There are a handful of notable films that I didn't see; 'Precious' and 'An Education' for example. And there are a handful of films that garnered a lot of praise that i had no desire to see; 'Avatar' and 'The Blind Side' for example. That said....
10. Brick City
I try not to discriminate against film that arrives to us through the medium of television rather than in the film house. I don't see a difference. The screen's bigger. Anything else? This comes to my list from the realm of television, so I figured that consideration worth mentioning.
I've counted myself time & again amongst the lot who find 'The Wire' to be the greatest achievement ever put to screen. Well, 'Brick City' has no intention of even coming close to those achievements. However, the comparison should be considered because 'Brick City' surely plays out as if it were a sort of companion piece. This mini-series documentary of 5 1-hour parts follows a few key players in Newark, New Jersey including mayor Cory Booker whom some may remember from the documentary 'Street Fight'. And if you haven't seen 'Street Fight, get thee to thy Netflix where it can be streamed.
9. In the Loop
One shouldn't even consider the better performances of 2009 without first catching Peter Capaldi in this fantastically fun little comedy. However, be warned that there is little that Capaldi's character says that is fit to print. It's a celebration of vulgarity that makes me only wish his British Director of Communications Malcolm Tucker had strolled through the streets of 'Deadwood' for a verbal showdown with fellow Brit Ian McShane's Al Swearengen. Anyhow, 'In the Loop' is a farce of what bungling may have transpired behind the scenes by various members of the British and American government in the lead up to the war with Iraq. Complete with a Lieutenant General played by James Gandolfini sneaking into a child's vacant bedroom along with a Senator for an impromptu secret meeting where he uses the calculating functions of one of the child's toys to explain the probable problems with troop deployment.
8. A Serious Man
The Coen Brothers may be our best filmmakers. Their ability to paint a world on screen is maybe second to none. Every detail is done with such a richness in execution. The viewer becomes so enveloped in their world that the characters could do anything really, and it would be intriguing. Such is the case here as while the subject matter of a 'A Serious Man' is nowhere near as exciting as other Coen masterpieces such as 'Fargo' or 'No Country for Old Men' you are still captivated the whole time.
7. Moon
The debut film from David Bowie's son Duncan Jones would be a Sci-Fi film wouldn't it? There are no Ziggy Stardust cameos or 'The Man Who Fell to Earth' references though. Not at all. Here, Sam Rockwell is stationed on the Moon with nothing other than Kaven Spacey's turn as a 'Hal'-like computer to keep him company. Well, almost nothing, but that's another piece to the story. Anyhow, most of the film is Rockwell, Spacey's voice, and Clint Mansell's score. Trust me, that's enough as Rockwell keeps you glued.
6. Inglorious Bastards
What can I possibly add that hasn't already been said? Instead, I'll just bring attention again to what I think are the two MOST noteworthy aspects of the film. One, that Christoph Waltz gives what is probably the performance of the year. Two, that the sequence which opens the film with Waltz's monstrous 'Jew Hunter' interrogating a French farmer while he harbor's a family which Waltz seeks directly underneath their conversation, will be studied for generations. It stands alone as a short film and is a masterwork in editing, tension, and acting. It was Hitchcock like.
5. (500) days of Summer
I know Joseph Gordon-Levitt's Tom Hansen in this film. He reminds me much of what I was like in my early 20s. I too would place some women on pedestals from which they would then wreak havoc on my life through no fault of their own. So, on the one hand, this is the kind of film I tend to ignore. I don't like being reminded of that state and the subsequent frustration can lead to a low tolerance for the heartache the characters go through. However, that said, this film is MOST enjoyable. It's not a love story in the classic sense. What I mean is that it doesn't reinforce the sort of behavior that is the problem in the first place. No. Here, Tom Hansen is a fool and pretty much everyone around him knows it. Hell, his grade-school age sister knows it. While her character may be considered to be purely comic relief it also is a clear indication that we're dealing with a different set of rules here than we may be playing with in a lesser and more formulaic romantic comedy. No. Again, here, Tom Hansen is Woody Allen. He's Jack Lemmon. He's Billy Crystal. He's me when I was 18-twentysomething. He's an idiot, but he learns....he learns.
Moving on, I was predisposed to like this film not only because I've become a fan of Gordon-Levitt's work, but because of the music. The soundtrack for this film is so great. The Clash, Regina Spektor, Wolfmother, The Smiths, Black Lips... There some crap too, but it's intended to be crap. I only wish there was some Joy Division tracks since Tom Hansen does where their T-shirts a couple of times.
Oh, and Zooey Deschanel is in the film as well....sigh.
4. The Hurt Locker
I saw this along with my lovely partner in crime Jessica Duval on the same day that we saw '(500) days of summer'. That was a good day. I had wanted to see since I saw it nominated for some Independent Spirit Awards in 2008. Anyhow, I'm pleased to see this recently get such acclaim and recognition. Back when we saw it last summer I told anyone I thought would be interested that they should see the film. Of course, the film faced a marketing problem which was perhaps the same problem I faced in recommending it to people. It's a dramatic war film and those have done terrible at the box office during this Iraq/Afghanistan war. And while I've enjoyed some of the few gems that have come out of this period ('In the Valley of Elah') it is this film that I recommended the most because I thought it was the most accessible. The politics don't hit you in the face, so if that's a turn off to you then you can still enjoy it. Hell, it's really an action film first and foremost. A great action film with a spectacular performance by Jeremy Renner at the heart of it, but an action film just the same. Let's not forget it was made by Katheryn Bigelow whose best works prior to this were 'Near Dark', 'Point Break' and 'Strange Days'.
3. The Road
This was the most anticipated film of 2009 for me. Back in 2007 when I first saw the trailer for 'No Country for Old Men' I was most intrigued by it. Furthermore, since it was made by the aforementioned Coen Brothers, I had high expectations. So, I decided to read the source material which brought me to Cormac McCarthy. Around the same time the film adaptation of 'No Country...' was exploding in critics circles worldwide, McCarthy's more recent work 'The Road' was receiving similar acclaim in the literary world. The film adaptation of 'No Country...' won the Oscar for Best Picture and 'The Road' won a Pulitzer for literature. Not surprisingly 'The Road' got optioned to be made into a film and I read it to prepare.
John Hillcoat was attached to direct and my anticipation went through the roof. Don't know Hillcoat? He made the Australian western 'The Proposition' back in 2005 that was easily one of the better films of that year. Anyhow, then 'The Road' got delayed and delayed for a while for various reasons. The film lost steam and was finally released last Fall and forgotten. That's a shame as it was the film that garnered the most visceral reaction from me in 2009. It was the saddest god damn film I've ever seen. Not depressing. It's not depressing at all. I draw the distinction being that depressing makes you want to open veins while sad just makes you, well, sad. You can be sad and still gain a certain inspiration, while being depressed saps your inspiration. This film is inspiring. And incredibly sad.
If you're one of those folks who ONLY watches film for entertainment then skip it. You'll likely walk away thinking something along the lines of, 'why did I just waste nearly 2 hours on something so bleak?' If, on the other hand, you're like me and you recognize film as art then you may be able to tolerate some sadness and some bleakness if it will reveal something about the human spirit. If so, then you too may love this as I did. Sure it's one of the saddest films I've ever seen, but it's also among the most beautiful. The only way to appreciate beauty is to know ugly. And in this film you will see human at his very worst, but also at his best and pretty much every shade in between. It's a stellar study of the human condition.
2. Hunger
This is a little seen film about a prison hunger strike by IRA member Bobby Sands in 1981 during the English-Irish war. It's a very visual film with little dialogue for most of the film. It's gritty and no-nonsense film making following the war within a war between the IRA prisoners and their British guards.
'Hunger' is more than stunning enough visually to have made this list at least as an honorable mention if not for what i will henceforth refer to as: The Scene. The Scene is the center piece of the film as it transitions from the 1st wave of strikes to Bobby's hunger strike. It's a conversation between Sands and his Priest. First, from a technical perspective The Scene is shocking. Broken into two sections the first is about 10 minutes of conversation without a SINGLE cut. Look, anyone who knows anything about acting knows it's a hell of a lot easier to do film acting than stage acting because film actors can get hundreds of cuts if need be to get it right whereas a stage actor is used to having those safety nets removed. The trade off is that cuts can detach the viewer from a scene thus weakening the films impact. 'Hunger' is a largely visual film that has to rely on a single lengthy conversation to act as the device that grabs hold of the viewer. And the actors have to captivate and command investment from the viewer and have to do so without their best cheats as a film actor. I can't over hype how impressive this was. After about 5 minutes my jaw was on the floor and they just kept on going.
Second, in terms of content, The Scene is among the best conversations ever put to screen. Religion, government, revolution, freedom....most of the stuff actually worth talking about is covered to some degree. And one can't possibly observe the conviction of Bobby's beliefs without considering those of any other of the revolutionaries around the world, even those we may call enemy.
1. Up In The Air
This was the film that I enjoyed the most in 2009. I looked forward to seeing it. Saw it opening weekend. And it exceeded my expectations. It was funny & thought provoking, timely & timeless. I thought I was watching a Billy Wilder film. Not that Jason Reitman is anywhere close to the greatness that is Wilder (he's not, but few are), but because of the balance of comedy and tragedy. It's NOT an easy balance. Many films that try fail at one or the other or at least the transitions stumble. A perfect example of this from 2009 is the Sam Mendes misfire 'Away We Go'.
And I'm a big fan of George Clooney. One need only consider the title of this blog to figure that out. And the soundtrack is wonderful with the Iggy Pop classic 'Passenger' to Dan Auerbach and Elliot Smith. Just a wonderful film. It may appear that I'm more passionate about a few other films below this, but this is the one I imagine I'll see a dozen or more times in my life.
Honorable Mention:
Sugar
Anvil! The Story of Anvil
It Might Get Loud
Where the Wild Things Are
Sin Nombre
