The 10 Best Films of 2011

George Clooney in ‘The Descendants.’ Photo credit: Fox Searchlight 

It’s such a definitive title, isn’t it? And in that way, I have mislead you. I am in no shape to proclaim the 10 best films of 2011, because I missed a ton of likely contenders. On the other hand, for a married guy with a child, I gave it a valiant effort and still saw lots of movies, plus naming this post “my favorite films of 2011″ felt a bit too much like an entry in a twelve-year-old’s diary, so let’s roll with it, shall we?

10. Our Idiot Brother- Because this top 10 list is filled with serious and heavy films, I’m happy to include this lighthearted but touching look at a dysfunctional family that manages to keep functioning. Paul Rudd plays the idiot brother, and like always, does a great job. But the star of this movie is the strength of the supporting cast and the authentic family dynamic that the actors create. Check it out.

9. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo- Okay. I haven’t read the books, nor have I seen the original foreign language trilogy. I was warned about those, because if there’s two things I don’t do well with on screen, it’s rape and torture. This story has both, and more than once. Then came the dilemma- one of my very favorite directors (David Fincher) was at the helm of the American remake, and he’s someone who has proven himself to handle dark and disturbing subject matter with class and restraint. The same is true here. It’s a brutal film about men who are monsters, and may inspire some good conversation about the popular myth of redemptive violence and its prominence in cinema, but no one is seeing this for the morality or lack thereof. This movie belongs to four people in the following order: cinematographer Jeff Cronenweth (who makes every shot look like a painting), star Rooney Mara who is unrecognizable and incredible as the antihero Lisbeth Salandar, Fincher, and screenwriter Steven Zaillian (Schindler’s List). Do not wander into this film without investigating its content first. It’s not for everyone, and I would even go so far as to say viewing it will do more harm than good for some people. It’s one of those films where “know your limits” seems like good advice.

8. Win Win- The third film from actor/director Thomas McCarthy puts Paul Giamatti and Amy Ryan together as husband and wife, and that right there is reason enough to see it. Giamatti plays a wrestling coach in financial trouble (that he tries to keep away from his family). He takes a surprise athlete into his home which carries with it blessings and burdens. It’s a kind and honest film with a beautiful finish. Sometimes, the very thing we’re afraid of ends up being the best way through.

7. Drive- The opening sequence in ‘Drive’ is probably one of the best bits of cinema I’ve seen in a few years (along with Mission: Impossible 4′s skyscraper sequence in IMAX). The first half of this film feels heavily influenced by Michael Mann and the second half by Quentin Tarantino. Maybe that’s why I liked the first half so much more. What starts as a great piece of atmosphere devolves into a more typical (and overly violent) story. But there’s no denying the incredible direction and cinematography, soundtrack, and Ryan Gosling as one very cool (and mentally unstable) driver. If the film lingers in your mind long after it’s through for you as it did for me, you may just find it to be on your best-of list too.

6. The Company Men- No one saw Ben Affleck in The Company Men, which means everyone missed out. The film follows Affleck, Tommy Lee Jones, Craig T. Nelson and Chris Cooper as white-collar men coming to grips with unemployment, or for those who survive the layoffs (only one of them): upward mobility in isolation. Everyone is excellent here. It’s a really strong film that plays almost as a parable about the floor dropping out in life and the ways that grown men eventually learn to cope, or fail to. And it goes without saying that it’s timely, and will give you hope whether you’re employed or not.

5. Bill Cunningham New York- I am so glad that I get to include a film from my favorite genre. This documentary follows 80-year-old New York Times fashion photographer Bill Cunningham as he travels by bicycle around the city snapping images of everyday street fashion as well as runway events. Cunningham has been doing it for decades. He is an individual with such a passion for his work that you can’t help but be inspired after spending two hours with him. He lives in an apartment the size of a closet, surrounded by file cabinets filled with archives of his work, sleeps on a cot, and has always been single. If I remember correctly, he has no kitchen, and shares a public bathroom. That’s determination. But he’s not a cold-hearted recluse. His warmth and vitality will challenge you.

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Bill Cunningham. Photo Credit: Zeitgeist Films

4. Terri- The trap that many “indie” films fall into is a desire to be surprising even if it’s contrived. Terri skillfully avoids this. It follows an overweight and socially awkward high school boy as he tries to adapt to his difficult life both at school and at home. He is embraced by the assistant principle (played by John C. Reilly with the earnestness he brought to Paul Thomas Anderson’s ‘Magnolia’), and the two start to develop a rocky friendship. Every observation in ‘Terri’ feels authentic and illuminating, and the surprises are always believable in hindsight. For a small film, it’s remarkably moving.

3. The Descendants- I love George Clooney, because of his growth as an actor and because of the films he makes. And I love director Alexander Payne, who made the brilliant film ‘Sideways’ and the very great film ‘Election.’ It has been said of Payne that he focuses on men in the midst of crisis, and that is certainly true again here. From ‘Election’ to ‘About Schmidt’ to ‘Sideways’ and ‘The Descendants,’ Payne mixes crisis with infidelity (an important plot point in each of those films) and includes a knuckle-headed supporting character. So ‘The Descendants’ is familiar territory in a way. But the film is breezier than Payne’s previous films, and not as concerned with being funny. What is also new is that Clooney’s character turns out to be a truly decent person, unlike Payne’s previous protagonists who are all in varying stages of collapse. Yes, this is the most honorable man ever featured in a Payne film, but he’s far from perfect, and that’s what makes ‘The Descendants’ and Clooney’s performance so great, assisted by an unlikely supporting cast including Shailene Woodley who deserves an Oscar nomination for her performance as Clooney’s daughter.

2. Martha Marcy May Marlene- Remember the account of Jesus being tempted by Satan during those 40 days? Replace Jesus with a young, vulnerable woman, and change the story so that she gives in to the temptation. That will give you a feel of where you’re headed in the superb psychological drama/thriller ‘Martha Marcy May Marlene.’  A young woman (played by Elizabeth Olsen in a role also deserving an Oscar nomination) is led to a community of other young people who live on a farm, under the leadership of father figure John Hawkes. What’s great about ‘Marlene’ is the way the film draws you into this life along with the lead character. There is a seductive quality to this film, bolstered by Hawkes’ soon to be nominated performance. You find yourself justifying what they do even when it’s a bit weird (guitar playing in the barn, organic gardening , endless chores) until you learn what else they do. “Oh.” The community is a cult, and the woman eventually escapes, but only to an extent. While staying at her sister and brother in law’s vacation house with them, we see her haunted by the memories of what was done to her and what she was led to do. In one excruciating scene, Olsen’s character climbs onto the bed and curls up in a ball while her sister and brother in law are having sex. But the scene isn’t played for a cheap laugh, and it’s not meant to be titillating. This is the confusion of a traumatized young woman who has been used and abused by a predator. It’s a hell of a debut from writer/director Sean Durkin, and if I were to ever direct a Batman movie, the first thing I’d do is cast John Hawkes as The Joker. He’s terrifying, and even better here than he was in last year’s equally good ‘Winter’s Bone.’ Here’s the trailer:

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1. Moneyball- It’s not the most important movie of the year, just the best one all around, for me. It’s the second time in two years I’ve put a film with a script by Aaron Sorkin at the number one slot, and that’s not surprising. He finds ways to write memorable exchanges that aren’t obvious or grandiose. He creates movie moments by finding the truth in the story and the characters, not by constructing elaborate sequences. It’s a movie about a couple of guys who understand each other, and understand that, for them, there is a radically new and better way of doing things. It’s a movie about the inevitable pushback of going against the status quo. And it’s a movie about fathers and daughters, reminding us that daughters have a direct connection to their dad’s heart, no matter the season in life. Baseball is just the backdrop here, as one friend of mine said on Facebook, and he’s right about that.

**

As for a few of the films I have yet to see that I have either been told or have a hunch about: Warrior (sitting on our coffee table in the Netflix sleeve as I type), Margin Call, Werner Herzog’s documentary Into the Abyss, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Source Code, and a bunch of documentaries and foreign films including Iran filmmaker Asghar Farhadi’s ‘A Separation.’

What films stood above the rest in 2011 for you?