2019 proved to be an outstanding year for cinema worldwide. Mega-blockbusters such as Avengers: Endgame and Joker dominated box offices, while romantic comedies and comedies enjoyed renewed popularity across both streaming platforms and theatrical release. Established filmmakers—Martin Scorsese and Noah Baumbach among them—took creative risks with projects on streaming services, while emerging directors like Greta Gerwig and Olivia Wilde delivered successful theatrical films. International cinema thrived too: European, Asian, African, and South American filmmakers made significant contributions, with films such as Pain & Glory, Parasite, and Atlantics earning global recognition. China further asserted its influence in the global marketplace, strengthening its role in co-productions and box office impact.
As the year closes and industry chatter settles, what endures is the artistry on screen. 2019 offered an abundance of distinctive auteurs, standout performances, and high-quality genre films. The following list highlights the ten best releases on the UK cinema schedule in 2019—films that resonated critically and culturally and that are likely to be discussed for years to come. Note: because this list is framed around UK release dates, a few notable titles (including Portrait of a Lady on Fire, Jojo Rabbit, Parasite, Uncut Gems, and The Lighthouse) are not included here despite their acclaim.
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10. Capernaum
Nadine Labaki’s hybrid of documentary realism and narrative drama, Capernaum, remains one of 2019’s most affecting films. The story follows a twelve-year-old Lebanese boy, played with raw truth by Zain Al Rafeea, who escapes a violent, neglectful home in search of dignity and justice.
Labaki stages the film with restraint and compassion, conveying the daily realities and systemic injustices faced by marginalized families in Beirut without turning their lives into spectacle. The film’s emotional weight is earned: it layers personal struggle with political and social allegory, producing a cinematic experience that is both heartbreaking and profoundly humane.
9. Sorry We Missed You
Sorry We Missed You (2019) Review
Ken Loach returned to the issues that have defined much of his career, delivering a powerful portrait of working-class struggle in Sorry We Missed You. Focusing on the gig economy and the pressures placed on families by modern labor practices, the film interrogates policies and corporate structures that erode workers’ rights.
Loach’s strength lies in building empathy through fully realized characters and intimate, human moments. Using mostly non-famous actors, he crafts scenes that land with devastating emotional clarity. The film feels less like a polemic and more like a lived experience—deeply moving, often infuriating, and entirely relatable.
Recommended: I, Daniel Blake (2016)
8. For Sama
For Sama is an exceptionally intimate and harrowing documentary filmed during the siege of Aleppo. Waad Al-Kateab chronicles her life and survival during the Syrian conflict, addressing the film to her daughter. The result is a visceral portrait of love, courage, and endurance in the face of relentless violence.
Shot with immediacy and personal conviction, the film balances ordinary human moments—family meals, births, and small comforts—with the extraordinary cruelty of war. Its emotional honesty and political urgency make it essential viewing: documentary filmmaking at its most humane and necessary.
7. If Beale Street Could Talk
Barry Jenkins adapted James Baldwin’s novel with delicate lyricism in If Beale Street Could Talk, a film that combines political urgency with a lush, emotionally truthful romance. Centered on a young Black couple torn apart by a wrongful arrest, Jenkins foregrounds love and resilience amid injustice.
The film’s evocative score and carefully crafted visuals create a poetic atmosphere that deepens the characters’ emotional journeys. Jenkins chooses tenderness as his primary weapon, resulting in a work that lingers long after the credits roll.
6. The Favourite
The Favourite (2019) Review
Yorgos Lanthimos blended dark comedy and period drama to striking effect in The Favourite. The film’s bold visual language—creative lenses, expressive lighting, and eccentric production design—supports a sharp satirical take on courtly power dynamics.
Olivia Colman anchors the film with a remarkable, vulnerable performance as Queen Anne, while Emma Stone and Rachel Weisz deliver magnetic supporting turns. Technically adventurous and emotionally resonant, the film reinvigorated the costume drama for contemporary audiences.
5. Midsommar
Midsommar (2019) Review
Ari Aster’s Midsommar followed his breakout success to deliver a uniquely unsettling horror film set largely in daylight. The movie combines folk horror imagery with intense psychological drama, exploring grief, relationships, and cultural dislocation.
Florence Pugh gives a commanding performance, and the film’s deliberate pacing and symbolic layers reward close attention. Midsommar is provocative, beautiful, and deeply unnerving—a modern horror milestone that will be discussed and dissected for years.
Recommended: Hereditary (2018)
4. Marriage Story
Marriage Story (2019) Review
Noah Baumbach’s Marriage Story is a sharp, empathetic study of love, separation, and the legal and emotional mechanics of divorce. Anchored by powerful performances from Scarlett Johansson and Adam Driver, the film moves between bitter conflict and tender memory with an unexpectedly humane perspective.
Baumbach balances humor and heartbreak, supported by a thoughtful score and precise editing. The result is a contemporary relationship drama that feels both intimate and universal—one of Baumbach’s finest achievements.
Honourable mentions: A Hidden Life, High Life, Hustlers, Monos, Wild Rose
3. Little Women
Little Women (2019) Review
Greta Gerwig’s adaptation of Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women refreshes a beloved classic with warmth, intelligence, and emotional clarity. Gerwig reorders elements of the story to emphasize the sisters’ agency and creative ambitions, while preserving the novel’s core themes of family and personal growth.
The ensemble cast, including strong turns from Saoirse Ronan and Florence Pugh, brings distinct depth to each sister, and Gerwig’s direction highlights both the small domestic details and the broader social currents shaping their lives. The film is heartfelt, energetic, and profoundly human.
Recommended: Little Women (1994 retrospective)
2. The Irishman
The Irishman (2019) Review
Martin Scorsese’s The Irishman is a long, reflective epic that revisits the director’s lifelong themes: loyalty, power, and regret. The film charts a decades-spanning story with virtuoso performances from Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci, and Al Pacino, and it uses de-ageing technology sparingly and effectively.
More than a conventional gangster saga, the film is a meditation on aging and the consequences of a violent life. Scorsese’s control of tone and narrative breadth makes The Irishman a major cinematic event—one that reads like both a summation and a farewell.
1. The Souvenir
The Souvenir (2019) Review
At the top of this list is Joanna Hogg’s The Souvenir, an intimate, self-reflective drama about a young film student navigating love, ambition, and heartache. The film plays like a personal essay in motion—subtle, observational, and richly textured.
Hogg’s formal discipline—grainy cinematography, measured editing, and precise performances—creates an immersive mood that invites viewers into the protagonist’s interior life. The largely unknown cast brings authenticity and depth, underscoring how courageous casting choices can yield unexpectedly powerful results. The Souvenir is quietly devastating, poetic, and one of the most accomplished films of 2019.
Recommended reading: Editor’s selections for best films of the previous year
What do you think of this list of the best films in the 2019 UK release schedule? Would you reorder these entries or add other titles? Share your thoughts and join the conversation about cinema’s highlights from that year.