JOHN MAGARO

Destiny hangs over the characters of the “Sopranos” prequel “The Many Saints of Newark,” but none more so than its creator.

In cinema terms, 2020 is an asterisk year, at best. (After Vaccine), there was a choice selection of movies worthy of a Ten Best Films list — and, thankfully, one great film that, pandemic or no, seems to exist outside of time. To watch a trailer for "First Cow" click on the player below:"First Cow" was selected as the year's best film by the New York Film Critics Circle. He and Glynn Turman were named Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor by the Los Angeles Film Critics Association. "Wolfwalkers" was named the year's best animated feature by both the New York Film Critics Circle and the Los Angeles Film Critics Association.

This image released by Searchlight Pictures shows Frances McDormand in a scene from the film "Nomadland" by Chloe Zhao. Here are our picks for the best movies of 2020:JAKE COYLE1. “David Byrne’s American Utopia”: Spike Lee’s fiction films make more noise but he’s quietly one of the best documentary filmmakers we have. He may have made the best film of the year in his short film “New York, New York,” a tribute to an undefeatable pandemic-stricken city. It's also, with a glorious rendering of Harlem, one of the best New York movies in years.

This image released by A24 shows Orion Lee, left, and and John Magaro in a scene from "First Cow." Kelly Reichardt's film led all films in nominations for the 30th annual Gotham Awards with four nods, including best film, best screenplay, best actor for Magaro and breakthrough actor for Lee. The Gotham Awards, presented by the Independent Filmmaker Project, put forward five films, all directed by women, for best feature film, and a posthumous acting nod for Chadwick Boseman. Kelly Reichardt's “First Cow” led all films in nominations for the 30th annual Gotham Awards with four nods, including best film, best screenplay, best actor for John Magaro and breakthrough actor for Orion Lee. Alongside Boseman and Magaro, the acting nominees are: Riz Ahmed ("Sound of Metal"), Jude Law ("The Nest") and Jesse Plemons ("I'm Thinking of Ending Things").