Never Rarely Sometimes Always

Stories such as the one conveyed in “Never” are often done in an over-the-top fashion, but much of “Rarely”’s merit comes from how it communicates that it is ordinary. Autumn is an ordinary kid, and what she does and what happens to her avoids spilling into easy melodrama. “Sometimes”’s power, then, comes from how much of it is framed, trusting us to parse meaning from a POV glance while avoiding the scene that spells out the text in rote detail. It also helps that “Always” hosts one of the most wrenching scenes of the decade. I might be underrating this.

9