Surprise, the Oscars are Still Irrelevant
I figured my favorite films of the year’d all get their share of nominations so I wouldn’t have to encourage anyone to go see them given the inevitable barrage of press and goodwill they’d receive in the wake of awards season.
It turns out almost none of them received any attention at all. So it’s with an ever dwindling amount of surprise that I give you:
My Top 10 of ‘11:
Beginners - At first I wrote this movie off as another entry into the pantheon of films about angst-ridden white people meandering through their late twenties. Then I realized it was by the guy who made Thumbsucker, which while being a movie about an angst-ridden white person for sure, also approached the topic with a unique sensitivity. Now it’s maybe my first pick for 2011. Mike Mills’ storytelling devices never lapse into aesthetic gimmickry, and what could have been two hours of unchecked self-pity turns into a story that rings improbably but entirely true.
Shame - Steve McQueen gives the most shit interviews ever. Which is such a pity (I almost said it), given that his is one of the more interesting directorial visions in operation today. His unflinching, often triaplegic camera’s lens rests once again on Michael Fassbender’s outrageously proportioned physique (I mean that as a total diagnosis, not just in reference to his Chief of Staff), though where Hunger’s protagonist used his body to send a message, Shame’s is unable to use his to communicate anything of value. It’s an uncomfortable ride made all the more so by how equanimous it is about the issue of sex addiction, and how often it presents you with opportunities to identify with a man falling apart. Take a look at the male audience members squirming in their seats for proof.
Pina - We knew it would take time before the popular resurgence of 3D cinema would be justified, and it’s finally happened. Send Avatar & Herzog’s stalagmite-encrusted echo chamber to the archive of Nice Tries; Wim Wenders’ love letter to Pina Bausch is the most restrained, thoughtfully composed, and dynamic 3D experience you’re likely to see this and probably the next 5 years (at least).
Jane Eyre - Cary Fukunaga renders himself a totally unpredictable filmmaker by following up the gritty Sin Nombre with this classic period drama. The gothic elements of the text have historically been omitted in TV/film adaptations to provide room for the developing romance, but he manages to inject the story with an appropriate amount of dread. Led by the unreasonably pale Mia Wasikowska (as well as a grumpy Fassbender), a story that’s tended to be all frill becomes significantly less frivolous. Also: shout out to Sally Hawkins, who’s never been bad in anything I’ve seen her in.
Tucker and Dale Vs. Evil - What Shaun of the Dead did for the zombie movie, TDVE does for a much more niche horror subgenre; that of the homicidal backwoods torture enthusiast chasing down a bunch of hapless, gorgeous undergrads in the forest. Tyler Labine and Alan Tudyk (as a pair of misunderstood and lovable hicks just trying to fix up their cabin) will make you pee yourself. Unlike most of the other entires on this list, this one’s on Netflix now, so do yourself a favor and watch it.
Submarine - Sally Hawkins is in this movie. Which, as I began to establish earlier, transitively means this is a good movie. But the teenage leads are the stars here, as two outcasts who know that they’re in love, but fumble with every component of what that means. It’s cute as hell.
50/50 - For a lot of very good reasons, Bridesmaids is getting a lot of critical and popular attention. But it didn’t prove anything that any of us non-neanderthals didn’t already know, i.e. that women can be really gross and funny, or that Kristen Wiig is a superstar. 50/50 involves much quieter characters, but in dealing with an inherently humor-neutering subject as intelligently and considerately as it does (cancer, if you’ve managed to hear nothing about the movie), it made for my favorite comedy of the year.
Take Shelter - I can understand prudish, crusty Academy members balking at the prospect of giving Michael Fassbender and his dong their ever relevant, taste-making blessing, but it’s near incomprehensible that they’ve collectively passed on Michael Shannon in this movie that nobody I know saw. I may have just answered my own question there. Watch this as a double-feature with…
Martha Marcy May Marlene - The Secret Olsen comes out of the woodwork and quietly devours another film about an undiagnosed paranoid schizophrenic (see one entry previous). By the end of the movie, the tiniest gestures, smallest noises, and most furtive glances will put you on edge right beside our tragic heroine - all the way through to the final shot.
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo - Lisbeth Salander is a tech-savvy, goth, female version Indiana Jones for the 21st century, trading the latter’s penchant for spelunking caverns for the depths of corrupt industrialists’ inboxes and (on a less appealing note) voodoo heart surgery for butt rape. Her character deserves a Hollywood budget, and here we have the story told in a scope it should have aimed for from the start (I say that as a huge Noomi Rapace fan). It actually snows in David Fincher’s Sweden, and hasn’t lost any of the original’s bite. Rooney Mara’s so good it’s scary. As is the soundtrack. I wish all blockbusters were this awesome.
Some Runners-Up:
The Artist - I loved this movie. Its thesis was identical to Hugo’s (“Cinema is magic”) without beating you over the head twice as often. Berenice Bejo is gorgeous. Dog sidekicks will never go out of style (at least not in any reality I want to be a part of). Still, at the end of the day, it works like a really good joke: you’ll always remember it, it was great the first time, and you feel little need to revisit it once it’s done.
Another Earth - Two months before Another Earth hit theaters, Brit Marling was, to this humble viewer, “Britta’s Ambiguous Lesbian Friend” (Community, please come back). Sundance’s Sloan Prize winners rarely disappoint, and this one brought the goods: sci-fi that doesn’t pretend to have epic ambitions but instead uses a straightforward footnote from your nearest quantum physics textbook to drive a complex, human drama. I can’t wait for her and her friends to make boatloads of money and come up with even weirder ideas for us to watch.
Buck - This one’s Netflix-able too - and maybe a little more socially redeeming than Tucker and Dale. Had Pina not affected me as much as it did, this would easily have been my favorite documentary of the year. Buck is living proof that exerting dominion over animals (that includes people, mind) will forever be an inferior strategy to showing them compassion. The results and the ease with which he handles his horses speak for themselves.
Win Win - I think I know what this movie’s problem is: its characters are so naturalistic, their interests so in line with what real people are into…that it comes off seeming as random as real life. Sure, people are into wrestling - doesn’t mean I have to be, right? Maybe not in this case. Paul Giamatti and Amy Ryan are great - as is the rest of the stellar ensemble - as your average Joe and Jane, trying to take whatever small victories they can in their calcifying middle-class lives. It could have been a sappy disaster. It may not seem relevant to you. Neither is true. Make like nobody did when it was in theaters and go see it.
Transformers 3: Dark of the Moon - It’s now a fact we can all walk away knowing: it costs almost 200 million dollars to put Michael Bay’s unfettered id up on screen. No matter what your opinions are with respect to this information, it makes for unbelievable entertainment. Though why he keeps insisting on undermining the films by involving humans is beyond me.
…& Entries I’m Sure Would Make This List if I Actually Went and Saw Them:
A Separation
We Need to Talk About Kevin
Once Upon a Time in Anatolia
Pariah
A Better Life
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All of the top 10 highest grossing films in 2011 were derivative of pre-existing franchises. This is what Hollywood has come to expect of you as a viewer. If you’re an adult and missed Beginners but saw Kung Fu Panda 2 in cinemas, you ought to chew over that for a good while.
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