Highlights: 2012's Best Scene...

...is the abortion sequence from Prometheus.

In an otherwise entirely forgettable film, this sequence shines like a bright star. Revisiting the film many months after my first encounter, I realized that I'd perfectly stored this moment of rapidly escalating tension and unsettling, edge-of-the-seat pressure in my memory; and it's really impossible not to. Performed superbly by Noomi Rapace, whose edgy intensity is a perfect fit for the role, these few short minutes were a reminder of what a capable director Ridley Scott is at his peak. If only the rest of the film could measure up to this...

Runners-up:
Consoling the dying man in The Grey.
The house burning down in Something in the Air.


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Highlights: 2012's Newcomer of the Year...

... is Clément Métayer (Something in the Air).

I will definitely need to re-watch Olivier Assayas's semi-autobiographical latest film before I can confirm my initial judgement, seeing as it was clouded by the crammed screening schedule at TIFF. I enjoyed it quite a lot and I imagine I will even more so on a second go. But if there's one thing that doesn't need a refresher, it's Métayer's heartfelt, lived-in performance as the hot-headed teen revolutionary at the film's center. There's quite a burden on his young shoulders but I'm not exaggerating when I say he carries it as effortlessly as Edgar Ramirez did in Assayas's Carlos.


All 'Best of 2012' Entries...