Best Films of 2011

Tree of Life: Images of Ineffable Beauty

2011 brought us the largest crop of deeper, more thoughtful, and more ambitious films on screens since the last Golden Age of cinema in the 1970s. It has often happened throughout cinematic history that when times get tough, movies get better, as artists struggle to make sense of the tensions in their society and reflect the often inchoate fears and anxieties facing their age. Let us hope we are moving into era of cinema as golden as that of the '70s (and late '60s), when filmmakers creatively and incisively tackled such topics as changing gender roles and sexual mores (The Graduate, Scenes from a Marriage, Cabaret, An Unmarried Woman), racial and political injustice (In the Heat of the Night, The Conformist, Z, Blow-Up), economic disparity (Norma Rae), corruption (The Conversation, All the President's Men, Chinatown), the nature and value of war and empire even capitalism itself (The Deer Hunter, Apocalypse Now, The Godfather).

The most challenging, and occasionally infuriating, movies of 2011 fell into roughly three categories of themes dominating the current zeitgeist.

End of the World? Provocative Take Shelter

• A millenialist sense of unease, chaos, and doom—be it fear of economic collapse, family breakdown, environmental catastrophe, the end of life, and even the end of the world itself—pervades many of the years most talked about movies (Margin Call, We Need to Talk about Kevin, Take Shelter, Contagion, Melancholia).
• A  complex and often dark view of sexuality and its impact on the psyche is the subject of a slate of provocative 2011 releases: Shame, The Skin I Live In, House of Pleasures, The Sleeping Beauty, A Dangerous Method, Melancholia.
• The third predominating theme in 2011 is movies about cinema itself, about the power of movies and movie stars, or about larger issues of storytelling, artistic impulse, and the desire for fulfillment through artistic expression (The Artist, Hugo, My Week with Marilyn, Mysteries of Lisbon, Gainsbourg: A Heroic Life.)

In addition, for better or (in a few cases worse), the work of several filmmakers in 2001 revealed much about their inner world: from the childhood pain to the spiritual longings  of auteur Terrence Malick (Tree of Life); to the romantic illusions versus the ever-present feelings of artistic inadequacy in Woody Allen (Midnight in Paris); to the love of cinema that sustained Martin Scorsese's own childhood to his passion for preserving our filmed legacy (Hugo); to the depths of Lars von Trier's admitted depression (Melancholia).

Pariah: Brilliant Coming-of-Age Film Shunned by Hollywood...and Oscars

Some novice directors showed astonishing prowess. Jeff Nichols followed up his gritty 2007 indie sensation Shotgun Stories with one of the year's best films, Take Shelter. Dee Rees persevered for six years to turn her NYU film school short into the moving feature-length coming-of-age story Pariah, despite being told by countless financiers and distributors that the movie's black/gay subject matter was "too specific" to earn their backing. It opened to wide critical acclaim but unfortunately talk of an Oscar nomination failed to come true.

Some of our greatest cinematic masters rose to even greater heights in 2011. Terrence Malick managed to tell a story both epic and intimate in the breathtakingly ambitious Tree of Life. Martin Scorsese jumped for the first time not only into family movie territory but also into 3D, no less, with remarkable virtuosity with Hugo. The late Raoul Ruiz, the Chilean director whose Scheherazade-style approach to storytelling in the Mysteries of Lisbon proved a fitting cap to a career of tireless artistic experimentation and intellectual probity.

Melancholia: Risible Wallow, Despite Haunting Images

Other usually solid filmmakers stumbled badly. The first five or so minutes of Lars von Trier's Melancholia contain some of the most arresting images in the history of cinema. But the rest is an almost laughable wallow in the psyche of the Danish provocateur at his most nihilistic. The candy-colored warmth and ambi-sexual humanity that usually distinguishes Pedro Almodovar's films seems to have given way to a darker psychosexual view and a colder, even clinical visual style in the horrendously creepy The Skin I Live In.

Clint Eastwood rarely puts a step wrong as a director but his Hoover biopic, J.Edgar, is so reductive it's simply silly. The film suffers some of the same problems that drew opprobrium from many critics regarding The Iron Lady. Neither J. Edgar or The Iron Lady makes any attempt to really grapple with the impact its lead character had on the world and tell us why telling their story, even in an abbreviated fashion, is important. But the scenes of Streep's Thatcher, seeking solace from her late husband in the grip of dementia, are so touching and well-acted that, for me, they rose above being a simplistic or irrelevant framing device.

They showed us both the cluelessness of someone whose let-them-eat-cake attitude toward the lower classes is still causing repercussions today, but those scenes also made us feel, and perhaps empathize to some degree, with how horrible it must be to recognize that you have become an anachronism within your own time. (The irony of this kind of recognition was dealt with brilliantly in last year's epic film by Olivier Assayas on the terrorist Carlos the Jackal, with an even more unsympathetic character.)

J. Edgar: A Lost Opportunity, Failed Biopic

Conversely, the nearly singular focus on Hoover's sexuality in (or at least his sexual leanings) was not developed enough to adequately frame J. Edgar. Eastwood seemed to pull back his hand at every turn and refuse to take a stand. Did Hoover love Tolson? Did they have a relationship? It is never shown. Nor do we see the cost of his hypocrisy, how he used the sexual secrets of others—sometimes gay secrets—for a greater political agenda. Hoover was one of the most important and powerful figures in the 20th Century and except for one brief scene with Bobby Kennedy we never really see how he wielded that power. The horrendous acting by the usually exemplary Leonardo DiCaprio didn't help matters. If only DiCaprio had spent as much time developing a character as he did replicating Hoover's strange accent, which no one watching the film today remembers or cares about and only served to take us out of the emotional tenor of what was being said.

Woody Allen delivered his first genuine hit in ages with Midnight in Paris, but it proved to be more fodder for the ego-flattering fantasies of baby boomers than an actual masterpiece on par with Annie Hall or Manhattan. And I say that with sadness as a Woodman fanatic. It did not make the movie any less delicious going down, just less sustaining.

Brilliant Indie Doc, Shunned by Hollywood

As is par for the course for as long as I have been doing this list, many of the truly best films and performances from 2011 will not win or even be mentioned on Oscar night. While mawkish works like War Horse and Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close snagged coveted nods, truly great films like the Korean masterpiece Poetry and the haunting, unforgettable Take Shelter are not even on the public's radar. This is precisely why I compile this list, year after year, to bring some modicum of attention to great artists whose work is sadly overlooked. The fact that The Interrupters, a documentary that is every bit as brilliant as director Steve James' previous film, Hoop Dreams, did not even make it past Academy screeners to the shortlist of 15 films, much less the culled down list of five nominees in contention for the big prize, boggles the mind.

A Better Life: A 2011 Gem!

Equally outrageous is the omission of Michael Shannon from the list of Best Actor nominees for his indelible performance in Take Shelter. George Clooney was great. His performance in The Descendants was probably the best of his career. And Brad Pitt was quite fine in Moneyball and worthy of a nod for an even more effecting turn in Tree of Life. But if I were them or whatever lucky gent wins the statue, I would announce right from the stage that it belongs to Michael Shannon and then drive straight to his house to give it to him. (Demián Bichir getting nominated for his beautiful turn in a movie almost no one saw, A Better Life, does go a long way to redeeming the Oscar farce.)

Meryl Street astonished once again by completely transforming herself into former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher showing us both the core of steel and the lonely befuddlement of the so-called Iron Lady. And Michelle Williams, despite no real physical resemblance to Marilyn Monroe, managed to convey her essence, that alchemical quality that makes a star a star. Either would be a very deserving winner for Best Actress, as would Glenn Close, who pretty much single-handedly brought Albert Nobbs to the screen, a project she nurtured for nearly three decades. But why no recognition from the Academy for Jeong-hie Yun, who at least won the Korean Academy Award for her brilliant work in Poetry, or Juliette Binoche for a performance of extraordinary range in Iranian master Abbas Kiarostami's Certified Copy? Those performances stretch the boundaries for what is possible on screen.

It Was Jessica Chastain's Year!

And then there is Jessica Chastain. We've rarely seen a debut like Jessica Chastain's, who starred and shone brightly in about a half dozen films in 2011. She scored a Supporting Actress nomination for The Help but really deserves Best Actress consideration for her indelible work in both Tree of Life and Take Shelter. It will be very exciting to see where her seemingly boundless talent takes her in the years to come. There was other great supporting work: most notably by Kenneth Branagh (My Weekend with Marilyn), Kathy Baker (Take Shelter), Korean actress Yeo-jong Yun (The Housemaid), and by two fellows heretofore considered comedic lightweights, Jonah Hill (Moneyball) and Patton Oswalt (Young Adult). But no one other than Janet McTeer (Albert Nobbs) and Christopher Plummer (Beginners) should be bringing home hardware on Oscar night. Their performances are what make movies live in our hearts and in our imagination.

This list is my humble attempt to right the inevitable wrongs and honor those I believe represent the very best in cinema in 2011. Please note, a few films still had not opened in my area by the end of February that I believe would probably have merited inclusion here. And I'll admit I just couldn't bring myself to see The Help. I couldn't face one more important African-American story framed around a do-gooding white person. So I regret leaving Viola Davis out of consideration here, who I know is a phenomenal actress and who I have championed regularly on my annual list, and Octavia Spencer, who I suspect is deserving as well. Also a few of the foreign films I mention may have been released in a previous calendar year but did not screen in the U.S. until 2011. Since few of them got the recognition they deserved in the year of their official release, I chose to include them here since they are still worthy of attention.

*A final note: The films listed below are in alphabetical order, not ranked, within each category.

The Best of the Best of 2011

Poetry

Poetry:  A movie as poetic as its title. A Korean grandmother, facing an uncertain future due to a diagnosis of Alzheimer's and the revelations of a shocking crime, looks for a way to express the beauty, meaning, and truth she still manages to see in life by enrolling in a poetry class.

The Interrupters:  A moving and important film about former gang members in Chicago trying the "interrupt" the cycle of violence and save souls one life at a time. Should have won the Academy Award for best documentary but shockingly not even nominated. So good I refuse to confine it to the documentary ghetto; it belongs in the Best Picture category.

Take Shelter:  I don't want to give away the delicious details of this movie because it is open to a variety of interpretations. Suffice it to say that no movie has haunted me more than this one. Not a day has gone by since seeing it that I have not thought about its complex characters, stunning images, and rich layers of meaning. It has its finger right on the pulse of life in America today, right at this moment, in tune with all the fears and pressures and imploding dreams bearing down upon us. The most tragically overlooked film of the year. If one movie could be preserved so that people of the future could understand who we were at this moment in time, this is it.

Tree of Life: An Artistic Triumph

Tree of Life:  With images of ineffable beauty and scenes of hypnotic lyricism, no description can do this film justice. From the vastness of the creation of the cosmos to an impressionistic look one summer in the life of an American family, it is about nothing less than the very nature of our existence on earth. Life and death, pain and suffering, nature and grace, faith and despair are all themes director Terrence Malick touches on in his impressionistic and idiosyncratic way. That being said, many people will hate it, will be put off by its elliptical narrative and philosophical presentiments. That such a reclusive and, frankly, misanthropic individual as Malick-the-man was capable of making a movie so personally revealing and spiritually questing is truly astonishing. The greatest art triumphs over the artist's own doubts, weaknesses, and crippling demons. I fear it will be a long time before we see a movie with the scope and ambition of Tree of Life again.

The Best of the Rest:

A Better Life:  Another simple, universal story—about fathers and sons, love and sacrifice—that cuts right to the solar plexus and, one can only hope, enlarges our sense of humanity.

Albert Nobbs:  Glenn Close returns to a role she first portrayed on the stage as a young actress, bringing to it the full benefit of all the knowledge and craft she has achieved in the ensuing years. The story, of woman truly living in a man's world, had such a hold on her that she spent three decades trying to find funding to bring it to the screen. She even co-wrote the screenplay and some of the music in the film. There are so many moments of quiet beauty and scenes of near perfection in this movie, especially in her interactions with the stunningly good Janet McTeer and a very fine Mia Wasikowska.

The Artist:  As a huge fan of old movies I was beside myself with excitement at the news that someone had the audacity to make and release in 2011 a (nearly) silent black and white film. I must admit that I was a little underwhelmed when I finally saw The Artist, perhaps because my expectations had grown unreasonably high. But I am beyond thrilled that this movie was made, that it found a distributor that really backed it, and that so many people went to see it. It is a delightful lesson in how a film made out of  genuine love and respect for the art form can create an audience.

Beginners:  This funny, touching look at family dynamics and the possibilities for connection is every bit as good as the somewhat similarly themed The Descendants, but for some reason (probably the lack of a Clooney) didn't receive the attention or accolades of the latter. That much of the story is drawn from director Mike Mills' relationship with his own father makes the gift he gave to us all the more precious.

The Descendants:  Great performances from top to bottom and Alexander Payne's trademark mix of wit, heart, and sense of place (check out Sideways and Election if you haven't seen them) elevated what in other hands could have been a middle of the pack work to one of the year's most satisfying movies.

The Housemaid:  South Korean directors are creating some of the most intriguing and resplendent cinema today. Where Poetry is touching and beautifully restrained, The Housemaid is a colorful, stylized potboiler of  love, sex, and betrayal.

Hugo:  In 2011, 3D finally became more than just an excuse to juice-up popcorn movies and jack-up ticket prices. Cave of Forgotten Dreams, Werner Herzog's documentary on the ancient cave paintings of Chauvet, Wim Wenders' documentary Pina on the late German dance choreographer Pina Bausch, and Hugo finally demonstrated that this new technology could be used for high art. Like Herzog and Wenders, Martin Scorsese's goal with Hugo was to preserve something that might be lost to future generations, in his case the work of cinema pioneer George Meliès. While I'm still not completely sold on the necessity for 3D in every part in this movie, the scenes inside the clocks his child protagonist works on are like Escher drawings come to life. Art replicating art, replicating art, replicating art—not a bad mission to which all filmmakers should aspire.

Margin Call:  The pump was primed for Oliver Stone to deliver the ultimate commentary on today's economic crisis with Wall Street II last year but failed miserably. J.C. Chandor's Margin Call works as both a crackling thriller and a sociological study of how we got here.

Moneyball:  I'll admit I never thought this would work as a movie. Where's the story? Where's the dramatic arc? The movie went into turnaround several times, probably for this reason. Leave it to the brilliant screenwriter Aaron Sorkin, just as he did with The Social Network, with the assistance of Schindler's List scribe Steven Zaillian, to find the way to turn something so seemingly un-cinematic into one of the most entertaining movies of the year. Kudos to Brad Pitt, too, not just for his apt characterization of Billy Beane, but for shepherding the project through multiple directors, writing teams, and producing partners. I think the whole movie's a lie in a way—"moneyball" and the A's can't really compete against the big spending teams—and the movie is rife with other little lies and distortions along the way. But who cares. It's really about a man who sees the world in a different way than the prevailing wisdom and tries to make his mark on it. Who doesn't love a cockeyed optimist?

My Week with Marilyn:  The so-called memoir this movie is based on is probably a lie, too. But again, who cares. It's a nice set-up for a behind-the-scenes look at Marilyn Monroe that for once does not feel exploitative. More importantly it has interesting things to say about the dichotomy between acting and screen acting, between great craft and the metaphysical essence that defines a true movie star.

Shame: Exploring Sex Addiction

Pariah:  Director Dee Rees calls on her own coming-out experiences to depict a girl searching for both parental acceptance and her own identity in this assured first feature, with a beautiful debut by young actress Adepero Oduye.

Shame:  This movie seemed to press emotional buttons with a lot of viewers and critics for its joyless, un-erotic depiction of sex. It's about sexual addiction, people, about someone who's every waking minute is spent filling a long-since pleasant need. It's not meant to titillate. Many critics and viewers also seemed bothered that the backstory of its characters was not completely spelled out in neon letters. Everything we need to know about this damaged brother and sister, both needy but in polar opposite ways, is there on screen if you look and listen attentively. Steve McQueen's follow-up to his brilliant feature debut, Hunger, is beautifully composed and crafted, displaying his classically trained artist's eye. The last shot will keep you guessing and debating, as a good work of art should.

A Separation:  A Rashomon-like narrative is employed to tell a story of cultural and marital tensions in modern-day Iran. The appeal of this tale, however, could not be more universal. Impeccably acted, written, and directed.

Best Actor

Jean Dujardin, The Artist

Ewan McGregor, Beginners

Demián Bichir, A Better Life

George Clooney, The Descendants

Eric Elmosino, Gainsbourg: A Heroic Life

Michael Fassbender, Shame

Michael Shannon, Take Shelter

Brad Pitt, Tree of Life AND Moneyball

Charlize Theron in Young Adult: Hysterically Unsympathetic

Best Actress

Glenn Close, Albert Nobbs

Sandrine Bonnaire, Queen to Play

Juliet Binoche, Certified Copy

Do-yeon Jeon, The Housemaid

Meryl Streep, The Iron Lady

Michelle Williams, My Weekend with Marilyn

Jeong-hie Yun, Poetry

Adepero Oduye, Pariah
Jessica Chastain, Tree of Life AND Take Shelter

Charlize Theron, Young Adult

Christoph Waltz Returns in Carnage

Best Supporting Actor

Christopher Plummer, Beginners

Kenneth Branagh, My Weekend with Marilyn

Jim Broadbent, The Iron Lady

Christoph Waltz, Carnage

Jonah Hill, Moneyball

Patton Oswalt, Young Adult

Moritz Bleibtreu, Young Goethe in Love

Best Supporting Actress

Janet McTeer, Albert Nobbs

Bérénice Bejo, The Artist

Shailene Woodley, The Descendants

Yeo-jong Yun, The Housemaid

Carey Mulligan, Shame

Kathy Baker, Take Shelter

Best Ensemble Acting

The Descendants:  George Clooney, Shailene Woodley, Amara Miller, Nick Krause, Robert Forster, Beau Bridges, Matthew Lillard

The Housemaid:  Do-yeon Jeon, Yeo-jong Yun, Woo Seo, Ji-young Park, Jung-jae Lee

Margin Call:  Kevin Spacey, Paul Bettany, Jeremy Irons, Stanley Tucci, Zachary Quinto, Penn Badgley, Simon Baker, Demi Moore, Mary McDonnell

Ides of March: Ryan Gosling, George Clooney, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Paul Giamatti, Evan Rachel Wood

Moneyball: Brad Pitt, Jonah Hill, Philip Seymour Hoffman, all the guys playing coaches and scouts

Sixty-Second Oscar (A small performance that left an indelible impression)

Robert Forster, The Descendants

Adrien Brody, Midnight in Paris

A Dangerous Method: Keira Knightly's Worst

Worst Performance

Keira Knightly, A Dangerous Method

Leonardo DiCaprio, J. Edgar

Breakthrough Performer of the Year

Jessica Chastain

Stars on the Rise

Brit Marling, Another Earth

Adepero Oduye, Pariah

Hunter McCracken, Tree of Life

Best Director

Mike Mills, Beginners

Alexander Payne, The Descendants

Sang-soo Im, The Housemaid

Steve James, The Interrupters

Chang-dong Lee, Poetry

Jeff Nichols, Take Shelter

Terrence Malick, Tree of Life

Lech Majewski's Gem: The Mill and the Cross

Special Award for Achievement in Direction

Joann Sfar, Gainsbourg: A Heroic Life

Lech Majewski, The Mill and the Cross

Young Directors to Watch Out For

Xavier Dolan, Heartbeats

Dee Rees, Pariah

Worst Director

Clint Eastwood, J. Edgar

Best Original Screenplay

Beginners

Margin Call

Poetry

Best Adapted Screenplay

The Descendants

Moneyball

Best Cinematography

The Artist

The Housemaid

Take Shelter
Tree of Life

Best Art Direction

The Artist

Heartbeats

Hipsters

Hugo

Best Animated Movie

Chico & Rita

Todorovskiy's Exuberant Musical: Hipsters

Best Musical

Hipsters

Best Thriler

The Housemaid

Best Comedy

The Trip

Best Documentary

The Interrupters

Page One

Worst Movie

A Dangerous Method

J. Edgar

Unexpected Charmer

Queen to Play

Best Score

Cave of Forgotten Dream

Tree of Life

Best Scene

George Clooney seeks the counsel of an unlikely Nick Krause in The Descendants

The music lesson scene in Gainsbourg: A Heroic Life.

A half-dozen scenes in Albert Nobbs, most notably the two visits to Janet McTeer's home.

Just about any scene with Kevin Spacey and Jeremy Irons in Margin Call. If forced to choose just one, Kevin's Spacey speech to the traders.
Adepero Oduye's final poetry-reading scene in Pariah.

Best Movie Line

George Clooney, confronting Matthew Lillard, the man with whom he discovered his recently incapacitated wife had been having an affair with in The Descendants:

Clooney: "Were you ever inside my bedroom?"

Lillard: "Once."

Clooney: "You could have lied about that one."

Lillard: "OK, twice."

Elliott Gould in the deadly outbreak thriller, Contagion, referring to the scaremonger writings of blogger Jude Law:

      "Blogging is not writing. It's just gratification with punctuation."

Clooney: "You could have lied about that one."

Best Films of 2010

2010 was one of the weakest years in recent cinema history. Only a handful of great movies were released, and most of those were documentaries. In fact three documentaries—Exit Through the Gift Shop, Inside Job, and Restrepo—were better than nearly all the feature films nominated for Academy Awards.

What's with all the huzzahs for Black Swan, with its overheated grand guignol hysterics, outdated and misogynistic notions of female psychology, and one-note/one-expression performance by the generally solid Natalie Portman? Even the dancing was mediocre except for the body double shots, I hate to say. Christopher Nolan's Memento was probably the most thought-provoking movie of the last decade, but his take on dreams in Inception was lame-brained and ham-fisted, an orgasm of special-effects masking a lack of real ideas.

Animal Kingdom: Strong Film, See It On DVD

I'm happy a small movie on a lower-class subculture like Winter's Bone got so much critical attention, but the mostly unseen Aussie crime drama Animal Kingdom, covers similar territory in a much more compelling narrative and features strong performances by Guy Pearce and especially Jacki Weaver (who blows The Fighter's Melissa Leo away in the Tiger-Mother-from-Hell category). While the icy, over-art directed I am Love with Tilda Swinton earned many raves, the French film Leaving, with a powerhouse performance by Kristin Scott Thomas, was for me a much more satisfying exploration of the heedless insanity of extramarital passion. And that performances of such searing range and depth as those of Èdgar Ramirez in Carlos and Ryan Gosling in Blue Valentine were overlooked for nominations simply boggles the imagination.

 For a welcome corrective to Oscar insanity, here is my annual list of the truly best films and performances of 2010.

The Best of the Best

Exit Through the Gift Shop: Is it a true documentary or elaborate cultural prank? Who cares. This is a work of genius by the underground artist/provocateur Banksy that probes no less than the nature and value of art itself.

A Prophet (Un Prophète): The engrossing story of the evolution of a young Arab prisoner in the brutal hierarchy of a French prison. This was one of the five nominee's for Best Foreign Film in 2009, but did not play in the U.S. until 2010.

The Kids Are All Right: A warm, witty, and moving film that expands and normalizes the definition of family.

Edgar Ramirez as Carlos

Carlos: Olivier Assayas' five-and-a-half hour biopic of the infamous Venezuelan radical Carlos the Jackal is a sweeping and incisive sociological analysis of modern terrorism in all its ambitions and hypocrisies. Lead actor Èdgar Ramirez offers the performance of the year acting in a half-dozen different languages and depicting the character's evolution from firebrand revolutionary to hollow, used-up mercenary.

Blue Valentine: In real life, few couples meet cute and live happily ever after. This dissection of marriage is so honest and emotionally naked it is both painful and a privilege to witness. Astonishing performances by both lead actors, Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams.

The Best of the Rest:

The Ghost Writer: Roman Polanski returns to top form with this Hitchockian thriller/satire of Tony Blair-era politics. A hilariously louche Pierce Brosnan and the always-great Tom Wilkinson lead a top-notch cast.

Farwell (L'Affaire Farewell): A haunting Cold War espionage thriller with great performances by two acclaimed film directors, Serbia's Emir Kusturica and France's Guillaume Canet.

Animal Kingdom: A 17-year-old orphan in indoctrinated into the family crime business, led by its insinuating, suffocating matriarch. Can he ever break free from her spider-like grip? Loosely based on a real-life clan of armed robbers in 1980s Australia.

Cairo Time: More than a will-they or won't they story of romantic longing between the American wife of a UN envoy and the Egyptian man asked to mind her while her husband is called away to the latest hotspot, this quiet, gentle movie explores with great poignancy both the attractions and myriad gulfs (social, sexual) between opposing cultures.

The Sicilian Girl (La Siciliana Ribelle): The true story of a 17-year-old girl Sicilian who dares to testify against the Mafia.

Leaving: Amour fou leads a wife and mother into an unlikely romance, and a desire to give up everything for it.

The Social Network: Not the be-all-end-all of cinema as it was made out to be, but an entertaining and often acidly hilarious story of the founding of an increasingly relevant modern media phenomenon, marked by great performances and a brilliant screenplay by The West Wing's Aaron Sorkin.

The King's Speech: More great performances and an equally terrific screenplay, this time about efforts to cure King George VI of his debilitating stutter. Like The Social Network, this movie is also a brilliant analysis of the power (at its time in history) of evolving media.

The Fighter: Sure, it's a genre movie (the well-worn sports biopic). But it's heart and indelible performances by its entire cast, most notably Christian Bale, raise it to a higher level and make it one of the most satisfying movie-going experiences of the year.

Best Actor

Èdgar Ramirez, Carlos

Tahar Rahim, A Prophet (Un Prophète)

Michael Douglas, Solitary Man

Sam Rockwell, Conviction

Sean Penn, Fair Game

Jesse Eisenberg, The Social Network

Colin Firth, The King's Speech

Ryan Gosling, Blue Velvet

Javier Bardem, Biutiful

Best Actress

Annette Benning, The Kids are All Right

Patricia Clarkson: Cairo Time

Julianne Moore, The Kids are All Right

Patricia Clarkson, Cairo Time

Kristin Scott-Thomas, Leaving (Partir)

Kirsten Dunst, All Good Things

Michelle Williams, Blue Velvet

Maricel Alvarez, Biutiful

Best Supporting Actor

Pierce Brosnan, The Ghost Writer

Mark Ruffalo, The Kids are All Right

John Hawkes, Winter's Bone

Alexander Siddig, Cairo Time

Andrew Garfield, The Social Network

Geoffrey Rush, The King's Speech

Christian Bale, The Fighter

Miles Teller, Rabbit Hole

Best Supporting Actress

Jacki Weaver, Animal Kingdom

Gemma Jones, You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger

Miranda Richardson, Made in Dagenham

Helena Bonham Carter, The King's Speech

Amy Adams, The Fighter

Ana Wagener, Biutiful

Best Ensemble Acting

The Kids are All Right: Annette Benning, Julianne Moore, Mark Ruffalo, Mia Wasikowska, Josh Hutcherson

The Social Network: Jesse Eisenberg, Andrew Garfield, Armie Hammer (x2!), Justin Timberlake, Rooney Mara, Douglas Urbanski

The Fighter: Mark Wahlberg, Christian Bale, Amy Adams, Melissa Leo, Mickey O'Keefe, Jack McGee

Sixty-Second Oscar (A small performance that left an indelible impression)

Danny De Vito, Solitary Man

Jeff Daniels, Howl

Juliet Lewis, Conviction

Worst Performance

Natalie Portman, Black Swan

Best Newcomer

Tahar Rahim, The Prophet

Jennifer Lawrence, Winter's Bone

Miles Teller, Rabbit Hole

Best Director

Roman Polanski, The Ghost Writer

Lisa Cholodenko, The Kids are All Right

Olivier Assayas, Carlos

Derek Cianfrance, Blue Valentine

Banksy, Exit Through the Gift Shop

Worst Director

Darren Aronofsky, Black Swan

Best Original Screenplay

Carlos

The Kids Are All Right

The King's Speech

Best Adapted Screenplay

The Social Network

The Ghost Writer

Best Cinematography

Coco Chanel & Igor Stravinski

Best Art Direction

Coco Chanel & Igor Stravinski

Best Production Design

Coco Chanel & Igor Stravinski

Best Anti-Love Story

Blue Valentine

The Freebie

Best Thriler

Farewell (L'Affaire Farewell):

The Sicilian Girl (La Siciliana Ribelle): The true story of a 17-year-old girl Sicilian who dares to testify against the Mafia.

Best Documentary

Exit Through the Gift Shop

Restrepo

Restrepo

The Tillman Story

Inside Job

Catfish

Countdown to Zero

Worst Movie (not just of this year but perhaps all time)

Black Swan

Unexpected Charmer

Ondine

Worst Performance

Black Swan, Natalie Portman: Worst film, Worst performance

Natalie Portman, Black Swan

Best Scene

The opening scene (the breakup scene between Mark Zuckerberg and his girlfriend), that sparks his first revenge-motivated idea for a social networking site.

The park bench scene between Nicole Kidman and Miles Teller in Rabbit Hole.

Worst Scene

The support group scene with Nicole Kidman in Rabbit Hole.

Best Films of 2009

2009 was a fairly lackluster year overall in movies (or maybe it was just my darkened mood), but there were some gems. I admit that I didn’t see everything that might have merited consideration on a year’s best list (anything animated, either of Meryl Streep’s much-lauded performances), but there are plenty of others to champion the popular choices. This list, as usual, is made up the movies that stirred my soul, most of which were little seen by the general public and long forgotten at awards time.

The very best film of 2009, in my opinion, has been sadly absent from most Best Film lists. Sin Nombre, a Spanish-language film by a fledgling Japanese-American filmmaker out of Oakland, California, tells the incredibly moving story of two refugees fleeing north on a train through Mexico: a poor Guatemalan girl and a Mexican boy trying to escape gang life.

The Hurt Locker has been deservedly praised, but an even more impressive movie to me on the psychological legacy of the Iraq war is The Messenger, directed by and written by an Israeli army veteran and featuring a pitch perfect cast led, most notably, by Woody Harrelson.

I was prepared to hate Inglorious Basterds after seeing the trailer, the very premise of which seemed ridiculous and patently offensive. But somehow in his mad genius, Quentin Tarantino managed to make a movie that is breathtaking in its audaciousness and resonant with a love for cinema itself. It is also a work of new maturity and discipline, with the exception of Brad Pitt brilliantly cast and filled with moments of almost unbearable power.

Two performances stand out over all others in 2009: Cristoph Waltz, in Inglorious Basterds and Mo’Nique in Precious. If they don’t win Oscars there is no justice.

So here they are, my nominations for best and worst in cinema in 2009. [Note: As always, films and performance are listed in the order in which I saw them during the calendar year, not ranked within categories.]

The Best of the Best
Burma VJ: Reporting from a Closed Country: What journalism is all about, citizen reporters risking their lives to tell the truth.
Inglorious Basterds: Quentin Tarantino rewrites no less than the history of the modern world.
Sin Nombre: Love and death on the road to El Norte.
The Messenger: Two soldiers reckon with the repercussions of the Iraq war in their personal lives and in their role as “death notification” officers.

The Best of the Rest
12: A retelling of 12 Angry Men through the lens of the social and political realities of modern day Russia. The epilogue says it all: “The law comes before everything, but what’s to be done if mercy comes before the law?”
Hunger: A graphic and thought-provoking examination of political protest at its most extreme through the story of Bobby Sands and the infamous IRA hunger strike at Maze Prison.
Il Divo: A blackly comic satire of the venality of political corruption as depicted through the character of former Italian Prime Minister Guilio Andreotti.
Sugar: This tale of a minor league baseball prospect is really about the immigrant experience, movingly told by the talented writer/directors of Half Nelson.
Revanche: A moody meditation on consequences and responsibility following a rash act. This Austrian film was one the five nominees for Best Foreign Language film last year but didn’t get its US theatrical release until this year.
(500) Days of Summer: A love story is told out of chronological order, allowing us to see what we might not see otherwise. The wonderful young actor Joseph-Gordon Levitt adds another strong performance to his resume.
The Baader Meinhof Complex: Another penetrating look at the extremes of political ideology, in this film espoused by the radical European leftists who believed that violence was the only way to overcome an oppressive society. Another 2009 Foreign Film Oscar nominee released domestically this year.
Lorna’s Silence: Do our choices free us or make us prisoner? The Dardenne brothers look at conscience and expediency in a cruel, cruel world.
A Single Man: Fashion designer Tom Ford astonishes with this beautifully shot, wonderfully directed, heartbreakingly acted portrayal of a man at a psychological crossroads. Colin Firth delivers the performance of his career.

Most Underrated Film of the Year
Two Lovers

Most Overrated Film of the Year
Up in the Air

Best Actor
Joaquin Phoenix, Two Lovers
Edgar Flores, Sin Nombre
Joseph Gordon-Levitt, (500) Days of Summer
Michael Fassbender, Hunger
Jeremy Renner, The Hurt Locker
Viggo Mortensen, The Road
Colin Firth, A Single Man
Jeff Bridges, Crazy Heart

Best Actress
Paulina Gaitan, Sin Nombre
Gabourey Sidibe, Precious
Catalina Saavedra, The Maid

Best Supporting Actor
Liam Cunningham, Hunger
Christoph Waltz, Inglorious Basterds
Bruno Ganz, The Baader Meinhof Complex
Woody Harrelson, The Messenger
Christian McKay, Me and Orson Welles
Kodi Smith-McPhee, The Road

Best Supporting Actress
Melanie Laurent, Inglorious Basterds
Johanna Wokalek, The Baader Meinhof Complex
Mo’Nique, Precious
Samantha Morton, The Messenger

Best Ensemble Acting
---Everyone except for Brad Pitt in Inglorious Basterds (Christopher Waltz, Melanie Laurent, Diane Kruger, Daniel Bruhl, Denis Menochet)
---Marina Gedeck, Morrtz Bleibtreu, Johanna Wokalek, Bruno Ganz, The Baader Menihoff Complex
--Ben Foster, Woody Harrelson, Samantha Morton, The Messenger

60 Second Oscar
--Jason Bateman and Jeff Daniels, State of Play
--Steve Buscemi, The Messenger

Most Deliriously Demented Performance
Nicolas Cage, The Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call – New Orleans

Breakthrough Performance of the Year
Christopher Waltz, Inglorious Basterds

Best Director
Quentin, Tarantino, Inglorious Basterds
Cary Fukunaga, Sin Nombre
Uli Edel, The Baader Meinhof Complex
Oren Moverman, The Messenger

Worst Director
Michael Mann, Public Enemies

Best Original Screenplay
Sin Nombre
The Messenger

Best Adapted Screenplay
The Baader Meinhof Complex

Best Cinematography
Tetro
A Single Man

Best Art Direction
A Single Man

Best Score
Nick Cave and Warren Ellis, The Road

Worst Score
Crazy Heart

Best Love Story
Sin Nombre

Best Anti-Love Story
(500) Days of Summer

Best Documentary
Tyson
Burma VJ: Reporting from a Closed Country
Every Little Step
Capitalism: A Love Story
La Danse

Worst Movie
The Mysteries of Pittsburgh
The Private Lives of Pippa Lee

Most Disappointing Movie
Public Enemies

Best Performance in a Bad Movie
Robert Downey, Jr., The Soloist

Worst Performance
Entire cast of The Private Lives of Pippa Lee

Best Scene
--Bobby Sands and a priest debating the efficacy and morality of a hunger strike-to-the-death in Hunger
--Italian prime minster Andreotti’s confessional monologue on the necessity of evil in Il Divo

--Opening scene of Inglorious Basterds
--An inveterate bachelor, played by George Clooney, talks his would-be brother-in-law out of cold feet at the altar in Up in the Air

Worst Movie Line
Avatar: "Out there beyond the fence every living thing that either crawls, flies, or squats in the mud wants to kill you and eat your eyes for Jujubes.”

Best Films of 2008

For once, nearly all the films and actors vying for top honors at this years /Academy Awards are worthy contenders. Of the five Best Picture nominees, Milk. Frost/Nixon, and Slumdog Millionaire are all superb, intelligent, soulful, beautifully crafted movies. Each would be a deserving winner and I would hate to have to pick between them if I were an Academy voter. But no feature film in 2008 captured my heart like Slumdog Millionaire, a fairy tale both on screen and off. That it was ever released at all, much less has received the attention and acclaim it so richly deserves, is a miracle considering its sometimes harrowing subject matter, its focus on prejudice, poverty and exploitation in a third-world country, and the fact that it was dropped by its own producer after the movie was completed. Fortunately audiences (and another distributor) could see what a great film Danny Boyle had made. The direction, screenplay, cinematography, and performances by both professional actors and actual children from the Mumbai slums put this little miracle of a movie into the top ranks of cinema.

Nevertheless, the two films I consider the very best movies exhibited in 2008 are documentaries and not eligible for the top prize by Academy rules. Fortunately they both are nominated in the Best Documentary category and one of the two, Man on Wire, seems likely to take that prize. This true-life story of a French aerialist quest to walk on a tightrope between the twin towers of the World Trade Center in the 1970s, is another miracle movie, so dramatically and engagingly told that it reaches a level of spiritual transcendence. This animated portrait of one man’s quixotic obsession touches on the universal—the wonder of our own yearnings but also the wistful recognition of a time of innocence now irretrievably lost. An even more powerful documentary, Trouble the Water, my pick for the greatest movie of 2008, follows the plight of Katrina victims and reveals more about the resiliency of the human spirit than any movie you’re ever likely to see.

On the acting and directing fronts we saw some very strong work in 2008. Sean Penn, Frank Langella, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Leonardo DiCaprio Richard Jenkins, and Mickey Rourke all delivered extraordinary performances. Again, I’m torn between several equally great choices: wanting Sean Penn to be rewarded for truly channeling the spirit of Harvey Milk, or Frank Langella to be recognized for his career-capping work in making us see the needy humanity in Richard Nixon. But if I had to choose I guess I’d give the palm to Mickey Rourke for his soul-searing, emotionally naked work in The Wrestler. Kristin Scott Thomas, who received no Oscar nomination, leads perhaps all the ladies with her work in the very fine French film I’ve Loved You So Long. Kate Winslet is also a very strong and deserving contender for her fine work in two films, The Reader and Revolution Road (both of which are leading not supporting roles, by the way), as was Penelope Cruz for her lead in the underrated Elegy and fantastic turn in a supporting role in Woody Allen’s Vicky Cristina Barcelona. Viola Davis had little screen time but was unforgettable in Doubt. Marisa Tomei in The Wrestler and Michael Shannon in Revolutionary Road also gave standout performances in supporting roles.

Ron Howard showed a new maturity and refinement dealing with more intellectual material helming Frost/Nixon. Playwrights Martin McDonagh and John Patrick Shanley showed they have real talent as film directors, too, with the comic yet touching In Bruges and the probing, provocative Doubt. Woody Allen demonstrated he’s still capable of comic gems with Vicky Cristina Barcelona. The big prize, however, should come down to Danny Boyle for Slumdog or Gus Van Sant for his lyrical depiction of the life of Harvey Milk and reminding us how one man can make a difference.

So here they are, my personal nominations for the best and worst in cinema in 2008:

The Best of the Best
Trouble the Water
Man on Wire
Slumdog Millionaire
Milk
Frost/Nixon



The Best of the Rest

In Bruges
Under the Same Moon (La Misma Luna)
Irina Palm
The Visitor
Roman de Gare
Vicky Cristina Barcelona
Elegy
Blindness
I’ve Loved You for So Long (Il y a Logntemps que Je T’Aime)
The Boy in the Striped Pajamas
Doubt

Best Actor
Richard Jenkins, The Visitor
Dominque Pinon, Roman de Gare
Ben Kingsley, Elegy
Dev Patel, Slumdog Millionaire
Sean Penn, Milk
Philip Seymour Hoffman, Doubt
Frank Langella, Frost/Nixon
Leonardo DiCaprio, Revolutionary Road
Michey Rourke, The Wrestler
Clint Eastwood, Gran Torino

Best Actress
Audrey Dana, Roman de Gare
Melissa Leo, Frozen River
Penelope Cruz, Elegy
Kristin Scott Thomas, I’ve Loved You for So Long
Kate Winslet, The Reader/Revolutionary Road
Meryl Streep, Doubt

Best Supporting Actor
Miki Manojlvac, Irina Palm
Stacy Keach, W
Anil Kapoor, Slumdog Millionaire
Jeffrey Wright, Cadillac Records
Josh Brolin, Milk
Michael Shannon, Revolutionary Road

Best Supporting Actress
Hiam Abbass, The Visitor
Penelope Cruz, Vicky Cristina Barcelona
Vera Farmiga, The Boy in the Striped Pajamas
Beyonce Knowles, Cadillac Records
Tilda Swinton, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Amy Adams, Doubt
Viola Davis, Doubt
Marisa Tomei, The Wrestler

Best Ensemble Acting
In Bruges (Colin Farrell, Brendan Gleeson, Ralph Fiennes)
Under the Same Moon (Adrian Alonso, Kate del Castillo, Eugenio Derbez, Gabriel Porras)
Roman de Gare (Dominque Pinon, Audrey Dana, Fanny Ardant)
Elegy (Ben Kingsley, Penelope Cruz, Patricia Clarkson, Peter Sarsgaard, Dennis Hopper)
W (John Brolin, Elizabeth Banks, James Cromwell, Ellen Burstyn, Richard Dreyfuss, Jeremy Wright, Thandie Newton, Stacy Keach)
Cadillac Records (Jeffrey Wright, Beyonce Knowles, Eamonn Walker, Mos Def, Columbus Short)
The Reader (Kate Winslet, David Kross, Ralph Fiennes, Lena Olin, Bruno Ganz)
Frost/Nixon (Frank Langella, Michael Sheen, Kevin Bacon, Sam Rockwell, Oliver Platt)
Milk (Sean Penn, James Franco, Josh Brolin, Emile Hirsch)

60 Second Oscar (They may only have a scene or two, but they were sensational)
Viola Davis

Best Scene Stealer
Penelope Cruz, Vicky Cristina Barcelona

Most Intriguing Performance
Marinane Faithful, Irina Palm

Most Overrated Performance
Anne Hathaway, Rachel Getting Married

Breakthrough Performance of the Year
Mickey Rourke, The Wrestler

Young Actors to Watch
Evan Rachel Wood
Eva Amurri
Michael Cera
Asa Butterfield

Best Director
Martin McDonagh, In Bruges
Vadim Perelman, The Life Before Her Eyes
Woody Allen, Vicky Cristina Barcelona
Isabel Coixet, Elegy
Fernando Meireiles, Blindness
Danny Boyle, Slumdog Millionaire
Gus Van Sant, Milk
John Patrick Shanley, Doubt
Ron Howard, Frost/Nixon
Daren Aronofsky, The Wrestler

Most Improved Director
Ron Howard, Nixon/Frost

Best Original Screenplay
In Bruges
Vicky Cristina Barcelona
Milk

Best Adapted Screenplay
The Life Before Her Eyes
Elegy
Slumdog Millionaire
Doubt
Frost/Nixon

Best Cinematography
The Life Before Her Eyes
Slumdog Millionaire
In Bruges
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Best Art Direction
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Best Love Story
Slumdog Millionaire

Best Musical
Cadillac Records

Best Thriller
Roman de Gare

Best Documentary
Bigger Stronger Faster*
Man on Wire
Trouble the Water

Worst Movie
Che

Best Scene
Mickey Rourke’s “I’m just an old broken down piece of meat” scene in The Wrestler

Best Song
“I’d Rather Go Blind,” performed by Beyonce Knowles (Cadillac Records)
“The Wrestler,” written and performed by Bruce Springsteen (The Wrestler)