From a dreadlocked James Franco to an aging Oprah, the gaunt grandeur of Matthew McConaughey to the newfound magnetism of Barkhad Abdi, last year was one of cinematic transformation. Having to pick from nearly 100 films was no easy task, but below I’ve listed my top ten films of 2013.
The Honor Roll:
Short Term12, Broken, The Butler, Captain Phillips, Enough Said, Fruitvale Station, Mud, Nebraska, Spring Breakers, Upstream Color
10) Prisoners (Denis Villenueve)
All too often, our worst fears are exploited in movies and television. The glut of crime procedurals in both mediums is one that has been milked for years. Mostly, these stories seek to shock viewers through grotesque imagery and situations – products of the deep-rooted insensitivity that lies in the desire to disturb. But with fall came Prisoners, a film that banked on its suggestions of violence inciting dread.
By toggling between the perspectives of Keller Dover (Hugh Jackman), the father of a young missing child, and Loki (Jake Gyllenhaal), the detective assigned to the case, the script, by Aaron Guzikowski, delivers a rounded depiction of grief, vengeance, and the lengths men are willing to go to save the ones they love. Villenueve’s assured direction is complimented by surprisingly powerful performances from the two leads, Terrence Howard and Viola Davis, as well as perfectly muted cinematography by the great Roger Deakins.
9) The East (Zal Batmanglij)
After 2012’s Sound of My Voice, a creepy tale of documentarians infiltrating a cult, director Batmanglij and writer/star Brit Marling looked to explore similar themes in their follow-up feature – albeit on a slightly larger scale. Tasked by her employers to uncover the identities of members of an ecoterrorist group, Marling’s private sector agent does so with intelligence and aplomb. As one might predict, she soon becomes enamored with the cult’s leader, played alluringly by the tremendous Alexander Skarsgård. However, from that point on, the narrative takes more than a few unexpected turns, propelled by high style and the provocative ideas on the minds of Batmanglij and Marling. Rather than defining moral boundaries, The East exists in a grey area, respecting the audience and forcing us to think.
8) Computer Chess (Andrew Bujalski)
Second only to Anchorman 2 as the funniest film I saw this year, the blissfully obscure Computer Chess finds a dense group of nerds convening at a seedy 80s hotel to pit man against machine – not in any grand sense, of course, but through the platform of a chess tournament. The story’s condensed timeline hops between the attending programmers as they encounter both technological and tangible difficulties. Shot on tape in grainy black and white, the movie takes a sly look at the possibility of sentient technology before asking pertinent and thoughtful questions in its final act.
7) The Spectacular Now (James Ponsoldt)
America enjoyed a renaissance of coming of age movies in 2013. From Mud to The Kings of Summer, filmmakers were eager to explore youth in the heart of the country. With the oldest protagonists of any of its yearly ilk, The Spectacular Now distinguished itself and struck me as the most involving of its kind. Its setup is familiar – Sutter (Miles Teller), a popular and affable kid with a burgeoning drinking problem and a sinking GPA, falls for Amy (Shailene Woodley), a quietly beautiful outsider. From there, subversion ensues. Ponsoldt and the writers’ handling of Sutter’s alcoholism drives the plot but never overtakes it, and Woodley’s layered performance serves as a perfect emotional core for the movie – alternately upbeat and devastating, but ultimately uplifting.
6) The Hunt (Thomas Vinterberg)
In true Scandinavian form, The Hunt is a dark observation of human nature, with a dash of crime. The story is simple and brutal – a man is wrongly accused of violating a child. But the characters and their actions are relentlessly complex. In the role of the condemned, Mads Mikkelsen transitions believably from confusion to grief, and finally, to anger. It’s one of the finest performances of the year. It may be in a foreign language, but the situations – and the actions they produce – that are chronicled in The Hunt will anger you. And then make you wonder if are capable of doing the same.
Look for Babe’s top 5 choices in the print edition of The Fieldston News, coming this Friday (2/7/14)
