Year in Review: Top 10 Films of 2013

2013 was a year that had very few (if any) masterpieces, but there were many films that I would consider great. I have no issues with the films nominated by the Academy, but they missed out on some of the truly remarkable independent movies that are represented in my top films. Check out my breakdown of the year below, followed by my current top 10 of 2013:

Films seen: 85

Thumbs up percentage: 54.12%

Actor of the year: Matthew McConaughey, 2^nd consecutive year (Dallas Buyer’s Club, Mud, The Wolf of Wall Street)

Actress of the year: Rooney Mara (Ain’t Them Bodies Saints, Her, Side Effects)

Best Actor: Michael Jordan – Fruitvale Station, Leonardo DiCaprio – The Wolf of Wall Street, Joaquin Phoenix – Her, Ethan Hawke – Before Midnight, Robert Redford – All Is Lost

Best Actress: Elle Fanning – Ginger & Rosa, Julie Delpy – Before Midnight, Brie Larson – Short Term 12, Sandra Bullock – Gravity, Greta Gerwig – Frances Ha

Best Supporting Actor: Casey Affleck – Out of the Furnace, James Franco – Spring Breakers, Jonah Hill – The Wolf of Wall Street, Michael Cera – Magic Magic, Michael Fassbender – 12 Years a Slave

Best Supporting Actress: Annika Wedderkopp – The Hunt, Scarlett Johansson – Her, Rachel Boston – It’s a Disaster, Kristin Scott Thomas – Only God Forgives, Mary Elizabeth Winstead – The Spectacular Now

Best Original Screenplay: Her, Nebraska, The Place Beyond the Pines, Inside Llewyn Davis, Drinking Buddies

Best Adapted Screenplay: Before Midnight, The Wolf of Wall Street, The Spectacular Now, Short Term 12, 12 Years a Slave
Most underrated film: The Place Beyond the Pines

Most overrated film: Saving Mr. Banks

Biggest surprise: Side Effects

Biggest disappointment: Out of the Furnace

Best ensemble casts: Her, Drinking Buddies, The Wolf of Wall Street, The Place Beyond the Pines, Prisoners

Bottom five of the year (from bad to worst): 42, Quartet, Now You See Me, Man of Steel, A Good Day to Die Hard

Most anticipated unseen films: Blue Is the Warmest Color, Dallas Buyers Club, The Great Beauty, In a World…, Philomena, Snowpiercer, The Wind Rises

Others receiving votes: The Act of Killing, Ain’t Them Bodies Saints, All Is Lost, The Hunt, It’s a Disaster

10. Short Term 12 (directed by Destin Cretton)

 

One of the great under-the-radar movies of the year was Destin Cretton’s expansion of his terrific short film. Short Term 12 follows Grace (breakout star Brie Larson), a worker at a foster care facility that watches and guides troubled underprivileged kids. There is a deep heartache and pain in the story, especially as more of Grace’s past gets revealed and shows why she is such a committed and caring worker. It features some of the truly elite scenes of the year, chief among them the “So You Know What It’s Like” original song by young actor Keith Stanfield, which clearly was the best song of 2013. Short Term 12 is not a movie that will sit well with a lot of audiences since it is so understated and sad, but there is a sense of warmth that we feel following the movie that makes it very rewarding, and in a way, beautiful.

9. The Spectacular Now (directed by James Ponsoldt)

This is a very personal inclusion on this list. I love movies that ooze nostalgia, and this is the best one its kind in several years. James Ponsoldt, who also directed last year’s indie gem Smashed, has become a go-to director for independent comedy-dramas. All of his movies thus far have been in some way about alcoholics, but none of them have been as perceptive and meaningful as this one. It is about Sutter (the excellent Miles Teller) and Aimee (Shailene Woodley). They form the most endearing movie couple of the year. Ponsoldt has a knack for creating characters with flaws that we cannot help but care for. Sutter is the hard-partying high schooler, and Aimee is the outcast. They begin an unlikely friendship and form a bond that no one expected, least of all the two of them. In the end of this little movie, we feel undeniably bittersweet, satisfied, and melancholic. It puts sentimentality away and leaves the audience to view this rich and realistic story in all its nostalgia and ordinary beauty. Ponsoldt could be the next Alexander Payne.

8. Inside Llewyn Davis (directed by Joel Coen, Ethan Coen)

This is the best American music film since 2007’s indie masterwork Once. The Coen brothers have outdone themselves with this brilliantly detailed and darkly hilarious little film. At no point does the movie try to be popular. It features some of the most unlikable characters the Coens have created, yet, we care all too much. Llewyn Davis (Oscar Isaac) is a struggling folk singer in the 1961 New York, and he lives for his music. He lives his life in the way described in his lyrics. There is no glamour in this story, no happy ending. It is all realism. We drop in on Llewyn’s life and watch him navigate the folk scene for a period of time, and we could not be more grateful after the movie is over. It is a remarkable movie and one that only gets better as time goes by. You will be humming the extraordinary soundtrack for the foreseeable future. I was aching to see it again in the days following.

7. Gravity (directed by Alfonso Cuaron)

There was no greater movie miracle in 2013 than Gravity. There were basically just two cast members, and one of them is gone for the majority of the film. We are essentially watching Ryan Stone (Sandra Bullock) floating through space and trying to find any way to survive without any real working communication. It sounds like a short film’s premise, but it is edited in a way that creates the most intense movie-going experience of the year. It is also the best use of 3D maybe ever (if not, then #2 behind Avatar). The creativity and imagination that this movie took, as well as the attention to detail makes a movie that would otherwise seem ridiculous feel absolutely involving and realistic. It is one of the truly magical films of 2013.

6. 12 Years a Slave (directed by Steve McQueen)

This is perhaps the only instant classic 2013 film. While watching the long, inspiring struggle of the human spirit in Solomon Northup (Chiwetel Ejiofor), a free man who was drugged and enslaved for 12 years, the audience just feels like they are watching an already polished film classic. Each and every scene is vital to the tone of the story. It is difficult to watch, to be sure. However, there is no more rewarding experience that one can have from a 2013 film. 12 Years a Slave is an important piece of cinema and one that will undoubtedly be looked back on as a crowning achievement of this era.

5. The Place Beyond the Pines (directed by Derek Cianfrance)

This was the biggest surprise masterpiece of 2013. The movie is separated into three segments, and there is a passing of the torch between them. The segments are of course intertwined, but unlike several other movies with this layout, the bridges are not predictable. Each segment sports an astonishing leading performance (Ryan Gosling, Bradley Cooper, Dane DeHaan) and by a seemingly different genre (crime drama via Drive, cop drama via Copland, indie drama via In the Bedroom). The further along the story rolls, the more we get into it and become aware of the fate of the characters. When the end credits start, we realize that 140 minutes have gone by and we still want more.

4. Nebraska (directed by Alexander Payne)

I have a fondness for Payne movies that cannot be overstated. His movies are so realistic and different. I felt like after Sideways that I would never be able to truly be blown away by one of his films, but I was wrong. This movie is one of the purest and painfully funny movies I have seen in years. Payne did not write this movie, but it is one of his movies at its core. It is his finest directed job as well. The black-and-white format takes away all outside factors and just lets the characters be. We are essentially just following Woody Grant (Bruce Dern) and his son David (Will Forte) on an ill-conceived cross-country trek. Road trip movies are common; this one is not. It is written as a sad, depressing drama, yet its flawlessness in developing relatable quirks in the characters is what causes the laughs and makes the movie tick. It may not have the ambition of other films on this list, but it is just about perfect.

3. The Wolf of Wall Street (directed by Martin Scorsese)

Zach and I clearly disagree on this one, but this movie really is a daring and hilarious piece of work. The story is about Jordan Belfort (Leonardo DiCaprio), the scamming leader of Stratton Oakmont, a firm who sells worthless stocks to unwitting consumers, scheming out millions every week. On paper, yes this movie is unappealing. Who wants a true story comedy (or sorts) about criminals who never really get caught or get what is coming to them? Well, that is exactly what Scorsese thought. He focuses in on Belfort, and lets him tell the story. It is frustrating, and it is only hilarious because we want it to. It doesn’t play for laughs, but the characters and situations are so outrageous that we can’t help but laugh at their expense. It is loaded with drugs, women, and greed. In format and subject, it is nearly identical to Goodfellas. Under normal circumstances, that would bother me. This is not a normal case. It is the most thrilling and unrelenting 3 hour movie I have ever seen.

2. Her (directed by Spike Jonze)

Spike Jonze has made himself an A-list director in just four films. He has a style and subtlety that no one else has. This movie has less Being John Malkovich and Adaptation in its visuals, but there is every bit as much quirkiness and sadness in their stories. Like his most recent masterwork Where the Wild Things Are, this is a passion piece. From the opening shots of the film, we are completely glued to a movie about a man (Joaquin Phoenix) falling in love with his computer operating system (Scarlett Johansson). It sounds strange until you actually see it happen. It could be the next The Truman Show in terms of creating an atmosphere and visionary look at where we are heading as a society. In its comedy, it is equal parts The 40 Year Old Virgin, Punch-Drunk Love, and Eternal Sunshine. There is also a fair amount of Lost in Translation in how the characters and story are treated. It is nothing like any of those, however. It is a complete original, and it just feels like a landmark piece of cinema.

1. Before Midnight (directed by Richard Linklater)

Unless something drastic happens in the next couple months of 2013 video releases, then this will remain my #1 of the year. Like the previous two installments in this series (1995’s Before Sunrise, 2004’s Before Sunset), this film is strictly dialogue. Even more so than its predecessors, Midnight could not exist without the previous ones. Every word of it is drawing from the bank of passion and commitment that we feel for Jesse (Ethan Hawke) and Celine (Julie Delpy), the two disarming main characters of this decades-long romantic saga. This film is not as much about broken hearts and charming romances; this one is relaxed. At least it feels that way right up until our two protagonists are alone. The entire third act is in a hotel room, and it contains the most brilliant, devastating, heated conversation I have ever seen in a movie in recent memory. It has all the makings of a title bout without a single punch thrown. The audience is left on edge and inevitably begging for more after it is over. Please, Mr. Hawke, Mr. Linklater, and Ms. Delpy…give us more in 2022. I am already making arrangements for seeing it on opening night.

Thoughts? Your top 10? Anyone else adore Jesse and Celine like I do? Comment below…

Nebraska (2013) Review

 

           We see the haggard old man with long unkempt grey hair, walking briskly along the interstate highway outside of Billings, Montana.  He manages to look simultaneously lost and headed toward an imaginary destination of only his knowing – a familiar sight for anyone with exposure to the crippling effects of Alzheimer’s.  A cop sees him and pulls over his car.  He gets out and puts his arm around the man: “Where you headed, buddy?”  The old man replies, “Nebraska,” but doesn’t seem to realize anyone’s there.  He keeps walking.

            By the end of this movie, we will know a great deal more about this man – his past, his family, and his motivations for walking to Nebraska from Montana – and we may even have sympathy for him.  What’s most remarkable about Alexander Payne’s Nebraska is that, despite being the center of the whole movie, this old man, named Woodrow “Woody” Grant, essentially remains a mystery.  Who is this man?  What are the major accomplishments and disappointments of his long life up to this point?  What is he thinking about in those many moments when he stares blankly into space?  Is he still “there,” so to speak?  Some scenes seem to indicate a man handicapped by the debilitating effects of old age and memory loss; but other, more subtle moments show a man who may be content to simply keep his mouth shut.

            We never know the answers to these questions definitively, and that is one of the many things that make Nebraska a great movie.  As a filmmaker, Payne has specialized in characters facing moral dilemmas that are forced to abandon their comfort zones and find themselves while embarking on a journey.  In Nebraska, that character isn’t Woody Grant, who is too distant a character to really demonstrate signs of moral maturation; instead, it is Woody’s youngest son, David, who picks up his old man from the police station and looks on with incredulity as Woody explains that he has a lottery ticket worth $1 million.  Now all he has to do is claim his prize in Lincoln, Nebraska (that should be the first red flag).  David knows two things: First, that his father is unable to drive and can only walk to Lincoln, and second, that no one else in his family – including his mother, Kate (June Squibb), and his older brother, Ross (Bob Odenkirk) – will take him.  David’s moral dilemma: Driving his father to Lincoln knowing full well that the lottery ticket is a sham and that his senile father is pitifully incapable of recognizing this.

            Thus, Nebraska becomes a road movie, but only in the ways that Sideways was a road movie.  The story becomes little more than a platform for smaller scenes and character exchanges which generate much more interest than whether Woody’s lottery ticket turns out to be authentic or not.  Woody and David stop at Mt. Rushmore.  Then, Woody has to be taken to the hospital with a bruise to the forehead.  Then they make an extended stop in Hawthorne, Nebraska, where we learn that Woody and his wife grew up and started their family, until they relocated to Montana when David was about five years old.  They see distant family members for the first time in ages.  They drink.  Kate and Ross visit.  The residents of Hawthorne – most of whom seem to be around Woody’s age – begin to believe that they are in the presence of a millionaire.

            At the center of Nebraska are two remarkable performances by Will Forte, as David, and Bruce Dern, as Woody.  Both are worthy of Oscar consideration.  Forte plays the straight man who is cast with the unenviable task of taking care of his father – a lifetime drunkard with a nagging habit of leaving the room and resuming his roadside trek toward Lincoln – as well as informing enthusiastic family members that, no, sadly the lottery ticket winnings are not real and no, they may not have any of the money for themselves.  Forte wisely avoids making this character a perpetual sadsack (like Miles Raymond) but instead an initially reluctant witness to his father’s shenanigans who realizes that, in spite of his imperfections, his father may not be that bad after all. 

            Dern’s performance is a masterstroke of subtlety and physical expression.  Woody hardly speaks in the film, and when he does, it usually comes in the form of stock one-word responses.  He does not have any great extended speeches about his shortcomings as a father or what he intends to do with the money.  He’s painfully honest, like many elderly people who may have thrown caution to the wind by giving up any “filter” they may have once had (Kate is the same way, and there is a wonderful moment in the film where she lifts her skirt for a long-dead suitor).  Much has been written about the authenticity of Nebraska, which is a euphemism for the prosaic appearances of its actors.  The filmmakers have spared nothing in making Dern look disheveled, hapless and weary to the core.  That Woody commands the viewer’s attention in each frame he is in is a testament to Dern’s nuances and complete embodiment of the role.  It is the best performance of the actor’s 53-year acting career. 

            Many things happen in Nebraska – a great deal of them funny, some of them bittersweet, all of them realistic and interesting.  A good review need not spoil the details of these scenes.  However, it is worth noting the careful way in which the screenplay, by Bob Nelson, contains many deep layers about who Woody Grant really is, but this information is only gradually revealed to David (and the viewer) by characters other than Woody.  The effect is fascinating: We hear a lot about Woody as though he is an omnipresent, offscreen character – not the physical embodiment of the old man we see walking helplessly along the highway.  Is this the inevitable tragedy of old age?  Woody Grant’s cognizance is a mystery, but even more of a mystery is whether even he knows who he once was.  Does he remain silent because of memory loss, or because life’s too short to constantly revisit the wounds (as well as the successes) of the past?  

            If the execution of Nebraska is commendable, than its conception is all the more remarkable.  How in the world was Payne and his producing partners able to pitch this movie, with its 80-year-old protagonist set in one of America’s most unglamorous geographic settings, not to mention being filmed completely in black-and-white and with no A-list actors to speak of?  Have you seen the poster for this movie?  In this age of stringent market conditions and streamlined test screenings, what audience did they hope to find?  After having seen Nebraska, I think the answer to that question is clear – an audience with a (dare I say old-fashioned?) yearning for sophisticated, yet economical storytelling with witty dialogue and compelling characters (judging by the applause it received at Cannes as well as the arthouse theater I attended, it’s safe to say such audiences still exist).  No explosions, no sex, no CGI.  Not so long ago, a movie like this would find audiences through “word of mouth;” today, movies like this are set aside by producers and audiences in favor of the latest Transformers sequel.

            What Alexander Payne and his cast and crew have done is made a movie that observes its characters deeply, powerfully and above all truthfully.  The ways in which they have managed to make Nebraska equally biting and warm-hearted can only draw comparisons to the wonderful ways Payne effortlessly oscillated between the emotions of glee and sadness in Sideways.  When I saw that film in 2004, I left the theater moved nearly to tears – not because of its sadness, but because of its profound truths about people and their interactions with others.  Nebraska leaves a wonderfully similar taste. 

Rating: 4 stars