Theres a lot of darkness on this list of 2011s top 10 films, what with alien invasions, psychological manipulation, cancer and war waged by both humans and wizards. Thank goodness theres a silent film and a movie about a horse (of course) to balance all the pessimism. Blame the economy, and until things improve, well always have Paris...
1. Drive
Ryan Gosling was everywhere this year, from the suave superplayer with the Dirty Dancing moves in Crazy Stupid Love to the disillusioned campaign aide in Ides of March. But nowhere was Goslings lethal acting prowess on better display than in Danish director Nicolas Winding Refns Drive, in which Gosling says more with a pregnant look than 10 pages of dialogue couldve communicated. He doesnt have a backstory, he doesnt even have a namehes just driver, stuntman/mechanic by day, who resists his criminal leanings until a beautiful neighbour (an equally flawless Carey Mulligan) and her son are put in harms way. Albert Brooks is especially fun to watch as a ruthless Mafioso. Its a bloodbath. But its beautiful.
2. The Artist
Its the silent film that has everybody talking. Writer-director Michel Hazanavicius sets a pitch-perfect mood in his film about the changing fortunes of silent film star George Valentin (Jean Dujardin) once talkies come onto the scene. The new technology makes room for up-and-comers like Peppy Miller (Berenice Bejo), who goes from extra to headliner in the blink of an eye. Music brilliantly sets the mood, and youll be amazed by how little you miss the chatter.
3. Martha Marcy May Marlene
Theres tension from the first frame of first-time writer-director Sean Durkins film, whose idyllic rural setting belies the masochistic goings-on at the hands of cult leader Patrick (Winters Bones John Hawkes). Martha (Elizabeth Olsen) escapes the farm and lands at her sister Lucys (Sarah Paulson) lake house. As Martha struggles to reintegrate into conventional society and Lucy tries to decipher the mystery of the past two years (shown to the audience in fitful flashbacks), the sense of menace multiplies. A subtle performance by Olsen (no longer known as younger sister to the twins) gives the film its devastating power.
4. 50/50
Funny movies about cancer are rare. But screenwriter Will Reiser, diagnosed with a spinal tumour at age 25, knows this stuff first-hand. He wrote the screenplay and recruited his buddy Seth Rogen to make sure the movie didnt suck. Rogen was Reisers roommate at the time of his diagnosis, and may or may not have been as obnoxious as Kyle, who reacts to his friend Wills (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) diagnosis by using it to pick up girls. Gordon-Levitt takes on a risky role, making every stage of the processfrom denial to acceptancecome to life. Its the best buddy movie of the year.
5. The Tree of Life
Yes, there is a dinosaur and some esoteric musings about the cosmos. But all the better to frame director Terrence Malicks story of how one little family fits into the universe. Brad Pitt, in one of two Oscar-worthy performances of 2011, is the taciturn father to Jack (shown grown as Sean Penn) who looks back on his childhood in 1950s Waco, Tex., on the anniversary of a family tragedy. There is scant dialogue, just luminous performances by Jessica Chastain and young Hunter McCracken, and once youre lulled into Malicks hypnotic rhythm, you wont want their story to end.
6. Midnight In Paris
Woody Allen was long overdue for a hit, and it came courtesy of Midnight in Paris, starring Owen Wilson (perfectly suited to Allens brand of hapless hero) as a man longing for an earlier era who wanders the streets of Paris after midnight and runs into his heroes of literature, Hemingway and the Fitzgeralds among them. The greatest cinematic paean to the city of lights in years, the film dispels the golden age myth, and is a thinking-persons celebration of creativity in every age.
7. War Horse
Already a hit on London and Broadways stages, Steven Spielbergs War Horse gallops onto the big screen and announces itself as the best family-friendly epic film in years, a history lesson, family drama and horsy love story all rolled into one grand-looking package. Bring your hankies, and check your cynicism at the door.
8. Super 8, Hugo, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (tie)
I know, a tie is cheating, but here are three films that deserve equal praise for catering expertly to children and adults alike, without pandering and poop jokes. In Super 8, producer Steven Spielberg and protégé J.J. Abrams didnt let an alien invasion and superlative visual effects get in the way of a coming-of-age story that packs an emotional wallop, while Martin Scorsese brought magic back to the multiplex with Hugo, his first 3D venture. And David Yates managed to satisfy just about every muggle out there with his swansong to the franchise-of-all-franchises.
9. The Trip
British actor Steve Coogan laments his lack of fame in America. He dreams about it (in a sequence featuring Ben Stiller), and he moans to his agent about it. The whole structure of The Trip, originally a BBC series, is built around this autobiographical whine. But what a trip: Michael Winterbottom turns the camera on Coogan and fellow Brit impressionist Rob Brydon as they journey the English countryside and sample upper-crust restaurants for a magazine spread. The men talk a lot of nonsense. They battle for who-can-do-the-best-impressions supremacy, guaranteeing that youll never hear Michael Caine the same way again. Very funny stuff, indeed.
10. Moneyball
Baseball can be pretty boring; baseball stats are most definitely snore-inducing. But here is Brad Pitt, giving us his second Oscar-worthy turn of the year, as Billy Beane, GM of the struggling Oakland As, who turns a geeky math theory into the driving recruiting mantra for the team. Its not all about batting average, its about getting on base, insists Yale grad Peter Brand (Jonah Hill). Dull on paper, the numbers game becomes sexy, witty and thrilling onscreen, thanks to screenwriters Steven Zaillian and Aaron Sorkin (The Social Network). A home run, whether youre a baseball fan or not.
