10. A MOST WANTED MAN
Phillip Seymour Hoffman's death hit the film world harder than probably anyone else's this past year. It was very much our pleasure though that he gave us this one last great leading performance to remember him by. He perfectly embodies the Le Carre model of spy: not a suave, sophisticated Bond-esque jet setter, but a man who speaks rarely so as not to give away information and is able to blend into a crowd rather than stand out in it. Le Carre's novels now have a proven track record as cinematic gold (
The Constant Gardener and
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy are just two great examples), and that trend continues here. Anton Corbijn (
The American) knows how to balance complex stories with rich, interesting characters. And the ending is a killer.
9. FRANK
Frank was mostly sold on the basis of Michael Fassbender, and while he is terrific despite almost never seeing his face, the film's success is just as dependent on the leading performance of Domnhall Gleeson, who is becoming a very reliable actor in his own right. It's kind of a horrifying concept to base a film around: to be passionate about something and want success more than anything, then to meet someone who has all the talent and realize that you'll never have that success. Conventionally, Fassbender's character Frank serves as a great analysis of mental illness, but Gleeson's character serves as the flip side of that coin, and how external factors can affect one's mental health as well. In addition, the film is side-splittingly funny.
8. THE CONGRESS
I've always been a fan of science fiction that goes beyond just showing new spaceships and laser weapons and instead tries to take the current sociopolitical context of our world, stretch it to its limits, and see what that can tell us.
The Congress creates a fully realized world that seems like a somewhat natural progression from our world today based on our continued dehumanization due to technology. The world building here is excellent, and the use of animation as if that is the real way we see the world works very well in stark contrast to the drabness of the "live action" world we see at the beginning.
7. THE DROP
Tom Hardy has created an incredibly diverse set of performances across his still burgeoning career, but Bob Saginowski might be his best performance yet. Hardy evokes an early De Niro, bringing life and empathy to a character despite maybe not having much going on between the ears. He perfectly balances the menace and innocence that the role calls for. Dennis Lehane's work has provided the basis for some great work over the past decade or so (
Mystic River,
Gone Baby Gone, not to mention his work on
The Wire), and you can add another one to the list here. The crime genre has so many entries that its hard to find something truly unique, but I found this one to be endearing all the same.
6. THE ROVER
David Michod's stark neo-western is not for the faint of heart. It paints a cruel, harsh world where the laws that once dictated human morality are gone. The exploration of what morality means when only you are left to judge yourself is a pretty fascinating concept to me, and well explored in this movie. Guy Pearce gives a stellar, often silent performance as a man tortured by guilt for many unexpected reasons, but the best part of
The Rover is Robert Pattinson, who continues to prove here alongside his recent Cronenberg work that he's a serious actor to be reckoned with. His scene of singing in the car definitely ranks among my favorite single scenes of the year.
5. THE HOMESMAN
I was completely floored by this one, expecting something more classical and romanticized, but instead getting something deep and thoughtful and in some ways more akin to a psychological horror movie. The film really delves into some interesting gender political issues centered around the subjugation of women in the Old West, and the contrast of the women being transported against Mary Bee Cuddy's own personal struggle is heartbreaking to watch. The ending is just as heartbreaking, and the film held quite a few surprises for me on its way there.
4. CALVARY
John Michael McDonagh's first film,
The Guard, understandably came with a bit of skepticism. His brother Martin had just made
In Bruges with Brendan Gleeson, could he deliver something anywhere near as good, or was he just getting his brother's leftovers? It turns out both brothers had the goods, and now with his second film, brother John takes a giant leap forward. The brothers both have a pretty masterful way of balancing dark comedy and heavy drama, and
Calvary might get that balance best. Gleeson shines in one of his best performances, but every small role is excellently written and perfectly cast. On a pure surface level, the concept of "what can a good priest do in a bad world?" may sound tedious and boring, but McDonagh and Gleeson have delivered a terrific morality play that is insanely watchable.
3. OBVIOUS CHILD
A truly star-making film, not just for Jenny Slate, but for the writer/director Gillian Robespierre (this is her first feature film).
Obvious Child tackles some heavy subject matter, but it manages to do it with such grace and charm that what could feel like a high-wire act of balancing taboo with comedy instead just seems to work as one cohesive piece. It's proof that moral and political issues can work on screen without feeling preachy if they are handled through character first rather than just being forced onto the audience.
2. NIGHTCRAWLER
The best film about the dark side of "The American Dream" since
There Will Be Blood. Like the previous entry in this list, I am astonished to see such an excellent piece of work from a first-time director. It seems like more than half his job was done for him, however, when he cast Jake Gyllenhaal, who gives my favorite performance of the year from any film. Lou Bloom is fascinating not only as a character but also as a microcosm of American ambition, where tenacity and resourcefulness are much more highly valued than intelligence and empathy.
1. THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL
2014 was a great year for comedy, but nothing made me laugh harder than Wes Anderson's latest. He has created an entirely new world for his little caper to play out in, allowing his already idiosyncratic nature to go absolutely insane creating every last bit we see on screen from whole cloth. The cast is a veritable galaxy of stars, led by the amazing Ralph Fiennes, and everyone contributes at least one great moment. It was a huge surprise for such a funny movie to have scenes as fun as a Bond-esque ski chase and a hotel shootout. In a world of big budget films acquiring talented directors to fulfill a corporate vision, it's always a delight to see Anderson just go off and make his own version of that kind of movie instead. With one film, Anderson has done better world and character building than a whole slew of Marvel superhero movies.
Here is a link to all of the 2014 movies I saw, roughly ranked:
http://letterboxd.com/greenleaf1/list/2014-movies-ranked/
