Top Ten Films 2011

1)      The Tree of Life ****

I believe that The Tree of Life will be remembered alongside 2001: A Space Odyssey as movies that tested the limits of cinema. The first two times I explored The Tree of Life, a movie that links Terrence Malik’s youth, with a distraught man in the present, and the creation of the universe, I focused entirely on the technical and the visual which are extraordinary, but, it wasn’t until I let go of the intellectual and became immersed in the emotion of what Malik puts on screen that I realized how deeply I love this film. A film about the debate between grace and nature, how a child’s mind creates the world around him, about transgressing boundaries, the inability to let go of guilt in our past, and so much more.

2)      We Need to Talk About Kevin ****

The most haunting film in recent memory, Tilda Swinton must deal with questions that no parent should contemplate… am I responsible for my child’s monstrous actions? Similar to The Tree of Life in that it asks the questions of nature versus nurture, We Need to Talk about Kevin demonstrates how a child and parenting can go so wrong. With all of the school violence in our society, this film is the movie I’ve been waiting for; one that careful explores and asks the hard questions about what is happening to our youth.

3)      Midnight in Paris ****

Woody Allen’s ode to literature is a tour-de-force contemplating the notion that every generation pines for the glory of the past only to ignore the brilliance and possibilities of the present. Owen Wilson’s American writer in Paris, madly in love with the gorgeous Rachel McAdams (who isn’t?), learns this lesson with a little help from some of his literary mentors. A truly magical film.

4)      Hugo ****

It would take a genius like Scorsese to make 3-D finally work. A story that couldn’t be further from Scorsese’s usual subjects of violence and isolation, Hugo, his first family film, is ironically the movie closest to his heart. Hugo is about a boy trying to solve the mystery his deceased father left him, but in reality, this is a movie about the magic of filmmaking and how films are made of dreams. 

5)      Tinker Tailor Solider Spy ****

Based on the famous incident of a mole in the inner circle of British Intelligence, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy is a labyrinth of memories which Gary Oldman’s spy, Smiley, is brought out of forced retirement to unravel. An incredibly suspenseful film from the master who brought us Let the Right One in.

6)      The Artist ****

The amazing thing about The Artist is that it could be mistaken for a film made in 1927. The technical elements, production design, score, everything seems out of a time capsule. But perhaps the most impressive element of The Artist is that it evokes a simpler time without the modern cynical sensibility which gives The Artist through its tongue-and-cheek comedy an authenticity and genuineness that is missed far too often.

7)      The Guard *** ½

Martin McDonagh may be the best modern playwright, however with The Guard we discover that writing talent runs in the family. This is his older brother, John Michael’s, first film.  Brendan Gleeson plays a Guard (or cop) in the small village of Connemara who may be insanely naïve and racist or may be one of the smartest cops out there. He and Don Cheadle, in a very unexpected performance, make the perfect odd couple to bring down British drug dealers in Ireland.

8)      Trust *** ½

Let me start with this confession: I don’t like David Schwimmer as an artist. I don’t think he can act whether on TV (Friends) or in movies (Kissing a Fool), but his instincts as a director are spot on in Trust a movie about the very difficult subject of online predators. But not to confuse this movie with an episode of To Catch a Predator, Trust deals fascinatingly with the fallout from such an attack and the stigma attached to the young woman who is the victim. While dealing with repercussions of an encounter with an online predator, society, her friends and even her parents’ victimize her yet again. 

9)      Drive *** ½

So rare that I get to put an action film on my top ten, but Drive evokes the great 70’s action films (French Connection, Bullet) with incredible performances by Ryan Gosling and Albert Brooks and a Hitchcockian plot and style that keeps the audience on the edge of their seat. Perhaps the most entertaining movie of 2011.

10)   Bill Cunningham New York *** ½

It is a rare gift to discover what you love, even rarer to be able to pursue it with all your passion, and still rarer to be able to make a living doing it. Bill Cunningham is a photographer of fashion, not like the paparazzi, but someone genuinely interested in what people chose to wear. In the 80th year of his life, he still does what he loves and this film somehow manages to capture and express that to us so that people like myself who do not care about fashion in the least bit can share in Bill’s love.

Runners up (alphabetically): Beginners ***;  Cave of Forgotten Dreams *** ½; A Dangerous Method *** ½;  The Descendants *** ½; The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo *** ½; Into the Abyss *** ½; Margin Call *** ½; Melancholia ***; The Mill and the Cross *** ½; Moneyball *** ½; Shame ***½; The Trip *** ½

Best Actor: Gary Oldman, Tinker Tailor Solider Spy

Runner Up: Michael Fassbinder, Shame and Jean Dujardin, The Artist

Best Actress: Tilda Swinton, We Need to Talk About Kevin

Runner Up: Juliette Binoche, Certified Copy

Best Supporting Actor: Albert Brooks, Drive

Runner Up: Ezra Miller, We Need To Talk About Kevin

Best Supporting Actress: Shailene Woodley, The Descendants

Runner Up: Carey Mulligan, Shame

Best Cinematography: Emmanuel Lubezki, The Tree of Life

Runner Up: Hoyte Van Hoytema, Tinker Tailor Solider Spy

Best Score: Ludovic Boruce, The Artist

Runner Up:  Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

Best Animated Film: NONE THIS YEAR! I refuse to give it when my only choice is Rango which is a fun and well-made film but not deserving of an award given to Toy Story 3 last year.

Best Documentary: Richard Press, Bill Cunningham New York

Runner Up: Warner Herzog, Cave of Forgotten Dreams

Best Original Screenplay: Woody Allen, Midnight in Paris

Runner Up: John Michael McDonagh, The Guard

Best Adapted Screenplay: Steven Zaillain and Aaron Sorkin, Moneyball

Runner Up: Alexander Payne, Natt Faxon, and Jim Rash, The Descendants

Best Director: Terrence Malik, The Tree of Life

Runner Up: Martin Scorsese, Hugo

Best Independent Film: Trust by David Schwimmer

Worst Film of the Year: J. Edgar by Clint Eastwood

As always, link to Groucho reviews top ten: http://www.grouchoreviews.com/features/246