Script Magazine’s Top 5 Films of 2025
We rounded up some of Script’s cinephiles to compile a list of their individual top five films of 2025. Read which films made the cut.
2025 you were somethin’ and you happened.
Safe to say, this year a lot of our “watercooler” chats circled varied topics, including: unpredictable weather, stormy politics, memorable memes, the latest binge-worthy TV shows and must-see movies. As we’re not in the weather and politics game, we can confidently present great insight on TV and films (and maybe some memes, too).
This year brought us a mix of re-releases, genre films, box office surprises (looking at you Sinners), and a rich slate of Oscar-worthy films. We rounded up some of Script's cinephiles to compile a list of their individual top five films of 2025. On paper, an easy task. When in the thick of it, it became a thorny-internal battle: what was good, what was worth listing, does it really have to be five, too many options, not enough options – the list went on.
But! These incredible lovers of global cinema pulled through and delivered in their own unique way. While some lists overlap, and some gifting us new or surprising titles, it gives you a quick snapshot of what films stayed with us this year.
Sonya Alexander, Script Contributor
- Train Dreams - Clint Bentley’s ballad to early 1900s logger and railroad worker Robert Grainier is a nostalgic, melancholy, and joyous reflection on love, grief, and living. Joel Edgerton as Grainier gives a quiet, soulful performance as an everyman who’s constantly trying to figure out his purpose. He is the heartbeat of the film. Adapted from Denis Johnson’s 2011 novella of the same name, Bentley and Greg Kwedar’s interpretation is a subtle, emotional freight train of a movie.
- Left-Handed Girl - Shih-Ching Tsou’s second feature is a firecracker of a film that deals with universal truths while examining a dysfunctional family in Taipei. Co-written with Sean Baker, the film is humorous, with undercurrents of high drama and tension. Nina Ye, Janel Tsai, and Shih-Yuan Ma are a triptych of emotional chaos and healing. An effervescent gem of a movie.
- The Secret Agent - Kleber Mendonça Filho's film set in 1970s Brazil is a seemingly oracular thriller that by the end has shocking clarity. With Wagner Moura at the helm as Marcelo/Armando, the film is a slice-of-Brazilian-life that is a sinewy exploration of one man's quest to be a father under the worst of circumstances. It doesn't spoon-feed the viewer but expects us to figure things out along with and for Marcelo/Armando. A brilliant movie. Read Sonya's interview with Kleber Mendonça Filho.
- Marty Supreme - From the opening scene, Josh Safdie’s film hits the ground running with Roadrunner speed and doesn’t let up until the last frame. Timothée Chalamet is electrifying as fast-talking rascal Marty Mauser who aspires to be a ping pong champion. Gwyneth Paltrow, Odessa A'zion, and Tyler the Creator play characters that dim and shine in Marty’s orbit. The 80s soundtrack somehow makes this film set in the 50s even more authentically distinctive.
- Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale - Directed by Simon Curtis and written by Julian Fellowes, the third film in the series is perfect closure for the aristocratic Crawleys and their colorful staff. It’s rare that a film series gets better as it goes along, but Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale has done just that. Based on the hit television series, it stays true to the characters while giving the fans what they want. A delightful and moving sendoff for a beloved franchise.
Bryan Young, Script Contributor
- Wake Up Dead Man - This film is a perfect blend of everything I love. It has the complicated wrestling with faith of Graham Greene’s best work, The Power and the Glory, the wry comedy and biting commentary of Kurt Vonnegut’s Cat’s Cradle, and it’s tied into a neat bow with Rian Johnson’s incredible screenwriting. That it’s a Benoit Blanc mystery with an incredible cast led by Daniel Craig and Josh O’Connor is icing on the cake. Read Bryan's interview with Rian Johnson.
- One Battle After Another - PT Anderson manages to find a way to reinvent and outdo himself constantly. This film was a stunning breath of fresh air that was at once touching, poignant, and shockingly relevant. Between the top-notch performances, the breathtaking car chase, and a script that winds through time and drama in ways I never thought possible, it’s a stunning effort from a national treasure.
- Frankenstein - If anyone can get to the beating heart of a monster, it’s Guillermo del Toro. He created a film that is beautiful and heart-wrenching and brings his own unique take to Mary Shelley’s classic. He does it not just with an eye for adapting her book, though, he brings his own heart to it, and an eye for every on screen iteration of Frankenstein he’s consumed over the years. It’s truly incredible.
- 28 Years Later - This was a film I was expecting very little from, which feels foolish knowing Danny Boyle and Alex Garland had returned. Alongside the allusions to Olivier’s Henry V and the touching coming of age story, the complicated journey’s Spike has to endure with both his father and his dying mother that we’re shown tells us that this film has so much more to say than the average zombie fare. It’s meaningful and soul-rending and that’s why it made my list.
- Sinners - Everything about Ryan Coogler’s historical drama feels like it’s going to be something special from the first frames. But something seems off. And as it slowly unfolds and you realize that something is definitely wrong and it becomes a vampire film, that uneasiness starts making a lot more sense. This film had so much to say about its time and place as well as racism and poverty and so much more, it didn’t need to go as hard as it did, but I’m grateful that it did.
Susan Kouguell, Script Senior Contributing Editor
Let me preface this by saying that when editor Sadie Dean asked me to write this piece I thought this would be a fun assignment. In my decades of writing for this publication and others, it was the first time I was asked to choose my top picks of the year.
However, and quite honestly, it’s been somewhat agonizing.
Let’s be clear - it’s been a very self-imposed agony. Why? As a writer and filmmaker, whose work has generally focused on nonlinear experimental films and who, yes, agonizes over every word and knows firsthand how challenging it is to get any film made – I felt that I was excluding many movies that deserve attention.
So, with that melodramatic disclaimer, how did I narrow down the many films I admired this year to compile this list? I chose narrative films that were either solely written or co-written by the director. These films challenged expectations, took risks, and confronted challenging themes.
- Hamnet - Co-written and directed by Chloé Zhao, this period film avoided pretension, which sadly is often the case when centering on iconic figures (William Shakespeare), and their work. Scenes from Hamlet performed on stage at the Globe Theatre, successfully added another layer to the main characters’ arcs. Agnes Shakespeare, played by Jesse Buckley, is multi-dimensional and complex and not ‘just’ the wife/appendage as seen in many films in this genre. Zhao’s portrayal of personal grief and collective grief is timeless and universal. (I recommend reading Sadie Dean’s interview with author and co-screenwriter Maggie O’Farrell.)
- Sorry, Baby - Written, directed and starring Eva Victor. Tackling sensitive subject matter with visual and dialogue space, Victor’s debut feature unfolds quietly yet dramatically while avoiding predictable storytelling tropes. The portrayal of the two close friends played by Victor and Naomi Ackie are realistic and poignant. (I recommend reading Sadie’s interview with Victor.)
- It Was Just an Accident - Written and directed by Jafar Panahi, confronts anti-authoritian rage with shifting genres that effectively enhance the narrative and underscore the current political situation. Part road film, part black comedy, part tragic drama, and part satire, the film’s many twists and turns center on the question of the guilt or innocence of one of the characters, who may or may not have inflicted the violent trauma of his now captors.
- The Mastermind - Written and directed by Kelly Reichardt, centers on a frustratingly (self-involved) husband/father/son anti-hero who seemingly and perfunctorily (barely) apologizes for his actions. This fascinating character study may be too slow-paced for some, but it serves the story, capturing a particular tone and mood of the 1970s with the backdrop of the political and social actions of that era.
- If I Had Legs I’d Kick You - Written and directed by Mary Bronstein, the film follows Linda, the anti-heroine as she navigates motherhood, marriage, and the medical profession in an unapologetic fashion. While Linda’s choices and actions might be considered unsympathetic, her arc and downward spiral are finely-crafted in this provocative film.
Top 5 Honorable Mention Documentaries
I felt remiss not to include these documentaries that struck a chord with me this year:
It's Never Over, Jeff Buckley (directed by Amy Berg); Cutting Through Rocks (directed by Mohammadreza Eyni and Sara Khaki); Afternoons of Solitude (written and directed by Albert Serra); Mistress Dispeller (directed by Elizabeth Lo, co-written by Charlotte Munch Bengtsen and Elizabeth Lo; and Meanwhile, directed by Catherine Gund, whom I interviewed for this publication.
Rahul Menon, Script Contributor
- Sinners - Sinners is a wild miracle of a movie. Coogler blends gospel, gore, and pure cinematic soul into something chaotic, ecstatic, and completely alive. The music hits like revelation, the performances burn with purpose, and the film’s mythology reshapes vampirism into something boldly Black, emotional, and mythic. Messy, massive, and unforgettable, Sinners simply devoured me in the best way.
- One Battle After Another - PTA unleashes pure cinematic chaos with heart. One Battle After Another is hilarious, propulsive, and strangely tender, anchored by DiCaprio’s best work in years and a supporting cast on fire. It captures revolution, family, and the absurdity of modern America with precision and swagger. Messy, soulful, and fearless, it is one of the year’s boldest visions.
- It Was Just An Accident - Panahi turns trauma into something fierce and humane, blending absurd humor, quiet dread, and raw moral tension. Every frame carries the weight of his own history, every sound a reminder of memory refusing to fade. It is taut, darkly funny, and relentlessly alive, a film that becomes both cinema and defiance.
- Marty Supreme - Few films this year felt as volatile and human as Marty Supreme. Josh Safdie turns chaos into character, ambition into tragedy, delusion into drive. Chalamet combusts on screen, Paltrow grounds the film with unexpected grace, and Daniel Lopatin’s score lingers like a ghost. Imperfect, excessive, thrilling, it’s cinema that overwhelms you in the best way.
- Sorry, Baby - Eva Victor’s Sorry, Baby floored me. It’s sharp, funny, deeply humane filmmaking, turning trauma into something textured, awkward, and quietly defiant. Victor delivers a superb, idiosyncratic performance while writing and directing with startling confidence. The film’s nonlinear structure, lived-in characters, and bold visual choices make it one of the most honest, affecting coming-of-age stories I’ve seen in years.
Honorable Mentions: No Other Choice, Weapons, 28 Years Later, The Secret Agent, Dead Man’s Wire, Hamnet, Blue Moon, If I Had Legs I’d Kick You, Train Dreams, Eternity, Wake Up Dead Man, Sentimental Value, Black Bag, Predator: Killer of Killers
Tim Schildberger, Script Contributor
No top 5 for me this year. I’ve been madly seeing movies these last few months in the hopes of filling out the list – but the ones I do have on my list are worth seeing, and truly memorable.
These three are on no order. Just see them all.
Hamnet - This is the first of two movies that really dive into the role art and writing can play in finding ways to describe the almost indescribable of human emotions. If you fancy yourself a writer, go see this movie – now.
A movie based on a novel based on an idea about the origins of Shakespeare’s Hamlet, this is a beautiful movie, with a finale that explores our individual relationships with grief, and also how art can insert itself in such incredible and unexpected ways. Amazing performances by Jessie Buckley and Paul Mescal – this is a genuine, go to the theatre and cry kinda movie.
Sentimental Value - Similar themes being explored in this one – at least from the viewpoint of a parent and their children. Set in modern day Norway, Stellan Skarsgård, Renate Reinsve, Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas and Elle Fanning are magnificent. This is a slow, quiet movie – so if/when you watch it on the couch, try to resist the urge to talk, and tell whoever you’re with to shut up too. Don’t miss out on the nuance of the relationships, and the way it shows the imprint life leaves on us all. It also wonderfully conveys – like Hamnet - the way writing can say what humans are unable to verbalize. How lucky we are to be writers, capable of bringing this gift to the world. Read Sonya Alexander's interview with Joachim Trier and Eskil Vogt.
F1: The Movie - I’ll admit, I’m an F1 fan – have been for decades. But rather than me being an easy sell, that actually makes me a tougher critic. If this movie botched what I know from watching motor racing, it would earn my wrath. Instead, this is a movie that does exactly what it sets out to do – no more, no less. Entertain. That’s it. It’s a movie to relax into, to eat popcorn, to admire how good Brad Pitt looks in his 60s, and enjoy the real stars of the show - the cars, and the racing. This is a summer movie. There should be more of these stand alone, enjoyment for enjoyment’s sake movies. If any critic or family member tells you the plot is cliched, or generic or whatever, you have my permission to tell them stop overthinking and being a Scrooge. Let us have our popcorn movies!
Sadie Dean, Script Editor-in-Chief
A lot of great films made the festival rounds, hit theaters and streaming services this year. These are the ones that stayed with me and left the greatest lasting impact on my viewing experience this year.
- Bugonia - Written by Will Tracy, helmed by auteur Yorgos Lanthimos. This was an edge of my seat watch in theaters. A tame Lanthimos behind the wheel, reminiscent of his earlier work like Dogtooth. I appreciated Tracy’s approach to this story, world and characters – and not being a direct lift or adaptation of the Korean film, Save the Green Planet! by Jang Joon Hwan. A great blending of tone meeting comedy, grief and alienation. And that ending for me was a chef’s kiss – it went there (IYKYK) – it’s ambiguous and lets us viewers really sit in the murkiness of being human and ask those big and smaller questions alike. This film also begs to be rewatched, and watched again… and why not, give it another viewing and see what else you can pick up.
- Hamnet - Written by Maggie O’Farrell and Chloé Zhao. This film emotionally destroyed me in a very unexpected way. Perhaps it’s because I’m a new parent, but I think even without that new title, I’d have a very similar visceral reaction. I originally went in blind to the film, having not read the book from which it was adapted from, written by O’Farrell (which I’ve heard from many friends it’s just as a devastating read). Zhao’s lens into this life of Shakespeare and his family, time period and shared grief is framed in such a way that you just can’t look away. Zhao’s attention to details are subtle, but speak volumes. Jessie Buckley and Jacobi Jupe both deliver one hell of a performance. This film easily would’ve been my number one - honestly, a near perfect film that should be rewatched numerous times for a variety of reasons - but I can only do one big E-ticket emotional rollercoaster a year. Read Sadie's interview with Maggie O’Farrell.
- Sorry, Baby - Written and directed by Eva Victor. This quiet indie-darling is another film that also spoke volumes to me. The opening shot is what initially won me over. An invitation to us viewers. As the chapters revealed Agnes’ (wonderfully played by Eva Victor) traumatic plight in this quiet cocoon she had built for herself, it became a deeper emotional watch. It’s definitely one of those films where you wish you had written it yourself. Read Sadie's interview with Eva Victor.
- Nouvelle Vague - Directed by Richard Linklater and written by Holly Gent and Vincent Palmo Jr., with additional adaptation work by Michèle Halberstadt and Laetitia Masson. This was quite a fun and enjoyable watch for me. It was whimsical tangled with this not taking it seriously hubris – very much like Godard (at least to me). As a fan of Linklater, you could see that he has mastered his craft and utilized his decades of indie filmmaking to pay homage to the very filmmakers and a genre that has shaped him as a storyteller. I highly recommend making this viewing a double header, watching Jean-Luc Godard’s Breathless immediately afterwards.
- Freaky Tales - Written and directed by Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck. This is my wild card pick. It had a little bit of everything storytelling wise, a killer soundtrack, a stacked cast of character actors, newcomers and a great cameo by an American treasure. Boden and Fleck's ability to seamlessly craft and interweave these four stories was absolutely fantastic and also... Sleepy Floyd played by Jay Ellis taking down a gang of skinheads - yes please! Read Sadie's interview with Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck.
What are your Top 5 Films of 2025? Let us know in the comments below.
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