Pictures: My Top Dozen Favourite 2011 Films

So here it is, finally. My top dozen favourites of 2011. I wanted to dedicate a post to each of the films and write about them in detail, but this has taken long enough (3 months!) and school work never seems to be over. I’ll just go ahead with a small list for now, and hopefully in the future, I’ll get to give some space to each of them separately.

Though I’d like to think that I have a pretty good taste and my favourite film equates the best film, I’m not confident enough in my academic knowledge of cinema to claim such a thing – and generally, I don’t think anyone should be. So what I’ve written here is a list of my favourite films of 2011. A film like Terrence Malick’s Tree of Life, which I respect much more than I love, couldn’t find a place here, for example, because having seen it twice now and despite absolutely,wholeheartedly being floored by its central performance, I can’t say the film as a whole touches me in any way.

There are a few titles I wish I hadn’t missed but as I said, it’s already late March and definitely time to move on to the new year. Ultimately, the entire year can be summarized in 18 films for me. As per tradition – and by that I mean an arbitrary rule I made up just last year – this blog only awards a Top Dozen so as much as it pains me to do so, I’ll have to leave six films off the list. Ask me on a different day and these honourable mentions can swap places with any of the films in the bottom six of my top dozen. No matter the placement, I love all these films and I’ll be going back to them in the future. And if you haven’t had the chance to see any of them yet, I really hope I can encourage you to do so.

Honourable Mentions
Miss Bala (dir. Gerardo Naranjo), Young Adult (dir. Jason Reitman), Weekend (dir. Andrew Haigh), The Skin I Live in (dir. Pedro Almodovar), Attack the Block (dir. Joe Cornish), Tomboy (dir. Celine Sciamma)

12. Moneyball (dir. Miller)

There are rich teams and there are poor teams. Then there’s fifty feet of crap. And then there’s us.

11. Sleeping Beauty (dir. Leigh)

You are very beautiful, very talented. But we are going to make you even more beautiful, even more talented.

Visionaries: 2011's Best in Writing and Directing

Screenwriters

6. We Need to Talk About Kevin

by Lynne Ramsey and Rory Stewart Kinnear based on the novel of the same name by Lionel Shriver

5. Young Adult

written by Diablo Cody

4. Moneyball

written by Aaron Sorkin and Steven Zaillian based on the novel Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game by Michael Lewis

3. ALPS

written by Yorgos Lanthimos and Efthymis Filippou

2. Oslo, August 31st

written by Joachim Trier and Eskil Vogt based on the novel Le feu follet by Pierre Drieu La Rochelle

1. A Separation

written by Asghar Farhadi

The writers of Kevin did the undoable by completely reshaping the tone and structure of such an unadaptable book to create a visual narrative. In Young Adult, Cody gave us a refreshingly uncompromising character with no redemptive qualities and left us with memorable quotables like psychotic prom queen bitch. In Moneyball, Zailian and Sorkin added emotional depth and charm to the layered texture of their sport story and gave us an abundance of terrific lines like fifty feet of crap. ALPS is another uniquely humorous and conceptually original entry in Lanthimos’s resume and doesn’t shy away from examining our deepest fears. Oslo, August 31st treated its hopeless protagonist with grace and told a universal story with such spatial and temporal specificity. Finally, A Separation has a focused but multi-faceted narrative that illuminates the social constructs of Iran with utmost subtlety. It also features an ensemble of characters that deserve their own full feature. Wouldn’t one about the judge be most interesting?

Directors

Honourable Mentions
Terrence Malick (Tree of Life), Andrew Haigh (Weekend), Pedro Almodovar (The Skin I Live in)

6. Sleeping Beauty

directed by Julia Leigh

5. Melancholia

directed by Lars von Trier

4. ALPS

directed by Yorgos Lanthimos

3. A Separation

directed by Asghar Farhadi

2. Martha Marcy May Marlene

directed by Sean Durkin

1. Drive

directed by Nicolas Winding Refn

In Sleeping Beauty, Leigh shows an impeccable understanding of colours and spaces and creates tension by manipulating her elaborate mise-en-scene. Lars von Trier universalizes his internal feelings, and brings together the grandiosity of earth’s destruction and the intimacy of a wedding in his allegorical take on depression in Melancholia. Lanthimos’s formal control and confidence in ALPS reaffirm his position as an auteur with a visually distinctive voice. In A Separation, Farhadi shows once more that he is one of the world’s most capable hands in directing ensembles. That in the maze-like structure of his film, the pacing never falters is a miracle. In Martha Marcy May Marlene, there were no signs of naiveté as newcomer Sean Durkin held on tight to his careful framings and seamless transitions between past and present, and dream and reality to keep us on the edge of our seats. Finally, Nicolas Winding Refn’s pulpy, tacky, hot pink ode to Los Angeles and the cinema of the 80s in Drive has to top the list because as I wrote in my original review, the film has his fingerprints on every frame. And what a stylish film this is to have your mark on!


Previously on Best of 2011

Craftsmen: 2011's Best Technical Achievements

Honourable Mentions
Costume Design and Visual Effects of Immortals, Cinematography of Jane Eyre, Production Design of Pa Negre, Editing of Martha Marcy May Marlene, and Production Design of Hugo

12. The effects team behind the Visual Effect of Attack the Block

For compensating for the tight budget with creativity, for creating memorable monsters, and for serving the story without being gimmicky

11. Jacqueline Durran for the Costume Design of Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

(also noteworthy: Production Design)
For understanding the intricacy of men’s clothing, for building character from the threads, for conveying the different classes of MI6 agents, and for working beautifully in tandem with the production design team

10. Dana Glauberman for the Editing of Young Adult

For the impeccable comic timing, and for perfectly balancing the laughs with the drama

9. Udo Kramer and Bernhard Henrich for the Production Design of Chicken with Plums

(also noteworthy: Costume Design)
For nailing every aspect of the period in Iran without losing the directors’ playful vision, for using colours and shadows to perfection, and for the broken violin

8. Alberto Iglesias for the Original Score of The Skin I Live In

(also noteworthy: Production Design)
For the thrill in every pulsating moment, for working within the atmosphere to create mood, for the range, and for continuing his collaboration with one of the world’s most exciting directors

7. Robbie Ryan for the Cinematography of Wuthering Heights

For capturing the beauty of a butterfly on the ledge of a window and the mane of a horse in the field, for the intimacy, and for shaping the story with image

6. Hayedeh Safiyari for the Editing of A Separation

For creating a maze without getting lost, for taking the audience right to the edge of discovery and pulling back, and for shaping the narrative and visual structure of the film through her cuts

5. Emmanuel Lubezki for the Cinematography of Tree of Life

(also noteworthy: Visual Effects)
For the picturesque imagery, for capturing the intimacy of a mother’s affection for his son with as much mastery as he does the grandiosity of genesis, and for giving us thousands of postcard perfect images

4. Matthew Newman for the Editing of Drive

(also noteworthy: Costume Design)
For heightening our tension, for releasing that tension with explosive bursts of violence, and for allowing the subtleties of the performances and Gosling’s cool charisma to sink in

3. Gokhan Tiryaki for the Cinematography of Once Upon a Time in Anatolia

For endlessly broadening his range with a limited palette, for continuing to intrigue in the most monotonous locale, and for crafting a beautiful film out of an excruciating lighting exercise

2. Chris King and Gregers Sall for the Editing of Senna

For producing a coherent narrative entirely from existing footage, for transitioning between family videos and racing footage with ease, and for controlling our heartbeats and tear glands at once

1. Manuel Alberto Claro for the Cinematography of Melancholia

(also noteworthy: Visual Effects and Production Design)
For the complexity of the relationship established between scenes, for the thematic significance of every shot, and for the striking beauty of every frame

Previously on Best of 2011

Highlights: 2011's Alpha Male of the Year...

...is Ryan Gosling.

From his perfect chemistry with three of Hollywood’s most attractive young actresses (Stone, Mulligan and Wood) to swinging his “equipment” in Steve Carrel’s face with utmost confidence, from the ladies' man of Crazy, Stupid Love to the dapper politician of Ides of March, from the Scorpion Jacket and the leather gloves to the toothpick and shades of the mystery man in Drive, Gosling has covered a whole lotta range to deserve this award.

Stardom always seemed only a step away from this promising actor. Not anymore.


Previously on 11 Highlights of '11
Sex Scene of the Year
Most Underracted Actor of the Year
Dog of the Year
Best Andy Serkis of the Year
Most Overrated Film of the Year

Four Thoughts on Drive

Drive
Director: Nicolas Winding Refn, Screenwriter: Hossein Amini
Cast: Ryan Gosling, Carey Mulligan, Bryan Cranston, Albert Brooks, Ron Perlman
Year: 2011
My Grade: A

Superstar
Few people will argue if you call Gosling one of the best actors of his generation. He’s proved himself in films as varied as Half Nelson, The Believer, Lars and the Real Girl and Blue Valentine. But not every great actor is necessarily a movie star. Gosling, though, was always destined to be a superstar since The Notebook. Earlier this year, he forayed into mainstream Hollywood films with Crazy, Stupid, Love, too. In Drive, he finally gets that iconic role we were waiting for him to get. Front and centre, exuding coolness and kicking ass! This might not be his best performance – some of his past work is really hard to top – but it’s possibly his most memorable. He’s now gained every right to sing “I’m Martin Sheen. I’m Steve McQueen. I’m Jimmy Dean.”

Style
At the risk of broadly generalizing the merits of this film, I’ll say that I think its best quality is being stylish. Not since No Country for Old Men has there been a film where the director’s fingerprints could be seen on virtually every frame. And I say that as the highest compliment. From the cursive hot pink titles, to the dimly lit streets of Los Angeles, to Ryan Gosling’s already iconic scorpion jacket, to the elevator, everything is meticulously constructed and put together with surgical precision. The glossy sheen of the night and the sun-kissed surfaces of the day are absolute marvels to look at. The seamless editing that allows the camera to linger enough to maximize tension and the electrifying sound mixing create a sense of suspense most thrillers can only dream of. Really, as far as technical decisions go, Refn has not made one mistake. Top that off with Cliff Martinez’ pulsating, but hypnotic score and this is easily the year’s most stylish film.
This abundance of “style” might overwhelm some, but I didn’t mind it one bit. Refn’s direction is instinctive and visionary, and for me, never gets in the way of storytelling.

The Supporting Cast
For a genre film, Drive has more great performances than most. Though Gosling and Refn are the show stealers, the supporting cast is never left behind. Christina Hendricks’ role is short but its intensity is the bedrock of one of the film’s best scenes. Ron Perlman is flawless, though that’s hardly surprising to anyone who’s familiar with his career beyond the Hellboy films. Albert Brooks’ much-talked-about villain is richly layered and successfully against-type. Bryan Cranston’s performance is subtler but also self-effacingly powerful. Then there’s Carey Mulligan. Given her physique and her relative unknown status, I worried that she’d get stuck playing cute, charming, fragile girls after An Education. Then she comes and hits me with these two performances in Drive and Shame in less than a week and all those concerns are gone. Admittedly, this is not as much as a revelation as Shame, but the type of cute, charming, fragile girl she plays here is far from the one in An Education. The silent games she plays with Gosling and their exchanges of meaningful stares make this one of the rare instance in action cinema where the romantic subplot isn’t gratuitous. Thanks to Mulligan, it’s actually one of the best parts of the film.

Addressing Complaints
There are generally three types of complaints I’ve heard or read about this film: That it’s too slow, that it’s too gory or that it’s too clichéd.

I can’t really argue with the first group other than to say that I personally never felt bored by the pace of Drive. We’re used to action films that make cuts every two seconds and change the camera angles a gazillion times in every scene to excite audience. I’d blame this more on the marketing that led people to believe they were in for Fast and Furious 6, but honestly, any action film that doesn’t use shaky handheld cameras or CGI and can hold a sensational scene like Drive’s opening sequence together for minutes at a time should be welcomed with open arms.

To the second group, all I can say is “Oh, grow a pair!” I know that sounds stupid and insensitive on my part, but the outbursts of violence are the finest conclusion to the sustained lead ups and a huge relief for our heightened sense of anticipation. Besides, violence never feels incongruous and is rather authentic to the tone of the film.

As for the clichés, I’ll be honest. I noticed them and I dug ‘em. Refn takes the clichés and polishes and glosses and paints them, or even turns them on their head and gives us something we don’t expect. I don’t think what we see in Drive counts as cliché if only because of the sheer unpredictability of the film. The themes are familiar, but Refn offers us a new way of looking at them.