It’s honestly kind of difficult to pin down what 2008 was as
a year for cinema. I feel like wherever I look I find such a varied spectrum of
movies both in terms of genre and quality as virtually anything and everything
seemed to emerge over the course of 12 months, with nothing beyond limits and
with no regard to whether it was for better or worse. As ever there was a
healthy mix of both experience and newer filmmakers showcasing the best of
their talents, from the utterly provocative to the exquisitely crafted.
Though this was the last year in which the Academy only
nominated 5 movies for the Best Picture category in favour of increasing the
total number to 10 in order to honour more movies, the Oscar contenders were
still strong overall. ‘Slumdog Millionaire’
showed Danny Boyle at his most inspirational and crowd pleasing, to great
results. ‘Milk’ gave us a powerhouse
performance by Sean Penn that earned him the Academy Award for Best Actor,
whilst Kate Winslet was equally brilliant in the performance that earned her an
Oscar for ‘The Reader’.
But it’s not just the Oscar winners that are worthy of
praise. It may have been a little short changed at the awards circuit but Clint
Eastwood’s ‘Changeling’ allowed
Angelina Jolie to deliver a highly endearing performance in an already
fantastic film. But if that wasn’t enough Eastwood also managed to bring forth
another brilliant piece of cinema with ‘Gran
Tornino’ that same year. ‘Doubt’
also gave us a whole plethora of stunning performances as Meryl Streep, Amy
Adams, Philip Seymour Hoffman and Viola Davies all shine in the movie.
Any attempt I made to try and categorize these honourable
mentions has already deteriorated, which I guess goes to show the variety of
movies in 2008. There were terrific comedies in the form of ‘Burn After Reading’ and ‘Tropic Thunder’. Jon Favreau and Marvel
Studios delivered a hugely entertaining and well-made superhero film in the
form of ‘Iron Man’. But then on the
other end of the scale we had sobering documentaries like ‘Waltz With Bashir’ and ‘Dear
Zachary’, however there was still room for the truly inspirational as ‘Man on Wire’ proved. Then who could
forget ‘Bronson’.
Finally, I want to honour a movie that transcends almost
anything else on this list. Even if it’s ambition ultimately escapes its grasp
I think few filmmakers in their whole career could ever come close to the withering
heights that Charlie Kaufman achieved in his directorial debut ‘Synechdoche, New York’. A sprawling
epic character study about death, art and the longing of life, Kaufman’s film
is one that can be endlessly analysed and dissected. It’s a movie that
continues to grow on me with every re-watch, and therefore maybe after a
hundred viewings I’ll finally come close to scratching the surface of its genius.
For now it remains a distant and flawed entity for me, but one that’s
absolutely worthy of admiration.
10: Funny Games
Michael Haneke said of his original 1997 version of ‘Funny
Games’ that the films intended message (or part of it at least) was to
highlight the pointlessness of violence in the media, so what better way to
further reinforce that message than to remake the exact same movie ten years
later. There are some noticeable differences in that the cinematography is
vastly improved and with the talents of Tim Roth and Naomi Watts at hand, so
are the performances. But the central themes and messages of Haneke’s vision
remain intact, a movie intent on deconstructing its own genre whilst commenting
upon the larger role that genre plays in society. By switching to the English language
‘Funny Games’ comes even closer to blurring the lines between itself and its
intended subject, with Haneke’s cold and clinical visual delivering a taught,
highly intense and deeply visceral experience that will undoubtedly provoke a
lot of discussion.
9: Revolutionary
Road
It takes two actors of immeasurable talent to make me as
fully immersed and invested within an onscreen relationship as I was in ‘Revolutionary
Road’. It’s not just about making an audience believe that those characters are
real in the moment, it relies of them feeling fully realised and embodied, to
come across as real living entities that have a history together that goes far
beyond the mere parameters of a movie. That is precisely what Kate Winslet and
Leo DiCaprio achieve in this devastatingly brilliant drama that fully captures
the weighty ideas of the novel it is based upon. Sam Mendes was the perfect fit
to direct this story, as not only does it feel thematically reminiscent of ‘American
Beauty’ but his deft touch allows the actors to flourish even amid the lush
cinematography and lavish environment. It is both naturalistic and artful,
gripping yet melancholic and heart-breaking in the way it depicts characters
who can’t help hut betray themselves.
8: Rachel Getting
Married
There’s something so wonderfully authentic about Johnathan
Demme’s drama about a rehab patient being let out to attend the wedding of her
sister. Part of that is down to Demme’s fantastic direction which employs hand
held camera to a great extent, making the preparation to the titular event as
well as the big day itself almost feel like a well-produced home movie. There’s
a rawness to Demme’s visual approach that never fails to make the movie feel
utterly humane. The screenplay by Jenny Lumet is also fantastic, presenting
each character as a flawed but rounded individual, conveying the whole spectrum
of human emotions. Certain scenes in the movie find such joy in details as
small as loading a dishwasher, only to then deliver a gut punch and remind you
of the unbearable pain lying at the movie’s core. Anne Hathaway delivers a
stunning and endlessly endearing performance, a beautifully flawed but
wonderfully sympathetic character study to say the least.
7: Happy-Go-Lucky
Mike Leigh’s sweet comedy proves that a film need not be
downbeat to present us with high drama. ‘Happy-Go-Lucky’ may represent Leigh at
his most complex, as his protagonist navigates life in a series of joyful (as
well as a few not so joyful) encounters as her attitude is contrasted with that
of the world around her. There’s something inspirational and life affirming
about how Sally Hawkins infectiously happy Poppy goes about her daily business,
conveying a whole plethora of emotions from humour to heart break, and
undercurrents of oddness that tie it all together. None of these elements ever
feel at war with one another as Leigh’s screenplay perfectly integrates them
all. ‘Happy-Go-Lucky’ is a film that manages to be meaningful without ever insisting
upon itself. It is subtle enough to warrant a deeper reading but also entertaining
enough to be enjoyed on whatever level you feel best suits it.
6: Frost/Nixon
I think one of the best displays of how talented a director
really is, depends upon how they choose to shoot a simple conversation. On that
front Ron Howard has worked wonders with his historical drama ‘Frost/Nixon’. It
works as a brilliant character study of two very different men, each with
similar goals of seeking out what they believe is right through the art of
conversation. Howard is able to stage the famous interviews as a psychological
battleground and succeeds in making a question and answer session feel nail
bitingly suspenseful. Michael Sheen and Frank Langella are fantastic in their
respective roles, fully embodying each opposing figure in this conflict, with a
script that gives each of them plenty to work with. As the movie progresses we
grow to understand just how much each man has stakes in this seemingly simple
TV interview, and to see their interactions restaged in this dramatic form is
absolutely fascinating.
5: Hunger
There’s an unconventional rawness to Steve McQueen’s recount
of this tumultuous chapter in British/Irish relations. I think it’s inaccurate
to say this movie is about the hunger strike of Bobby Sands because although
that is featured within the movie, it’s just part of its broader portrait. It
tells a story about the inhumanity on both sides of this conflict, without ever
seeking to pass judgement on which side is in the right. We see law officers
gunned down, prisoners beaten and living under inhuman conditions and a
portrayal of Sand’s death that is not heroic but drawn out and painfully long
in its suffering. McQueen’s craftsmanship is impeccable, somehow striking an
excellent balance of being distant and restrained but also highly involving and
humanistic. Michael Fassbender delivers a fantastic performance, as does Liam
Cunningham, particularly in a scene where the two actors go face to face in a
conversation shot in a single long take over 17 minutes. It’s a film far more
concerned with the personal that the political.
4: In Bruges
There’s a lot about Martin McDonagh’s writing that feels reminiscent
of Quentin Tarantino’s best work. He takes despicable characters and endears us
to them with their cleverness and humanity. There’s an inner darkness to the
comedy of ‘In Bruges’ that sounds as if it would never work as a concept, and
yet McDonagh’s writing defies all preconceptions as he endows his characters
with such depth and complexity. There’s such an inner and profound pain to
their struggle and those flaws are exactly what makes their plight so empathetic.
McDonagh is also lucky in that his dialogue has been put in the hands of actors
who can convey its meaning perfectly, with Colin Farrell delivering a subtly
masterful performance alongside Brendan Gleeson and the scenery chewing Ralph
Fiennes. It’s a movie in which very little seems to happen in a broad sense, and
yet so much is discovered and explored through this finny, dark and humanistic
masterwork.
3: The Wrestler
Looking at his past filmography, ‘The Wrestler’ seems like
an odd fit for Darren Aronofsky. His films that are about the existential
weight of life and the inevitable suffering the goes with it (fun stuff) is starkly
contrasted by the flamboyant world of professional wrestling. But therein lies
part of the brilliance of this movie. He seems to approach the subject from an
outside perspective and yet fully captures the passion and euphoria each
character expresses for their own self defined life purpose. His protagonist in
‘The Wrestler’ continues to cling to his wrestling career in an effort to
reclaim his heyday, despite his failing health. It’s a role that allows Mickey
Rourke to deliver the best performance of his career, as well as the best
performance of the whole year. He carries such an sense of world weariness
mixed with an unyielding passion that makes his character utterly endearing.
Beneath its flashy exterior ‘The Wrestler’ is one of the most beautiful and
intimate portraits of a man’s internal paradox ever committed to film.
2: The Dark Knight
When a movie comes along that not only transcends its genre,
but manages to elevate its source and instil new meaning into a figure so
deeply rooted in the public consciousness, well then basically you have Christopher
Nolan’s ‘The Dark Knight’. Redefining the superhero mythos is no easy feat, and
yet Nolan does just that with a movie that could sooner be categorized as a
crime drama than a comic book movie. ‘The
Dark Knight’ takes the Batman mythos and uses it to tell a story of Shakespearean
tragedy concerning the cost of heroism, the sacrifices made in its name and the
corruption that seeks to consume those heroes. Nolan directs with a masterful
touch, rarely putting a foot wrong in how he stages and executes each unfolding
set piece, making each one as involving and as invigorating as the last. The
soundtrack by Hans Zimmer is nothing short of mesmerising. It’s all-star cast
that includes Christian Bale, Gary Oldman, Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman,
Maggie Gyllenhaal and Aaron Eckhart are all fantastic. But we all know who the
real standout is. Heath Ledger’s performance as The Joker is rightfully iconic.
It’s intimidating and visceral, theatrical yet masterfully subtle and has
cemented itself as one of the best antagonists in cinema history.
1: Let the Right
One In
There are certain movies that are so good that they almost
seem to exist as a paradox. How can a single film be so chillingly visceral and
yet so heart warningly intimate as Tomas Alfredson’s artfully rendered horror
classic. 90 years after FW Murnau originally sparked cinema’s obsession with
vampires, Alfredson takes the mythos and reinvigorates it in a way that no
other filmmaker has before. It’s ironic that a movie about vampires ends up
being the most deeply human film of the year, one that tells a compelling story
of innocence, isolation and friendship better than most films in recent memory.
It’s a gotic romance, a twisted coming of age tale, but still very much a
horror movie at heart. Alfredson employs great restraint when it comes to the violence
of this story as it clearly is the aspect he’s least interested in, but that
approach does nothing to lessen the chilling nature of the violence when it occurs.
It’s beautiful to behold both on a visual and emotional level as it distils centuries
of mythology down to a simple childhood romance, but integrates the two in
order to make each aspect feel completely immersive and fulfilling. Its
characters are fully realised, its vision unflinching and its message so moving
that it has to be my favourite film of 2008.
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