Top Ten Films of 2009
"(500) Days of Summer"
The first decade of the 21st century enters its waning days. The proverbial curtain prepares to close. But, before we move onto much more provocative lists such as the requisite ‘Best of the Decade,” we have 2009 to contend with first.
This year saw the stark nihilism of Zach Snyder’s “Watchmen” adaptation, J.J. Abrams’ spectacular reinvention of “Star Trek,” Sam Raimi’s delightfully wicked return to horror with “Drag Me to Hell,” French filmmaker Claire Denis’ achingly beautiful family drama “35 Shots of Rum” and general awfulness that was “Transformers: Revenge of Very Loud Noises,” Beyonce in “Obsessed,” and “Twilight: Are You F*%king Kidding Me?” What follows is my own list of the top ten films of the year.
10. Avatar
“Terminator,” “Aliens,” “The Abyss,” “Terminator 2,” “Titanic,” and now, with his visually mesmorizing “Avatar,” James Cameron continues to raise the filmmaking bar. It cannot and should not be ignored, even if it were possible to do so.
"Avatar"
9. Burma VJ
Early in the stirring documentary, “Burma VJ,” a voice describes life in present day Burma. He explains how the military junta assumed control of his country in 1989 in a military coup d’état. Declaring martial law, the government opened fire on student protestors, killing thousands. Since then, he tells us, the people of Burma live in fear, having seen political opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi placed under house arrest for the crime of winning the election in 1990. Though they want to desperately, no one voices dissent, knowing the government watches their every move and monitors their every conversation.
Director Anders Østergaard assembles footage smuggled out of Burma during 2007 filmed by a group of undercover journalists to create “Burma VJ,” a documentary about the moment two years ago when the Burmese monks led a peaceful protest against the military junta and its treatment of its people. “Burma VJ” is an exercise in democracy, showing the world a place where cameras are strictly verboten. To see these brave journalists deciding to show the world Burma is commendable. To see Burma in “Burma VJ” is absolutely terrifying.
"Burma VJ"
8. Fantastic Mr. Fox
Wes Anderson’s best film since “The Royal Tenenbaums,” the animated “Fantastic Mr. Fox” is a delightful adaptation of Roald Dahl’s classic children’s book. Voiced by the likes of George Clooney, Meryl Streep, Bill Murray, Jason Schwartzman, Willem Dafoe, Owen Wilson, and Michael Gambdon and with beautifully composed shots, the film is as charming and fantastic as its title character.
"Fantastic Mr. Fox"
7. Precious
Mo’nique, Mo’nique, Mo’nique. Easily one of the best performances of the year, Mo’nique is equal parts terrifying and compelling as woman mentally, physically, and sexually abusive to her daughter. The moment where she asks to hold her daughter Precious’ newborn baby for the first time, a cigarette dangling in one hand, a remote in the other, you know whatever happens next will not end well.
It is one of several such moments in “Precious” where bad things happen. Director Lee Daniels occasionally betrays his material when his shots are too slick for the grittiness of the story. Still, the performances here, especially Gabourey Sidibe as the title character, are phenomenal. Smart enough to avoid sentimentalism, “Precious” will haunt you long after the end credits roll.
"Precious"
6. The Hurt Locker
In the opening moments of “The Hurt Locker,” director Kathryn Bigelow sets up one of the most intense moments of the year as a soldier dressed in a special suit prepares to disarm an improvised explosive device on the empty streets of Iraq. An exercise in suspense, the bomb eventually detonates. Bigelow draws out the explosion with shots of the rocks on the ground slowly flying into the air, her camera slowing down to capture the rust and dirt coming loose off a nearby car. Her direction precise and revealing, Ms. Bigelow has made a movie less about the politics of the Iraq War than a film about what propels a person to put themselves in extremely perilous and dangerous situations, here specializing in the disarming of crude improvised explosive devices. Debate the merits of the decision to invade Iraq all you want. “The Hurt Locker” is about what happens once we’re there.
"The Hurt Locker"
5. Inglorious Basterds
The “Revenge of the Giant Face” sequence alone in “Inglorious Basterds,” the sequence where as thousands of Naziis, including Hitler and Joseph Goebbels attend a screening of the new Nazi propaganda film, “A Nation’s Pride,” warrants repeated viewings. Here, a close-up of Melanie Laurent’s giant face appears on screen, laughing as fire begins to engulf the theater. Her revenge at long last executed, the image of Shosanna’s giant face is mesmerizing, largely because you’re aware that Quentin Tarantino has spent considerable time thinking about that image, what it might mean to have Hitler and Goebbels—the man in charge of filmmaking under the Nazi regime— in the same room as that image. The moment and its meaning, intended or otherwise, is one of many carefully constructed and brilliantly executed moments in “Inglorious Basterds,” Tarantino’s best film since “Pulp Fiction.”
"Inglorious Basterds"
4. Where the Wild Things Are
With “Where the Wild Things Are,” Spike Jonze has delivered a brilliant fairy tale for children and grownups alike, a lovely and scary reminder of just how fascinating and terrifying the world can be as we grow up.
"Where the Wild Things Are"
3. District 9
In his fantastic “Star Trek” reboot earlier this summer, director JJ Abrams gave us an optimistic science fiction film, one that saw promise and hope for the future. At summer’s end, “District 9” offered something else, something much more unforgiving. Smartly written and intensely directed, “District 9” is an alien invasion film with dashes of Cronenberg. Part action, part thriller, part political allegory “District 9” is science fiction done right.
"District 9"
2. (500) Days of Summer
Think “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind” but funnier and with more references to The Smiths. Moments after the Fox Searchlight Pictures logo disappears, an author’s note appears on screen. It reads, “The following is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to persons living or dead is purely coincidental. Especially You Jenny Beckman. Bitch.”
Jenny Beckman, thank you for breaking Marc Webb’s heart so he could write and direct one of the most sincere and honest and brutal films on love and the fallings in and out ofs that accompany it of the decade. “(500) Days of Summer,” certainly this generation’s “Love Story” or “Annie Hall,” is a story of boy meets girl but, as the narrator tells us up front, this film is not a love story. We know. And even though Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Zooey Deschanel are pitch perfect together, they’re not.
"(500) Days of Summer"
1. A Single Man
Stylish, eloquent, and heartbreaking, Tom Ford’s exquisite adaptation of Christopher Isherwood’s “A Single Man” is as haunting as it is elegant. Deeply felt, the film feels like a dream, its aesthetics lush and graceful, its narrative poignant and well told. Set in early sixties Los Angeles, the story of a 52-year British professor (Colin Firth) who suddenly loses his partner of sixteen years in a car accident, “A Simple Man” might easily have been a much more simplistic melodrama, a mere tale of repression in an era fearful of communists and the like. Instead, Ford, in his directorial debut, mines the existential and Colin Firth is simply devastating as a man blindsided by sudden loss and the task of navigating life’s rich absurdities, contradictions, and enticements.
Firth delivers the performance of his career and Julianne Moore as his best friend and confidante, Charley, is a divine presence. “A Single Man” is more than its marvelous performances; it is a film about the individual and the journey to make some sense of it all. And, oh what a beautiful film Tom Ford has made of it.
"A Single Man"
