 | By Calder McHugh | | 
A view of The Vista Theatre in Los Angeles during the LA premiere of 'The Brutalist' on Dec. 5. | Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP | NIGHTLY FLIX — There was more than enough to keep keen political observers entertained this year outside of the cinema. The election year shaped up as one for the ages, with assassination attempts, a calamitous presidential debate and a midstream switch of candidates that felt ripped from Hollywood. But beyond the campaign trail headlines, even the most voracious news consumers can sometimes use some alternative entertainment. Great art is not only a healthy supplement to the media diet, it can often unearth deeper or more interesting political truths of our era than the constant churn of news and reaction cycles. This year, no one film pierced through the national discourse like the dual slate of ‘Barbie’ and ‘Oppenheimer’ last year. And yet, looking under the hood at the year in movies reveals that once again, a slate of committed directors, writers, actors and other artists have made work that made all of us smarter about politics. Here is Nightly’s list of movies that said something new about our politics and values — and, of course, kept us entertained. The Brutalist: The 3.5 hour runtime, intermission and VistaVision format (a high resolution filmmaking format not used regularly since the mid-20th century) make this film sound like catnip for film nerds. But its ideas and scale place it much more naturally within the canon of popular American epics like ‘There Will Be Blood’ or ‘The Godfather: Part II.’And while it’s not as unimpeachable as those movies, ‘The Brutalist’ — which follows architect László Tóth (Adrien Brody) as he navigates life in mid-century America after surviving a concentration camp — asks big questions about the nature of immigration, belonging and trauma. Nickel Boys: RaMell Ross’ adaptation of Colson Whitehead’s 2019 novel The Nickel Boys is fairly faithful to the plot — following two young, Black boys (Ethan Herisse and Brandon Wilson) stuck in a reform school called Nickel, one of whom is there thanks to a racially motivated prosecution. The school itself is segregated as well, and functions in many ways as a telling of the story of Jim Crow era America in miniature. Ross adds fascinating, innovative filmmaking techniques onto the story, shooting it in first-person point of view, which makes the viewer feel even closer to the story. Anora: Sean Baker’s latest feature is held up by strong performances from Mikey Madison, who plays the titular Anora, and Mark Eydelshteyn, who serves as her love interest, Vanya. But it also has political elements that are large and small. Anora is a young sex worker who is taken on a wild romance by Vanya, the son of a Russian oligarch who’s doing his best not to go home and work for his family. It’s a merging of class that comes with disastrous consequences. In addition to those larger themes, though, the film is a picture perfect depiction of the Brighton Beach neighborhood of Brooklyn, an ethnic enclave that’s governed by its own social hierarchy. Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat: Premiering at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year, the documentary ‘Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat’ tells the story of the murder of Congolese leader Patrice Lumumba in 1961 and the subsequent decision by American musicians Abbey Lincoln and Max Roach to interrupt a UN Security Council meeting. It’s a Cold War-era film that depicts the ways in which the U.S. government used the cultural cache of jazz musicians to project an image abroad — even while plotting to assassinate Lumumba. Image versus reality, and how governments understand and use art to their own benefit, are important themes that run throughout this film, directed by Belgian filmmaker Johan Grimonprez. Hit Man: ‘Hit Man,’ despite its title, is among the lighter fare on this list. It follows an undercover police contractor (Glen Powell) who poses as a hit man in order to arrest people who are motivated to kill their enemies. Complicating the plot, Powell’s character Gary Johnson is also a college psychology professor by day who falls in love with one of the women who he’s supposed to arrest, Madison Figueroa Masters (Adria Arjona). Richard Linklater’s latest directorial effort includes significant themes of identity and ethics, and what it means to transform oneself, as we see Gary teach his students practical life lessons while also undergoing many of these questions himself during his side gig working for the cops. Conclave: Edward Berger’s film starring Ralph Fiennes, Stanley Tucci, John Lithgow, Sergio Castellitto and Isabella Rossellini is straightforwardly about an election. The pope is dead — who will take his place? There are factions, dirty backroom dealing and outside influence as the cardinals gather in Rome — meant to be among the most pious individuals in the world — and descend into petty gossip. If that’s not an obvious commentary on our political system in 2024, it’s hard to know what is. As an added bonus, there’s a cardinal who vapes. Dune: Part Two: In the same way ‘Conclave’ centers petty infighting, ‘Dune: Part Two’ is all about another important political phenomenon of our time: messianic worship. The first ‘Dune’ film introduces us to Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet) as a young, inexperienced boy with visions and power he doesn’t know how to harness. By the end of the second movie [spoilers ahead] , he’s transformed himself into a charismatic leader who is insistent he will free his followers — but also might plunge the universe into a disastrous war and famine. More than anything, the film is about the dangers of power — and what giving in to the instinct to control means. The Apprentice: ‘The Apprentice’ may have actually been too political for Hollywood. When Sebastian Stan, who plays a young Donald Trump in the film, was selected by Hollywood trade publication Variety to participate in their “Actors on Actors” series — in which often Oscar-contending actors interview one another about their performances on the year — he ran into a problem. No one wanted to participate alongside him, because they didn’t want to wade back into discussing Trump. The movie is not perfect, but Stan and Jeremy Strong (who plays Roy Cohn) deliver two of the best performances of the year. They’re each able to portray their difficult subject accurately without devolving into caricature, and thereby give us a better understanding of the origins of Trump the man. Sing Sing: ‘Sing Sing,’ which technically premiered at the Toronto Film Festival in 2023 but was released in the United States in July of this year, is based on the true story of the Rehabilitation Through the Arts program at the Sing Sing maximum security prison in upstate New York. Professional actor Colman Domingo anchors the project, but it also includes many performances from formerly incarcerated men who are alumni of the program — with a standout showing from Clarence “Divine Eye” Maclin. It asks questions that are central to art and politics in 2024 — how can art transform, what can it tell us about life and what can it mean to people who take on performance, even in the midst of harrowingly difficult conditions. Welcome to POLITICO Nightly. Reach out with news, tips and ideas at nightly@politico.com . Or contact tonight’s author at cmchugh@politico.com or on X (formerly known as Twitter) at @calder_mchugh . Programming note: Nightly will be off for the holidays between Dec. 25 and Jan. 3. We’ll return to your inboxes on Monday, Jan. 6. | |
| | You read POLITICO for trusted reporting. Now follow every twist of the lame duck session with Inside Congress . We track the committee meetings, hallway conversations, and leadership signals that show where crucial year-end deals are heading. Subscribe now . | | | | | | | — Bill Clinton discharged from hospital after being treated for the flu: Former President Bill Clinton was discharged from MedStar Georgetown University Hospital today after being treated for the flu. Clinton, 78, underwent a quadruple bypass surgery in 2005 and surgery for a partially collapsed lung in 2004. "R" VOTERS ARE TOO WILLING TO BELIEVE TRUMP LIES! UNDER PRESIDENT BIDEN, CRIME HAS DECREASED! THIS IS JUST ANOTHER TRUMP LIES! PRESIDENT BIDEN DID NOT RELEASE VIOLENT CRIMINALS - THEY ARE IN PRISON FOR LIFE - THE SENTENCES WERE COMMUTED!
COMMON DREAMS
TRUMP PRAISED PHILIPPINE'S MURDEROUS RULER, Rodrigo Duterte, WHO JUST SHOT POOR PEOPLE, NO PROOF, NO TRIAL, JUST SHOOT... The Sunday Story: Life in the Shadow of the Philippines' Drug War"They can just kill anyone."
Since 2016, thousands have been killed in the Philippines' war on drugs. The bloody campaign began under the Philippines' last president, Rodrigo Duterte, who said he would be "happy to slaughter" three million drug addicts in the country. When current president Ferdinand Marcos Jr. took office in 2022, he promised to end this spree of state-sanctioned killings of alleged drug users and sellers, and focus on rehabilitation instead.
In today's episode of The Sunday Story, NPR's Emily Feng travels to the Philippines to see what has come of Marcos' attempt to burnish the country's international reputation and to put an end to what most people in the Philippines now refer to as EJKs, or "extrajudicial killings." She found that the killings have continued. And she spoke to researchers, doctors, advocates, and victims' families to try to understand why.
— Trump says he plans to seek death penalty for violent offenders: President-elect Donald Trump is re-upping a campaign promise after President Joe Biden commuted the sentences of nearly every prisoner on the federal government’s death row. Trump said today he plans to direct the Justice Department to pursue the death penalty for violent offenders , a promise he made on the campaign trail if he won. Thirteen federal inmates were put to death during Trump’s first term. CORRUPT MENENDEZ COULD GET OFF FOR 2ND TIME! MUST READ! — Prosecutors’ evidence mistakes could let Menendez walk away from corruption charges: Five months after a jury convicted Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) of corruption-related charges that ended his political career, federal prosecutors have admitted to a series of errors that could upend the verdicts . The missteps have handed Menendez’s attorneys just the kind of opening they’d been looking for, and they have already requested a new trial. If they get their way, Menendez could beat federal charges once again — a remarkable prospect given the stash of gold bars and piles of cash used as evidence against him.
| | PRESIDENT MUSK! AVERTING A COSTLY SHUTDOWN DUE TO MUSK LUNACY! TRUMP SHUTDOWN GOVERNMENT 2018-2019. LET'S NOT REPEAT FAILURES! MUSK VS. WASHINGTON — For Congress — and the larger Washington government apparatus — the near government shutdown is a warning sign of things to come, of carefully laid plans being blown up by fiat of the world’s richest person. For Elon Musk, it’s just another day at the office. The billionaire tapped by Trump to co-chair the commission dubbed the “Department of Government Efficiency” (DOGE) embodies the Silicon Valley ethos of “move fast and break things,” more so even than Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, who made the motto famous in the first place. And Musk’s embrace of creative destruction and willingness to take enormous risks in the service of mission — as he has at various moments with SpaceX, Tesla and Twitter — is now ramming straight into a Washington culture that operates very differently. THANK YOU GOV. NEWSOM FOR WORKING TO PROTECT OUR NEIGHBORS & WORKERS FROM TRUMP'S IRRATIONAL PLANS! CALIFORNIA VS. TRUMP — California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration is drafting a potential plan to help undocumented immigrants who may be threatened by incoming President Donald Trump’s mass deportation threats, including resources to find legal aid. A draft of the plan obtained by POLITICO and titled “Immigrant Support Network Concept” proposes the “creation of an Immigrant Support Network comprised of regional ‘hubs’ to connect at-risk individuals, their families, and communities with community systems — such as legal services, schools, labor unions, local governments, etc.” The draft is sparse on details and notes that the plans are still under review, but it says the hubs could provide referrals to service providers, share “critical” information and collect details about community needs in order to coordinate policies statewide.
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People gather to lay flowers and light candles at the entrance of Johannis church near the Christmas Market in Magdeburg, Germany, where an attacker drove into a crowd on Friday evening, killing five. | Michael Probst/AP | FAR RIGHT GROUPS HAVE MOBILIZED ISLAMIC HATE, LIES & PROPAGANDA THAT CREATED THIS TRAGEDY, JUST AS THEY HAVE IN THE US! THESE HATE GROUPS DEPEND ON LIES & SHARING THEIR DISINFORMATION! IT'S TIME TO STOP BEING MANIPULATED BY LIES! MAGDEBURG FALLOUT — German leaders are coming under intense scrutiny for failing to prevent an attack on a Christmas market in Magdeburg last week after receiving several warnings about the suspect ― an anti-Islam activist who made little secret of his violent intentions in online posts. Investigations into the security failures are likely to haunt Germany’s governing parties for weeks ahead of a snap election set for Feb. 23 and could well fuel a general sense of mistrust and insecurity among voters, particularly as far-right groups rush to capitalize on the attack by depicting mainstream leaders as unable to protect Germans. In a bid to restore trust following the attack, German political leaders vowed to fully investigate the security lapses and enact new laws to strengthen police and bolster security after the tragedy that left five people dead. LAWMAKERS AND LAWBREAKERS — Westminster is the storied home of British lawmaking — and plenty of lawbreaking too. Beyond the U.K. parliament itself, the London borough boasts world-famous landmarks such as Westminster Abbey and Buckingham Palace. It’s the site of cherished theaters, vast public parks, glossy tourist attractions, and sturdy government offices dating right back to the days of the British Empire. But a borough well-used to the pomp and ceremony of a royal procession is also a crime hotspot. It faces the day-to-day grind of muggings, thefts, and street assaults — and the problem shows no signs of getting any better. “We’re a completely unique constituency in terms of policing,” said Rachel Blake, Labour MP for the Cities of London and Westminster. “We have a business, a visitor, and a residential population and community, which presents some pretty unique challenges for the police.” Official data show the London Borough of Westminster really is a lawbreaking magnet. Figures for the year ending June 2024 have the City of Westminster dubiously boasting London’s highest level of police recorded crime per 1,000 people for 10 out of 13 categories. That includes burglary, drugs, possession of weapons and public order offenses.
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| | | LIST OF LISTS — At the end of every year, writers and publications take great pains to curate their perfect year-end “best of” lists — of movies (as Nightly did above), TV shows, books, albums, songs, podcasts and even new consumer products released every year. And readers often enjoy them — or at the very least, they enjoy getting angry at what was snubbed and what shouldn’t be on them. Now, there’s an index where you can check out scores of those year-end, “best of” lists in a more curated fashion. Here’s the year-end list of lists, accessible at yearendlists.com .
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On this date in 1943: President Franklin Delano Roosevelt sits in front of microphones as he addresses the nation on Christmas Eve from the library of his estate in Hyde Park, N.Y. | AP | Did someone forward this email to you? Sign up here . | |
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