Do you hear that? Can you feel it underneath your seat? 2021 finally gave us the chance to return to cinemas, that rare gift where a handful of carefully curated trailers whets our appetites for the year ahead—without having to desperately refresh browser windows with a looming sense of dread with no end in sight.
READ MORE: The Best Film Posters Of 2021
That’s not to say we’re completely out of the woods, but it’s certainly offered a new sense of gratitude for the very best trailers of the year as we’ve been able to appreciate them the way they should be: big, loud, full of hope and optimism for the wondrous selection of movies this year and the next will have to offer us—wherever we watch them.
“Licorice Pizza”
The first glimpse of Paul Thomas Anderson’s blissful valentine to the San Fernando Valley was teased in a small handful of cinemas around the world, building anticipation and then crashing into focus all at once—as the revered filmmaker has always done with his work. Who cares about drip-feeding when you have so much love to share with the world? Alana Haim lights up the screen opposite Philip Seymour Hoffman’s son, Cooper Hoffman, both actors making their debuts. We focus on their faces as they circle each other like two magnets destined to be together. You could say that David Bowie’s “Life on Mars” has been more than overused at this point, but somehow the nods to “the girl with the mousy hair” find new joy here. It’s an open-hearted supercut, something of a high school yearbook paying tribute to the very best moments of the summer that changed everything.
“Titane”
The devil’s in the detail in Julia Ducournau’s dirty masterpiece, “Titane.” The trailer gives us snatches of pain and pleasure that give focus to tactile sensations: the softness of skin, the cold inertia of metal. And then, like the film, it shifts and sways when The Zombies’ “She’s Not There” comes in. The whiplash is severe and dumbfounding, as it is in a film full of surprises – setting your soul on fire one second, making sure to tenderly kiss it better in the next. It ends with a crash, where the film starts with one: there’s still little in the way of plot reveals and it’s best kept that way, for one of the most baffling and brilliant movies to have premiered this year.
“Zola”
Is it a fairytale? Is it real? Is any of this happening? The long story full of suspense told by Zola on Twitter is full of twists and turns as a trip to Florida reveals more than you’ve ever wanted to know about “money, titties, bitches” and so much more. The trailer could have easily leaned on clichés in terms of the way social media can be portrayed on film, but Janicza Bravo keeps the stakes high and the tone sharp with a smash-cut of every increasingly ridiculous thing Riley Keough’s xyz says, opposite Taylour Paige’s revelatory performance. “This is messy, you are messy! Your brain is broke!” If your brain isn’t already, the wild ride of “Zola,” with Colman Domingo’s cackle and endless gunshots – and let’s not forget Nicholas Braun’s bumbling “shmoney-making” turn – will certainly get you there. If nothing else – watch it for the wild “sis,” for one of the greatest line deliveries we’ve ever been blessed with.
“Last Night in Soho”
A precise, stylish cover does a lot of legwork to elevate a trailer, but to have one of your starring actors performing it adds a whole other level. Anya Taylor-Joy takes on swinging ‘60s classic ‘Downtown’ to soundtrack a smash-cut of moments both horrifying and elegant in the trailer for Edgar Wright’s new film. “Do you believe in ghosts?” is the only question we’re asked, glamorous frames of a Soho of yesteryear and terrifying giallo-inspired nightmares sitting side by side. Wright is a master of design, if nothing else – and so immaculate choreography and Hitchcockian pacing elevate this one beyond the stuff of dreams.
“Spencer”
The last time the Scala choir graced us with a cover of an alt-rock classic, we were blessed with their take on Radiohead’s ‘Creep’ to soundtrack the trailer of “The Social Network.” Their impact is even more spellbinding when illustrating Pablo Larraín’s melodramatic portrait of the world’s most beloved royal, Diana Spencer. The trailer sways from mania and panic to tenderness, maintaining an elegance throughout as Diana unravels within the walls that demand she stays whole. Food and fashion haunt her like demons, as candlelit dinners almost burn with the threat of her destruction. Cameras flash and her gaze constantly looks for the ground – yet the trailer for this one keeps our spirits soaring.
“The Harder They Fall“
This fall, we ride. And how couldn’t we with a film produced and soundtracked by none other than Shawn Carter himself (who you might know better as Jay-Z) alongside his longtime friend, Jeymes Samuel, making his feature debut as a director on “The Harder They Fall.” We ride with dynamic cuts (you can feel Quentin Tarantino’s influence all over this love letter to those kinds of action movies) and one of the slickest, most exciting soundtracks of the year. It’s the least they can do for such a cast: Regina King dominates the first teaser with looks that could kill, while Idris Elba clearly welcomes a new venture out West. One to watch loud.
“West Side Story“
What do you do when trying to tease a musical with some of the best songs ever written for film? You make the bold decision to let a whistle set the tone of the trailer. Familiar faces and standout newcomers dance and fight and fall for one another in 1957 New York City, as Steven Spielberg’s new take on the classic musical is introduced to the world via pristine frames of the colorful lives of the Jets and the Sharks in motion. There is, of course, one familiar melody, as Valentina almost whispers the iconic opening to ‘Somewhere’ – saving the ultimate catharsis of the power ballad for the moment right after you’ve bought your tickets.
“The Matrix Resurrections“
There is almost too much to love in the high-octane, action-packed trailer for “The Matrix Resurrections.” It’s not as if Lana Wachowski would ever dare give us anything less, but the greatest hits of gravity- and reality-defying stunts are really given an operatic facelift in the explosive teaser. As ever, the soundtrack is key: a new take on Jefferson Airplane’s ‘White Rabbit’ perfectly fits the bill here. “One pill makes you larger / one pill makes you small / And the ones that mother gives you / Don’t do anything at all,” they warn. Which one will you take? What’s next for Keanu Reeves’ Neo? The teaser finds rare success in offering a stream of gripping twists without really revealing anything about the plot at all. The only thing that’s sure, as Jonathan Groff calmly tells us without breaking character yet fully leaning into the fan service of it all? It’s time to go back to the Matrix.