MY BEST OF 2011

By: Daniel McCarthy

Creation.

Destruction.

Ground Rules:

1) UK Release Dates

2) Naturally I have not seen everything I would have liked to:

*Norwegian Wood
*A Separation
*Tyrannosaur
*Kill List
*Take Shelter
*George Harrison: Living In The Material World
*The Guard
*Beginners
*Pina
*Attack The Block
*Submarine

3) Runners Up:

*Armadillo
*Black Swan
*Essential Killing
*Hugo
*Jane Eyre
*Life In A Day
*Midnight In Paris
*Source Code
*Super 8

10) TRUE GRIT

The Coens take on the classic Charles Portis’ novel may not be the same league as revisionist westerns such as The Assassination Of Jesse James or even Unforgiven but it is nonetheless a terrifically well worn yarn, brilliantly made with the Coens own unique shot of wit and superb lead performance from Hailee Steinfeld.

9) TINKER, TAILOR, SOLDIER, SPY

Stepping out of the shadow of it’s formidable previous adaptations, Tomas Alfredson’s take on the Le Carré best seller can perhaps be best described as an anti-thriller. The sense of dank misery that runs of the screen is palatable with a remarkably subdued Gary Oldman the closest thing to a moral compass that we can follow. That it manages to encompass all of the novel’s major plot threads with such economic pacing is nothing short of remarkable.

8) SENNA

I don’t get sport and I certainly don’t get Formula One but I was still utterly captivated by Senna. Asif Kapadia approach is remarkable, the documented footage builds a fascinating narrative structure of rivalry that would seem cliche were it not real and offers an astonishing portrait of a brilliant if troubled individual. The climactic point of view shot is devastating.

7) 13 ASSASSINS

With Transformers 3 and Harry Potter 8 indulging in CGI heavy, headache inducing, prolonged action sequences it was a pleasure to have prolific Japanese master Takashi Miike show Hollywood how to do it. Steadily building tension with economic precision and commanding performances by Kōji Yakusho and Masachika Ichimura, Miike climaxes with a jaw dropping 45 minute battle between the title samurai and a private army that deserves to go down as one of the most audacious action scenes of recent years. There is even room for Miike’s bizarre and playful flights of fancy that make this thoroughly unpredictable ride.

6) THE SKIN I LIVE IN

Pedro Almodovar’s melodramatic body horror is driven by two great performances by Antonio Banderas and Elena Anaya as a deranged scientist and his guinea pig locked in a seductive battle of wills. The disconcertingly sexy tome continues through the dramatic narrative tones which would be unfair to dismiss as a ‘twist’. It is instead an elegant reveal that clicks perfectly into place within the context of the story and allows it to play through to it’s powerhouse finale. As fine as melodramatics can get.

5) CAVE OF FORGOTTEN DREAMS

Having dragged a steamer over a mountain, travelled to the furthest reaches of the Amazon and Antarctica acclaimed German filmmaker Werner Herzog goes into the depths of the Chauvet Cave in southern France to document not only it’s astounding geographical presence but also the oldest cave paintings known to man, perhaps they are the beginning of art itself. Shown in 3D at cinemas, I caught up with the film in 2D and was still floored by the beauty and skill with which Herzog examines these paintings as well as the brilliantly dry wit in his unmistakeable Bavarian drawl as he spends time with the familial team of scientists living in the shadow of the caves and simple yet deeply profound musings on the passing of time and the origins of these extraordinary drawings. When it comes to the vision of nature itself, Herzog is rarely topped.

4) WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN

Arguably the boldest novel adaptation of the year, British director Lynne Ramsey makes a stunning return to screens with a disorientating and devastating tale of a women living in the shadow of her monstrous son and terrible crime he has committed. Tilda Swinton is reliably brilliant conveying both the mother’s dawning horror at steadily disturbing events and the guilt that she feels for not showing the love she should have for the child. It’s a role that most actresses would have balked at yet Swinton plays it with such mesmerising confidence. As good as she is though the film arguably belongs to Ezra Miller as the teenage Kevin who beneath a seemingly innocent, sweet veneer chills to the very bone. Hopefully we won’t have to wait so long for Ramsey to release her next work.

3) MELANCHOLIA

It could have been overshadowed by director Lars Von Trier’s poor taste in humour at this year’s Cannes Film Festival but thankfully his intimate apocalyptic drama is strong enough to stand on its own feet as an astonishing singular vision of brilliance. Kirsten Dunst and Charlotte Gainsbourg are terrific as two frigid sisters both thrown together by a disastrous wedding and then the arrival of a rogue planet on a collision course with Earth. Filmed in a woozy, dream like palette with very deliberate framing and hauntingly beautiful compositions it takes the difficult subject of depression and manages extraordinarily to turn into a transcendent and oddly uplifting experience.

2) DRIVE

Roaring out of Cannes like the greatest Michael Mann film that Michael Mann never made, Nicolas Winding Refn’s sleek, blood splattered romantic fairytale captured the hearts of minds of critics and audiences alike. Ryan Gosling truly cements his star status with a near mute role as a stunt driver by day and getaway driver by night who goes up against the LA underworld (personified by a spectacular and unexpected villainous turn by Albert Brooks) when he falls for troubled Carey Mulligan. The two worlds of the story smack head into each other in a spectacular climactic scene in an elevator. The scenes of extreme violence could have been too alienating yet Refn directs with such flair and panache that nearly every scene makes you hairs stand on end. Throw in the best soundtrack of the year hands down and you have an instant cult classic. I walked out of it like I was walking on air.

1) THE TREE OF LIFE

Terrance Malick’s fifth and most ambitious feature to date, feels like something that we may never see again; a $30 million mainstream film that unashamedly confronts the meaning of life, the cruelty of death, the absence of faith and belief in the divine. Audiences today are so used to having narrative drip thread to them that the astonishingly loose and flowing construction of The Tree Of Life led to outright hostility from many critics and audience members. Despite my initial bewilderment at it through, it stayed with me through the months and on repeat viewings has grown into a profound and deeply moving work. Brad Pitt and Jessica Chastain are extraordinary as a married couple bestowing their differing views on life to their children. What follows is overwhelming vision of the minutia of family life compared with nothing less than the birth of life itself. For me The Tree Of Life does what cinema should do; it takes the most intimate, recognisable aspects we understand and contrasts them against something unfeasibly epic, powerful and ultimately incredibly moving.