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2002: A Year in
Review
by
Ian Waldron-Mantgani, December 31, 2002
This is where I'm supposed to complain about what
a poor year it has been, and get all snobby about the demise of cinema. But
for the sheer volume of titles I gave high marks, it seems to me that 2002
was a fine time at the movies. Last year, four stars went to four films.
This year, thirteen pictures got full marks, and another twenty-three got
my second-highest score of three-and-a-half stars. Far out.
My picks for the best of the year:
1. "Bowling
for Columbine"
Michael Moore's intelligent and accessible documentary about American violence
was the funniest film of the past twelve months, the most sobering, the one
that could change its country of origin for the better if enough people saw
it and the only film of the year to transcend cinema and become a piece of
essential activism. Watching it was an audience experience like few others
-- it felt as if we were united at a protest rally. At the start of the film,
I was chuckling at the jokes. By the end, I was physically
trembling.
As George W. Bush continues his happy dance toward
Armageddon and international newsmedia gets shorter in its attention span
and sicker in its cynicism, Moore's humour, communication skills and levels
of passion seem more important than I can convey in words. This is the right
movie at the right time -- and it's a lot of fun, too.
2. "Changing
Lanes"
Ben Affleck and Samuel L. Jackson star as two men with hot tempers who get
into a fender-bender and begin a day of violent one-upmanship. The ads made
this look like a simple revenge thriller, and it delivers on that level,
with fast pacing and action-packed set pieces. But it is also a piece of
alarming depth, plunging deeper into the driving forces and moral choices
behind the characters, and the corrupting pressure of the world in which
we are living. The film has high drama, profoundly penetrating dialogue,
and supporting performances by Kim Staunton, Amanda Peet and Sydney Pollack
that get to the point with startling clarity.
3. "Mulholland
Drive"
The one that got people talking, and the movie on this list most likely to
be a classic in years to come. David Lynch's seductive, richly textured puzzle
features Naomi Watts and Laura Elena Harring as two women attempting to solve
a mystery around the Hollywood hills... but actually, that's not the story
at all. The movie is a dreamlike headspin. Back in January, I wrote: "'Mulholland
Drive' does not make sense. That does not mean it is nonsense." And yet it
does make sense, and can be figured out... it's just that this is not the
point. The film is so well made that it evokes emotional responses even when
we cannot figure out what is going on. Fascinating, dramatic, erotic, scary,
darkly comic, breathtakingly cinematic and very hard to forget.
4. "In the
Bedroom"
As of yet, I have seen this only once. My viewing was in February, and its
impact has not faded one bit. First-time director Todd Field introduces us
to a very complex and specific dramatic situation involving a New England
family with a college-age son. He gets us into the rhythms of his characters
and dilemmas, then shatters the whole thing with one shocking event, and
then takes yet another turn for the dark. This is a drama of soul, with the
passions and pains of the characters tangible thanks to terrific performances
by Tom Wilkinson, Nick Stahl, Sissy Spacek, William Mapother and that screen
goddess known as Marisa Tomei.
5. "Y Tu Mama
Tambien" ("And Your Mother Too")
Word on the street has been buzzing over contemporary Mexican cinema, and
if this example of it can be bettered, we're going to be some happy filmgoers.
Alfonso Cuaron's film stars Gael Garcia Bernal and Diego Luna as two horny
teenage boys, and Maribel Verdu as the gorgeous unsatisfied housewife who
goes along on their road trip to drink with them, smoke with them and teach
them lessons in the bedroom. The movie is amusing and sweet in its portrayal
of the trio's journey, and it also cuts away to scenes of Mexican village
life, class struggle and political climate. The closing scenes put new spin
on things that have gone before, and set us reflecting the probabilities
of what might come afterward. Whatever interpretation should be made of the
film as a whole, the experience as it plays is an astonishing balance of
fun and poignancy, heedlessness and uncertainty. Cuaron couples the immediacy
and energy of a young filmmaker with the wisdom and tenderness of an older
one, and he ends up with a sex comedy that feels not simply perceptive, but
meaningful and deep.
6. "Waking
Life"
I freely admit that this is not for everyone, but to me it seemed heavenly.
Actors including Wiley Wiggins, Ethan Hawke, Julie Delpy and Adam Goldberg
played their roles on video camera, before the footage was drawn over using
a technique called Rotoscoping. The screenplay gets Wiggins to drift through
Texas unsure of whether or not he is in a dream, while meeting characters
who muse on all sorts of subjects, including the concept of free will, the
possibility that all human thinking is out in the air through forms of telepathy
and the difficulty of original thought in an age saturated with ideas. The
result is a cartoon that looks groundbreaking and fresh -- without appearing
photographic, the images have the stuff of life about them. The dialogue
drifts through the mind in poetic rhythm, inspiring not only thought but
liberating sensory delight. Or else you find the movie weird-looking and
pretentious. See it and decide.
7. "Signs"
M. Night Shyamalan, director of the interesting but flawed ghost story "Sixth
Sense" and the clever superhero picture "Unbreakable", showed a merciless
mastery of pacing with this story of a Pennsylvania family suspecting the
impending arrival of invaders from outer space. Mel Gibson and Joaquin Phoenix
are the actors, while the stars are the narrative hints that build slowly
in the mind of the viewer, taking on extreme urgency and wrapping us all
up with tension. Ultimately the film turns into more a story of faith than
aliens -- and maybe the film would have been a better show-stopper without
this resolution. But it works either way, because the build-up controls our
attention so damned well.
8.
"Frailty"
The directorial debut of Bill Paxton is brave and brilliant in its levels
of darkness, which are astonishing in different ways as the movie builds,
as it ends, and as we think about it afterward. The story involves a good-hearted
small-town mechanic who becomes convinced that he and his sons have been
instructed by God to kill demons posing as humans. One boy is convinced by
the idea, while the other is not. As killings take place, the movie unfolds
with the creepiness of a well-told ghost story, leading to a revelation that
at first seems like interesting fantasy, could be a far-reaching comment
about the sad depths of minds deformed at childhood, and is fascinating whatever
the meaning.
9. "Monster's
Ball"
Billy Bob Thornton plays a former death row prison guard, Halle Berry won
an Oscar as a waitress whose husband died on the electric chair. Both people
are worn out from lives of tragic strain, and when they find each other in
romance, it is borne out of need rather than sentimentality. The mood of
all this is communicated to us slowly and soberly, in a manner that ends
up beautifully absorbing, with an oddly and uniquely hopeful conclusion.
10.
"Spider-Man"
Well, I think it's the best superhero movie since "Superman" (1978), and
if that seems silly, I do not care. Sam Raimi has created such an exciting
Spidey that I couldn't help imitating the character's moves, hoping that
by divine magic I would be able to do that cool-ass web thing. The film is
also involving on an emotional level: Tobey Maguire plays the young Peter
Parker as a goofy and likeable kid, using his newfound powers inspiringly,
through a progression that seems to make good sense. Kirsten Dunst is a sweet
and gorgeous heroine, and oh!, check out that upside-down kiss in the rain,
both sexy and iconic. The supporting cast includes Willem Dafoe as the villain,
J.K. Simmons as a copy editor who chomps cigars and speaks in tones from
old serials, and cameos from such folks as Bruce Campbell, who appears as
a wrestling referee. What joy!
Because this was such a good year, here is another
list of ten -- not runners-up, but equivalents, listed in alphabetical
order:
"24 Hour
Party People" was a thrillingly messy jumble of faux-documentary
footage, crass in-jokery and melodrama depicting the Factory Records role
in the Manchester scene of the 80s and 90s. Steve Coogan stars as an Alan
Partridge-esque Tony Wilson, so loveably silly and pretentious that even
the posters called him "Twat!"
"Bully" reinvented
the American murder movie, replacing its usual shots of sorrowful stillness
and distant reflection with immediate and graphic depiction of degenerate
young lives. The story is one of thoughtless slackers dashing headlong into
an act of evil and stupidity, but director Larry Clark involves us in material
with no entry point by making his visuals seem alive, and by injecting his
film with a wicked sense of gallows humour.
"Donnie Darko"
is a 21st century teen movie set in 1988 -- another picture that
got people chatting on their way out of the cinema, with its talking bunny
rabbit, retro soundtrack, mind-twisting plot paradoxes and dark yet relatable
lead performance by Jake Gyllenhaal.
"Harry Potter and
the Chamber of Secrets", the second instalment in the wizardry series,
is goofy, theatrical and magically charming. There is little need to say
much about this; it's likely that you've made your mind up about Potter,
whether you bothered to see it or not. All y'all snobby naysayers are missing
out... why not just join the party, huh?
"Lantana" has
a complex structure depicting simple threads, for the purpose of relating
the coil and spring of difficult human emotions. Domestic dialogue takes
on large proportions through passionate performances by Gregory Rush, Anthony
LaPaglia, Barbara Hershey, Kerry Armstrong and others, who play their roles
under the unmistakable caking of the Australian sun. I am unsure about whether
the nature of the movie would allow it to stand up on second viewing, but
it is nonetheless a surprisingly immersing and draining experience.
"Ocean's
Eleven" gets the toe tappin' and the head a-noddin', because it's
an all-star tribute to Rat Pack capers that oozes old-school style and charm.
Swing and funk on the speakers, slick moves by the camera, a heist plan that
comes together real nice, and bouncy performances from George Clooney, Brad
Pitt, Matt Damon, Julia Roberts, Andy Garcia, Elliot Gould and Don Cheadle.
Sweet.
"Road to
Perdition", the second film from "American Beauty" director Sam Mendes,
features Tom Hanks and Paul Newman in a pulp gangster saga with the moodily
beautiful tones of a wood-panelled classic. I suspected in my review that
many would complain about the visuals, which perhaps try too hard to seem
gorgeous, and indeed complaints came thick and fast. But the movie is involving,
and even if it does try too hard to look good, isn't that better than not
trying at all?
"Sweet
Sixteen" is everything that a Ken Loach movie should be and some
of what Truffaut was -- the heartbreaking story of an inner-city teenage
boy whose life starts taking quick turns to hell, but all because of good
intentions. A school-age third division football player named Martin Compston
does terrific work in the lead role, and the photography somehow captures
a certain truth about the way situations look and feel when you're adolescent
and aimless.
"Tape"
seems like it's going to be a weird experimental piece, and then turns out
to be so much more. Low-grade video photography captures Ethan Hawke, Robert
Sean Leonard and Uma Thurman as three old friends catching up in a hotel
room, in a one-act play whose dialogue starts out playful but cunningly lets
darkness rise to the surface. Tightly wound, very involving and perfectly
played, even though at first it doesn't seem that way.
"Training
Day" also features Ethan Hawke, this time reacting to an
Oscar-winning Denzel Washington, who plays a crazed narcotics officer showing
his young partner the ropes with a vengeance. I've seen it twice, and twice
has it hooked and compelled me with its remarkable balance of genuine toughness
and silly, over-the-top grandiosity. Hawke internalises, takes it all seriously,
provides the heart and focus. Washington acts it up with such an edge that
he is both terrifying and hilarious: "King Kong ain't got shit on me!" The
screenplay manages to incorporate gang conspiracies, machine guns, a skimming
on a $4m drug bust, a run-in with the Russian mafia and a final confrontation
that seems straight out of a slasher pic. But it works.
In the stubbornly traditional manner of all my
year-end pieces, I will finish by offering another simple list, of thirty
runners-up, all seriously worth checking out: "28
Days Later", "Ali", "Big
Fat Liar", "The Business of
Strangers", "Dinner Rush",
"From Hell", "Gosford
Park", "The Guru", "Hart's
War", "Hearts in Atlantis",
"Insomnia", "ivans
xtc.", "K-Pax", "The
Last Castle", "Lilo & Stitch",
"Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers",
"The Majestic",
"Minority Report",
"Monsoon Wedding",
"Morvern Callar",
"Monsters, Inc.", "No
Man's Land", "Once Upon a Time in the
Midlands", "One Hour Photo",
"Orange County",
"Rabbit-Proof Fence",
"The Royal Tenenbaums",
"Sidewalks of New York",
"The Sum of All Fears",
"The Warrior".
Catch you in 2003. Be excellent to each
other.
COPYRIGHT©
2002 Ian Waldron-Mantgani
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