re-routed the Beastie Boys time and time again. It’s also beautiful to see just how close these two are with one another and still, to this day, with Yauch, as they tell their life story so far.Beastie Boys Storyis absolutely a special bit of filmmaking. -Allie Gemmill
Circus of Books
FilmmakerRachel Masontakes a dive into her family’s peculiar history and very unique dysfunctions inCircus of Books, the documentary named after the shop her parents owned for decades. Sorry – thegay pornography shopher parents owned for decades. Unfolding a 40-year story, the first part of the doc digs into how they cultivated that very specific and unusual line of work, and that’s already a phenomenal hook for a doc, but the film really comes alive when it gets personal. Because despite the fact that the Masons catered to and profited from that niche market all those years, providing a space of safety and acceptance for the LGBTQ+ community long before culture caught up, they had zero chill about it when their own son came out as gay. WithCircus of Books, Mason (who is also proudly queer) gets the chance to unpack all that complex family and community history, finally prodding her parents for answers to the seemingly misaligned messages of their business and personal lives, investigated the nuances between tolerance, acceptance and allyship, and uncovers a vital piece of local queer history that would never get told if filmmakers like Mason didn’t have the courage and ambition to tackle their own lives with such candor. -Haleigh Foutch
Class Action Park
This HBO Max documentary about the cursed New Jersey amusement park Action Park was probably more fun than any movie I saw this year, as it brought me right back to my own water park misadventures in Massachusetts, though it also managed to pack a powerful punch by the end of its well-chosen runtime. It is rather brilliantly structured, with comedianChris Gethardand former Action Park employees taking you around the hair-raising grounds ride by ride, recalling foolish dares and killer wave pools. Released during a summer in which water parks across the country were closed, it made you feel like you were there, smelling the chlorine and feeling the heat on your feet.
Of course, this movie is all fun and games and broken bones for the first hour or so, but its brilliance lies in the dramatic turn it takes with roughly a half-hour to go, when directorsSeth PorgesandChris Charles Scott IIIforce you to examine the human cost of these frequent mishaps. In the end, everyone lucky enough to survive Action Park has their own story to tell, but those memories are tainted by a dark cloud of death that undeniably hovered over the park, so no matter how cool its owner seemed, the fact that he never seemed to care is irresponsible and in one devastated mother’s case, understandably unforgivable. -Jeff Sneider
Crip Campis a movie about people who we rarely see movies about – those with disabilities. Don’t get me wrong, we see plenty of movies about people with disabilities, fromMy Left FootandThe Theory of EverythingtoStronger, but all of those movies star able-bodied actors, whereasCrip Campfinally shines a light on real people with disabilities, thereby giving a voice to the voiceless. Directed byNicole NewnhamandJames LeBrecht, the Netflix film follows a group of people who attended the same New York summer camp for teens with disabilities and went on to become activists for the disability rights movement. There’s a reason thatCrip Camprates 100 percent fresh on Rotten Tomatoes and won the coveted Audience Award at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, and that’s because it is an absolute joy to behold. Executive produced byBarack and Michelle Obama, this inspiring film has a powerful, timely message of inclusion and should be required viewing for children of a certain age because it would teach them about empathy, something this country could use more of if you ask me. –Jeff Sneider
Dick Johnson Is Dead
Kirsten Johnson’s documentary is a beautiful, melancholy, and darkly funny meditation on what it means to start saying goodbye to the ones we love. Johnson’s father Dick is going through the early stages of dementia that her mother suffered, and Johnson resolves that rather than wallow in grief, she wants to create a celebration of her father’s life that laughs at the specter of death. She does this by creating various situations where Dick “dies” in comical fashions like having his head smashed in by a falling air conditioner. Rather than coming off as glib,Dick Johnson Is Deadis a film that comes alive because every frame is an expression of love and you can see how much it cherishes the time Kirsten and her father have left. -Matt Goldberg
