The Late Nite Picture Show team have voted for their 2025 Films of the Year.
As the year draws to a close, it’s a time of reflection, to look back at the year that has passed and to pass judgement on it. In film world that means compiling lists of the best and worst films of the year. While worst of lists feel a little mean spirited, and thus run the risk of getting us visited by three ghosts on Christmas Eve, we opt for the more positive. To look at the best of the year and to rejoice in them. From biting social satires to fantasy epics, low-fi dramas to big studio blockbusters, the year has offered viewers nothing but a visual feast, and an emotional journey for whatever film they chose to darken their cinema screen with. In that spirit, this is a list of the ten best films as voted for by all of Late Nite writers, and what they mean to us as viewers. Paul Klein
10 / Sentimental Value
We know Stellan Skarsgård as a father of successful actors, which may explain how he’s so good playing another actor’s father in Joachim Trier’s Cannes prizewinner. The Norwegian director follows The Worst Person In The World by reteaming with Renate Reinsve for another tale of self-loathing and personal reckoning. When Nora’s (Reinsve) estranged father (Skarsgård) offers her the lead role in his new film, she turns it down, forcing both parties to reconsider their relationship. Reinsve and Skarsgård are dynamite, and ably backed up by Elle Fanning and Inge Ibsdotter Lilleaas in supporting turns. Trier and co-writer Eskil Vogt deconstruct the artifice and memories of these middle-class lives with refreshing precision. A smart and soulful hug of a film. Philip Bagnall
09 / Blue Moon
This year saw Ethan Hawke and Richard Linklater reunite for Blue Moon, their first film in over a decade, following Boyhood. Set in 1943, Hawke plays lyricist Lorenz Hart. He battles his self-confidence and changing circumstances as his long term collaborator, Richard Rodgers, played by Andrew Scott, celebrates the opening night of his hit musical Oklahoma!. The whole film takes place in Sardi’s Bar accompanied by thoughtful piano pieces and Linklater’s usual witty, natural dialogue. We are a spectator to conversations full of overcompensation and discomfort from Hart, clearly struggling to accept the success found without him. His interactions with Elizabeth, played by Margaret Qualley and Eddie, played by Bobby Cannavale emphasise this need to impress.- Kody Mahoney
08 / Left-Handed Girl
Shih-Ching Tsou’s first solo feature Left-Handed Girl follows four generations of women in the same family. Co-written and produced by Sean Baker, the film is an intimate yet sweeping portrayal of mother-daughter relationships where each generation is forced to confront tradition – its expectations, consequences and victims – whilst navigating the feverish, saturated world of a Taipei night market.The Left-Handed Girl in question, six-year-old I-Jing (an outstanding Nina Ye), is the youngest (and funniest) of the family, as charming in her innocence as her listlessness. She is at the centre of a tale involving everything from meerkats to immigration fraud, where every iPhone-shot frame is imbued with a sense of life at its most visceral and profound. The result is as moving as it is amusing. Baneet Sarai
07 / The Ballad Of Wallis Island
Originally a short film, and has since developed into a feature film,The Ballad of Wallis Island has become one of the most delightful UK films of 2025. Charles Heath (Tim Key) comes into money after winning the lottery and wants nothing more than to host a big party on the island with one of his favourite musicians Herb McGwyer (Tom Basden). Many people may have pre-conceptions seeing Tim Key and Tom Basden’s names in this film, and of course it is inevitably very funny, but it also has heart which many might not expect. Nell Mortimer’s (Carey Mulligan) appearance on the island ultimately puts a spanner into the works, resulting in conversations that would have never happened otherwise. Since this is a film about music, the soundtrack throughout sung by Basden and Mulligan adds an authenticity to their performances unlike other films of this ilk. Sarah Williams
06 / Hamnet
Adapted from Maggie O’Farrell’s celebrated novel, Chloé Zhao’s Hamnet feels nothing short of magical. Though it leans more towards fiction than strict biography, the film beautifully captures the emotional landscape of Shakespeare (Paul Mescal) and his wife, Agnes (Jesse Buckley), in the aftermath of a profound tragedy. Zhao lingers on still, intimate details, revealing the couple’s quiet battle to make sense of what their family has lost. With their grief exposing the shifting bonds between them, demanding they reckon with both loss and love. What emerges is a portrait of a family trying to navigate through life again, reshaping their connections as they carry their grief forward. The film’s lyrical tone and emotional depth make it a haunting yet unforgettable experience. Rosie Bailey
05 / Frankenstein
Guillermo del Toro’s loving adaptation of Mary Shelley’s iconic novel is nothing short of a masterpiece. It’s no big surprise that del Toro brought everything in his arsenal to a story he’s been mulling over making for most of his career. What is surprising is that even with all the changes and tweaks, it feels like a film that could easily be within the pages of the Shelley novel. Gothic, and modern, del Toro crafts a tale of absent fathers and longing with a dash of the grotesque as only he can. All of this underlined by Oscar Isaac and Jacob Elordi’s soulful turns and underpinned by a masterful score by Alexandre Desplat make this a film for the ages. Paul Klein
04 / Bugonia
Cult darling turned big budget powerhouse, Bugonia director Yorgos Lanthimos tackles a remake of South Korean feature Save the Green Planet! (2003). It stars Jesse Plemons and Aidan Delbis as two conspiracy theorists who kidnap a CEO (frequent collaborator Emma Stone) believing her to be an alien. The film is distinctly character driven and is confined, crafting a claustrophobic battle of wits. The brilliance of Bugonia is in its toying with our expectations. It plays the audience like a fiddle, and its discussion of conspiracy, echo chambers and political implication adds a topical punch that encourages audience introspection – how do we ‘believe’ something? Darkly humorous with dashes of starkly distressing moments, Bugonia is a relevant rollercoaster ride from start to finish. Isabelle Cocozza
03 / Sorry, Baby
Eva Victor’s feature directorial debut Sorry, Baby, follows the friendship between Agnes and Lydie over various years from studying at college together to leading separate lives. Agnes is more recluse in that they have remained in their college shared house, whilst Lydie has moved to New York to find work and love. The themes in which Victor explores in their film, are handled so carefully yet still contain the emotional weight that will leave you feeling heavy for days. Nonetheless, those more intense moments are intercut with comedy and find the right balance to create levity as we all strive for in our own lives. Authentic and grounded performances from both Eva Victor and Naomi Ackie, allow us to attach ourselves to these characters and their world through their humanness. Sarah Willams
02 / One Battle After Another
Paul Thomas Anderson returns with the angriest mainstream American film in a long time. Leonardo DiCaprio’s washed-up left-wing agitator is thrown back into the fray when his old military nemesis (Sean Penn) comes after him and his daughter (Chase Infiniti). Its story of revolutionaries, military police and revenge features images and talking points ripped from the headlines, but at its core One Battle After Another is another Anderson tale of found family, and children paying for the sins of their fathers. It’s beautifully acted (DiCaprio and Penn are on top form), paced to perfection, and written and shot with the confidence of our greatest living filmmaker. Anderson has created yet another masterpiece. Philip Bagnall
01 / Sinners
Director Ryan Coogler, best known for franchise hits Creed and Black Panther came storming into 2025 with Sinners, starring Michael B Jordan in an electric Dead Ringers style performance as the bootlegging Smokestack twins. Returning to their 1930’s Mississippi hometown to start over, they open a new blues joint, until evil threatens their community. Alongside a phenomenal ensemble cast including Hailee Steinfeld, Wunmi Mosaku, and Jack O’Connell, Sinners is nail-biting, at times humorous, and always full of heart, while presenting a deeply nuanced exploration of racism, religion and the significance of music in cultural heritage. For horror fans, it serves a pleasant reminder that the vampire metaphor remains ever reinvented and relevant. Sinners was a smash hit that won’t be forgotten. Isabelle Cocozza
