Above: Michelle Williams and Lucy in "Wendy and Lucy"
The conventional wisdom is that this was a weak year for movies and a quick glance at this year's Best Picture nominees certainly supports that argument. Any year in which "The Reader" is one of the best films would be a weak one indeed. In reality, though, this year was pretty strong for those willing to venture beyond the top ten at the box office. I would agree that many of the films released by the major studios for awards consideration were middling and were more like attempts to create awards vehicles than good movies.
On the other hand, this year's blockbusters were surprisingly strong. The summer film market is squarely targeted toward the tastes of 12 year old boys. (See Summer 2009: "GI Joe" and "Transformers 2.") That so many enjoyable films were made in spite of this was a minor miracle. "The Dark Knight," "Iron Man," "The Incredible Hulk," "Wall-E," "Kung Fu Panda," "Hellboy 2," and, yes, "Speed Racer" were as strong a line-up as any summer in memory. This summer also gave us "Step Brothers," "Burn After Reading," and "The Strangers." (And everyone of the movies listed above was better than 4 of the 5 best picture nominees.)
But any given year has a host of great films for those willing to try out documentaries, foreign films, and movies that don't usually play outside of large metropolitan areas. Thanks to Netflix and other online media delivery systems it is getting easier for the curious film fan to sample all kinds of unique movies.
Now let's look at the year's best performances (minus the also excellent Mickey Rourke and Sean Penn, but you can read about them nearly everywhere):
Anamaria Marinca in 4 Months, 3 Weeks, 2 Days--Marinca is on screen for almost the entire time of this invasive, claustrophobic film about a harrowing night in 1980s Communist Romania. Her performance is small and subtle, but she convinces you of the deepening fear and dread she is experiencing as the night wears on. A no doubt emotionally taxing role.
Richard Jenkins in Burn After Reading, Step Brothers, and The Visitor--It was a great year for Jenkins who nailed these three roles. Each allowed him to show his sizable comic talent, but his low key desperation in "The Visitor" made for the best of the three.
Anne Hathaway in Rachel Getting Married--Those who hated this film because Hathaway's character was self-centered, vain, and destructive missed the point. She was all those things, but that was intentional. That the film asks us to love and sympathize with her and that she makes this possible speaks to her strong acting chops.
Alejandro Polanco in Chop Shop--Polanco plays 12 year old Ale an ambitious entrpreneur scraping and saving for a better life for he and his older teenage sister. Its an unadorned performance, seemingly effortless.
Michelle Williams in Wendy and Lucy--"Dawson's Creek" alum Williams first impressed me in her hilarious role in the Watergate comedy and one of the best films of the 90s Dick. In "Wendy and Lucy," she plays a cash-strapped young woman trying to make her way across the US and to Alaska in hopes of a better life. As her plans fall apart, Williams begins to unravel and her pain is palpable.
Sally Hawkins in Happy Go Lucky--Hawkins got no love from the Academy for her performance as a perpetually cheery elementary school teacher trying to heal the world with kindness.
Andrew Burridge in Boy A--Burridge plays Jack Hawkins, a man being freed from prison after being there since childhood. Broken and timid, Jack must try to craft a normal life. A heartbreaking, beautiful performance that the Academy would have loved if more had seen it.
And now, ten of this year's top twenty films and some deserving honorable mention:
11) The Order of Myths
12) Let the Right One In/The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
13) Chop Shop
14) Burn After Reading
15) Up the Yangtze
16) Shotgun Stories
17) Speed Racer
18) Step Brothers
19) The Incredible Hulk
20) The Strangers
Honorable Mention: In Bruges, Be Kind Rewind, Charlie Bartlett, The Visitor, Redbelt, The Fall, Surfwise, Priceless, The Edge of Heaven, Kung Fu Panda, Encounters at the End of the World, Tell No One, Hellboy II: The Golden Army, Man on Wire, Frozen River, Vicky Cristina Barcelona, The Duchess, Changeling, Milk, Frost/Nixon, My Winnipeg
Tomorrow: the best films of the year, best director, and several films that I can't seem to shake.
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