10. Killer Joe. William Friedkin, the director of 1970s classics The Exorcist and The French Connection, has been given something of a new lease of
life in recent years thanks to his collaborations with playwright Tracey Letts,
two of whose plays he has adapted for the screen in recent years. This
adaptation stars Matthew McConaughey (also undergoing a resurgence in fortunes)
as a contract killer employed by Emile Hirsch to kill his mother so he can
collect her life insurance. Although Hirsch can’t afford his services, McConaughey
agrees to accept Hirsch’s fifteen-year-old sister, Dottie, as payment. A
violent black comedy, this will be hard going for some, who may not be able to
sit through it, but rewarding for those who do.
9. The Perks of Being a Wallflower. Emma Watson and Ezra Miller play
school-age characters again, but very different ones than those who made them
famous, Hermione and Kevin. In Stephen Chbosky’s adaptation of his own novel
(which, unsurprisingly, more than does justice to it), they populate an
alternative crowd which invites the wallflower Charlie into its group and sets
him off on a journey of self-development punctuated by the usual coming-of-age
film moments. A brilliant soundtrack as well as humour, pathos and a swift turn
into darkness elevate this story above the usual teen-aimed fare.
8. Argo. The fact that this film is massive Oscar bait in terms of cast
and subject matter (CIA rescues Americans from anti-American Middle Eastern
country by employing the help of – who else? – Hollywood) shouldn’t detract
from the skill with which director and star Ben Affleck builds and releases
tension and suspense in a film in which there is no violence or even a chase
scene. He nails this film in every way, punctuating it with humour but never
letting us relax or feel like everything will turn out fine, even though we
assume it must do. Sometimes patchy in front of the camera throughout his
career, a long and glittering one surely awaits Affleck behind it.
7. Young Adult. Jason Reitman continued his impressive run of cinematic
successes by reteaming with Juno
screenwriter Diablo Cody and directing Charlize Theron in arguably her best
screen performance to date as former high school queen bitch Mavis Gary, who
returns to her hometown with the intention of getting her claws into her old
boyfriend, now happily married and a new father to boot. Sour and cynical but
still recognisably human, Theron has the perfect foil in Patton Oswalt as the stereotyped
high school loser who now becomes a drinking partner and confidante.
6. Rust and Bone. It’s difficult to say exactly why Jacques Audiard’s
forceful, almost melodramatic French romance works so well, especially with a
plot catalyst that seems as contrived as Marion Cotillard having both her legs
amputated after an accident involving a killer whale. Her relationship with feckless,
irresponsible kickboxer Matthias Schoenaerts (channelling Marlon Brando), which
begins after her accident, comprises the film’s second and third acts, and
shouldn’t work – he’s too matter-of-fact, she’s overly proud – but they seem to
fit together, and the evolution of his relationship with his young son serves
as a counterpoint to his burgeoning relationship with her.
5. Martha Marcy May Marlene. Although Jennifer Lawrence has been
taking (admittedly deserved) plaudits for her performances in two of the year’s
biggest films, Silver Linings Playbook
and The Hunger Games, another actress
who has made an equally impressive breakout, albeit taking a more indie route,
is Elizabeth Olsen, who gives a phenomenal performance as damaged cult escapee Martha
in this unsettling psychological drama which does an impressive job of crawling
under your skin without you ever realising it. With his debut feature, writer/director
Sean Durkin has established himself as one to watch.
4. Seven Psychopaths. Writer and director Martin McDonagh’s follow-up
to In Bruges sees Colin Farrell
lumped in with his slightly unhinged friend Sam Rockwell and his business
partner Christopher Walken when they accidentally-on-purpose steal psychotic gangster
boss Woody Harrelson’s dog. That’s the one sentence description of this film,
but it packs so much more into the narrative in every sense that it doesn’t do
it justice. Matching In Bruges for
violence, entertainment and quotability while simultaneously deconstructing the
conventions of the films it was clearly based on, this was another undeniable
McDonagh triumph.
3. Amour. Cannes 2012 saw the return of one of the masters of European
cinema, Michael Haneke, with the Palme D’Or-winning Amour, his examination of love, death and the inevitable onset of
aging. Emmanuelle Riva and Jean-Louis Trintignant play Anne and Georges, a
couple in their eighties whose lives are torn apart when Anne suffers a stroke,
losing her independence and forcing Georges into the role of nurse. Had this
been a Hollywood film, the most emotional parts would have been saturated by a
sweeping soundtrack, but here it is resisted and Haneke films mostly in long
takes, savouring the intimacy and emotion prevalent throughout the film.
2. Shame. The second collaboration between Michael Fassbender and Steve
McQueen produced a riveting, intense examination of sexual addiction and put
paid once and for all to the idea that it’s the best kind of addiction to have.
As Brandon, Fassbender is a timebomb desperate for sexual release so that he
can get on with his life, and incapable of relating to women (apart from sister
Carey Mulligan) in anything other than a sexual sense. An uncompromising film
in every way, and a major reason why Fassbender and McQueen’s third film, 2013’s
Twelve Years a Slave, is so hotly
anticipated.
1. The Dark Knight Rises. Some of the lauding of Christopher Nolan’s
final part of his Batman trilogy must have come from the relief that it wasn’t
a complete stinker, but we can go further and say that it’s a terrific film in
its own right, more than capable of standing tall alongside Batman Begins and
The Dark Knight. Spectacular, complex and demanding of audience’s attentions in
the way that Nolan has always demanded it, TDKR boasts strong performances from
Christian Bale and Michael Caine, with fresh energy introduced in the forms of
Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Anne Hathaway’s revelatory Catwoman. Given what it had
to live up to and the success in which it did so, taking in spectacle, acting, visuals,
scripting and direction, it’s my film of the year
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