The best movies of 2024 were about waking up and becoming the person you want to be

Self-improvement is a common theme in fiction. Also in all genres – in action, romance, science fictionand more, we like to see the characters themselves improve and come into their own. Many of 2024’s most memorable films held this idea even closer than usual, focusing on how passivity can keep people from living the life they desire. The exciting moments of action in these films arise not from dramatic external conflicts, but from internal decisions, where the protagonists decide to become (or not become) someone they actually want to be. This through line creates an urgency for viewers to take action in their own lives, to create the world they want to live in.

Perhaps the clearest example of this phenomenon is Jane Schoenbrun’s masterful work I saw the TV glow. In the film, teenager Owen (Justice Smith) and his girlfriend Maddy (Brigette Lundy-Paine) become obsessed with a dark fantasy television show set in the spirit of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. This obsession causes them both to question their identities and the nature of their reality. Maddy becomes convinced Are the show’s characters, trapped in an unfortunate fake reality by the show’s villain, Mr. Melancholy. Owen rejects this interpretation and returns to his depressing reality, where he literally wastes away over the years as he sinks into the rhythms of his unhappy life.

Interpretations vary as to the ending – I see it as hopeful – but no matter how you read it, TV Glow is one of 2024’s trans-author films that powerfully explore themes of self-discovery. It is particularly effective because of the way its broad themes can apply to anyone. Schoenbrun inauthentically links the disappointment of life to the disabling fear of not knowing what you will find if you look deep enough within yourself. That’s something a lot of people can relate to, regardless of their relationship to gender.

2024’s cisgender cinema dealt with the same subject in different ways. Perhaps the closest TV Glow is fantastic by Aaron Schimberg Another mananother film about self-conception and the fear of being seen as different. The film follows Edward (Sebastian Stan), a struggling actor with a facial disfigurement, who befriends his neighbor Ingrid (Renate Reinsve), a playwright.

In an attempt to repair his stagnant professional and personal life, Edward undergoes an experimental treatment that shockingly transforms his face into something more acceptable to the dominant culture. He then also changes his career to a more ‘acceptable’ one, flourishing as a real estate agent in New York. But when he hears that Ingrid has written a play about his life, he becomes obsessed with playing the lead role, even though he is no longer in the condition the play is about.

Then a third player enters the stage: Oswald (Under the skin‘s Adam Pearson), who has the same condition that Edward once had. A charismatic force of nature, Oswald immediately captures the attention of everyone around him and ultimately wins the lead role in Ingrid’s play (as well as her affections) away from Edward. The truth Another man reveals that Edward’s condition didn’t primarily hold him back personally and professionally, but his personality did.

The film doesn’t pretend that discrimination against people with facial disfigurements doesn’t exist – Oswald faces it too – but there is a difference in the way the two men behave, and therefore how the world around them changes. Oswald is full of energy and a genuineness that draws people to him. His charisma is magnetic, while Edward’s wallowing actively drives people away.

Edward doesn’t actually change at all Another man. Instead, he is given the superficial appearance of change, while Oswald’s presence drives home the truth that Edward’s inaction is killing him from within. Edward’s inability to take a critical look at himself is as instructive as Owen’s ultimate decision to do so. TV Glowregardless of the costs.

The genre also got into action in 2024, with Richard Linklater’s romantic comedy Touch manabout a professor of psychology and philosophy who literally tries out different versions of himself until one sticks. Gary Johnson (Glen Powell) is a quiet teacher who poses as a hit man for a police operation. Gary dives into the job and creates a different character for each assignment, with elaborate costumes, histories, and speech styles for each persona, allowing him to explicitly try out different versions of himself.

By the film’s chaotic end, the Gary at the beginning is a distant memory of the Gary he becomes through experimentation. That’s partly because of the thrill of playing, but also because Gary is no longer a passenger in his life, and finally does the hard work of soul-searching to figure out who he wants to be, and then becomes him.

Touch man wasn’t the only genre picture to explore this dynamic. Jaume Collet-Serra fans like me were excited to see the Spanish director The shoals, The commuterAnd Nonstop returns to his specialty – mid-budget, transportation-themed thrillers – after being banished to Hollywood and making Dwayne Johnson’s mega-blockbusters. We were not disappointed with the TSA thriller Continue.

The film follows Ethan Kopek (Taron Egerton), a listless TSA agent with a baby on the way but no real prospects for his career. With new responsibilities looming, he is determined to become a more committed employee and person. Unfortunately, the day he makes that decision is also the day a terrorist (Jason Bateman) targets him in a blackmail scheme to get a mysterious package through security.

“Law enforcement-adjacent protagonist gets the courage to be the best version of himself” is nothing particularly new as a thriller beat, but the extent to which Continue focuses on Ethan’s passivity in his life, making this fit easily into the larger theme. As his girlfriend Nora (Sofia Carson) makes clear, Ethan has become a shadow of his former self since being rejected from the police academy. He seems to have no motivation in his professional or personal life, despite being a former professional athlete who has the intelligence and charisma to (eventually) outsmart a master terrorist. When confronted with the terrorist’s plan, the easiest path would be to remain passive – as Bateman’s character continually reminds him. If he does nothing, he is told, everything will be fine.

Instead, this dilemma ultimately drives him to action. He risks it all to become the best version of himself: someone who is actually involved in his life and the people around him, who can use his skills to protect and support his loved ones. Combined with Collet-Serra’s focus on technology and surveillance (his films are quietly cinema’s most evocative depictions of the modern surveillance state), this makes for a tense character study hidden within a crowd-pleasing thriller.

The underrated German action thriller Sixty minutes has its own unique angle on this theme. The film has a fun, easy-to-understand gimmick: Professional MMA fighter Octavio Bergmann (Emilio Sakraya) has 60 minutes to get to his daughter’s birthday party or his ex-wife will file for sole custody. The film avoids yet another tired “cruel ex-wife” narrative by laying out Octavio’s status as an absent father, who has repeatedly prioritized his fighting career over his relationship with his daughter.

“Become the best version of yourself” is a common theme in films about professionals in any physical field. But Sixty minutes gives the idea a new angle by following a man trying to be the best father, rather than the best fighter. All the action in the film is motivated by Octavio’s desire to become a new version of himself – a version that makes time for his daughter and is part of her life. He is willing to give up his professional goals for this pursuit, literally running away from a fight as he is about to enter the ring, and the film presents this as a noble decision. As a very skilled and active fighter, Octavio comes across as anything but passive Sixty minutes rightly understands that his activity in one area of ​​his life merely masks his passivity in another.

Many other films from 2024 are about protagonists digging out of passivity or complacency to become who they most want to be: Baby girl, Juror #2, Thelma, Love lies bleedingand more. But I saw the TV glow, Another man, Touch man, ContinueAnd Sixty minutes the idea hit me the hardest. If you’re looking for motivation to become the best version of yourself, this would be a great fivefold feature.

I saw the TV glow streams on Max. Another man will be streamed on Max from January 17. Hit man, keep going, And Sixty minutes are all streaming on Netflix.