The Stuies 2015
Late as usual with my best of the year, but with a limited
choice of cinemas (that’s this little part of North Yorkshire for you) and
having a toddler, yet again I’ve had to wait to catch a few films on Blu-Ray,
DVD or online.
As usual, it covers releases pretty much from Oscar ceremony
to Oscar ceremony, but because of home video release schedule, I don’t get
around to watching some till later and this year, there were some great films I
had to wait till late March to catch up with.
So here, goes, my top 7 films of 2015.
7. White God
Simplified as like Rise
of Planet of the Apes but with
Dogs, this films show a remarkable restraint and maturity in showing animal
abuse and using it as a metaphor for the all things we as species have created,
not fully understood and then unleashed on the world with out a thought of care
for the responsibility we have. The lead dogs, give better performances than a
lot of the leading human performances this year, yes anthropomorphising helps
us relate to the dogs that little bit more, but these dogs manage to say as
much with the tilt of their head as some actors do with a convoluted monologue.
Essentially, this film shows just how much of a sad,
horrible and shitty species we are, by showing us just how badly we treat each
other and the world around us.
Director: Kornel Mundruczo
Writer: Kornel Mundruczo, Viktoria Petranyl and Kata Weber
6. Winters Sleep
I’ll preface this selection with this. I know this premiered
at last years Cannes, but I never saw it in theatres, hence its inclusion here.
That and for a film that is essentially, three hours of conversations between
people in a remote Turkish town, is completely gripping. On the Blu-Ray cover, the film refers
to “series of magnificent set pieces”, these aren’t action based sequences, or
anything close to it. They are, as previously mentioned, long
discussions/conversations/arguments, but brilliantly written, framed and acted
and are more exhilarating than most action sequences anyway.
This films digs into the variety of relationships we have in
our lives and how they control us and affect how we live. It tackles the
repetitiveness and stages of marriage from the initial excitement, to the jaded
caring we have for the other person no matter what, the need to protect and
keep our family close even if they drive us crazy at times, these are just some
of the great things Winters Sleep
does.
Not afraid of a long shot, take or scene, Ceylan is confident
enough in the material and the skill of his crew and actors to let the moments
breath and give them time to bring the film and their darkly comic existences
to life. Another gem from a true contemporary master of cinema, just don’t be
put off by the run time and you’re in for a great experience.
Director: Nuri Bilge Ceylan
Writer: Nuri Bilge Ceylan and Ebru Ceylan
5. What We Do In The Shadows
Another film about vampires, werewolves and zombies, just
what we need right? Well in the case of Shadows,
yeah it is. This film brilliantly satirises everything about the modern interpretations
of the characters, whilst almost paying homage to the classics. Peter is a
great nod to Nosferatu. While a lot of comedies often set up the big laughs or
physical moments, Shadows works
towards being funny with every moment, even the serious ones are drenched in
it’s bizarre and self-aware sense of humour. I’m reluctant to go into any
details about this, for fear of giving something away, as every scene is start
to finish, hilarious and one of the best comedies of the last two or three
decades.
Director: Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi
Writer: Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi
4. Sicario
One of the toughest and meanest films made since William
Friedkins Sorcerer (seek it out by
the way), Sicario is a film about the
modern war on drugs along the US-Mexico border, where it highlights the idea of
the US becoming just as ruthless and cruel as the cartels they are fighting.
Kate (Blunt) is an FBI agent who volunteers for an inter-agency task force
designed at combating the cartels, but soon it becomes clear that the US are up
to things just as shady and morally opaque as their enemy.
The cinematography of Roger Deakins is an absolute wonder
here, we are watching a true master at work. As far as I’m concerned, he was
robbed (again) of the Oscar, no single shot this year has had the effect that
“That Shot” has had on me. In case you’re unsure, it’s the one towards the end,
as the team walk in the desert at sunset. It’s so good, that Sicario could have made it onto the list
based on those ten seconds alone, but the rest of the film presents a mature
and complicated look at a war that has been going on for decades now and shows
no real sign of abating soon.
Director: Denis Villeneuve
Writer: Taylor Sheridan
3. Carol
Mesmerizing. Beautiful. Two words that easily describe Carol, a story about two women in 1950’s
New York, who after a chance meeting in a toy store, become close friends amid
the overbearing and controlling efforts, or the attempted controlling efforts
of the men in their lives. Plot wise, it’s relatively straight forward, but in
the construction of the characters, it’s the polar opposite, vastly complex and
fully realised, both the lead characters, Carol (Cate Blanchett) and Therese
(Rooney Mara) are so vivid that it is a pleasure to spend time with them and
watch as their relationship develops amid the constraints of the time.
Director: Todd Haynes
Writer: Phyllis Nagy (screenplay) and Patricia Highsmith
(novel)
2. Inside Out
It’s the story of five emotions, inside an eleven-year-old
girls head. With some film makers or studios, that could quite easily turn in
to a complete disaster, but with Pixar, it becomes one of the best films of the
year and probably one of the studios best films to date. Inside Out gives us everything we need to know about the world and
how the emotions work in the first ten minutes that it really gets the film off
to flying start. It’s use of colours for the different emotions and how it
calls back on simultaneously vividly specific memories, but also general ones
we can all remember or understand deeply invests us in Riley (the eleven year
old) and care about what happens to her.
It took five years to make this film and it’s clear to see
why, the level of detail, ideas and understanding of the mind and emotions on
show here has made it into an important film for parents and people who work
with children, as it breaks down ideas, often complex ones, into simple,
entertaining ones that everyone can comprehend. The way the dream factory works
and the idea and construction of the different personality islands are moments
of joyful genius.
Director: Pete Docter and Ronnie Del Carmen (co-director)
Writer: Pete Docter (story and screenplay), Ronnie Del Carmen
(story), Meg LeFauve (screenplay) and Josh Cooley (screenplay)
1.
Spotlight
Never have I left a cinema and been torn in two different
directions at almost the exact same time. With Spotlight it was the joy and
excitement of seeing one of the most accomplished films of the year, but also
the blinding rage of the subject matter.
Tom McCarthy (also directing) and Josh Singer, expertly
navigate a complex issue and time period, juggling various storylines, or lines
of investigation, to really give us as much of this whole story as possible.
Easily the best journalist or newspaper film since All The Presidents Men, Spotlight is so
engaging and entrancing because of the way it is told. McCarthy keeps the
flashy directorial moments to a minimum, the only real one being a long
tracking shot between two houses. I won’t spoil the reason for the walk, but it
gives the investigation an even greater importance to one member of the
Spotlight team. Instead, McCarthy gives the actors the space to bring the
characters and the story to life.
It’s not the easiest subject matter, but Spotlight is quite
easily the best film of 2015.
Director: Tom McCarthy
Writer: Josh Singer and Tom McCarthy
