The 100 Films Of The Decade: 20 – 11
20 About Schmidt (2002)
Dir. Alexander Payne
A perfect tragicomedy from Alexander Payne, About Schmidt‘s measured pace and delicate wit make it a refined joy to watch. After the death of his wife and subsequent discovery of her affair, retired insurance actuary Warren Schmidt takes a road trip across America to regain some control over his life. Jack Nicholson acts with surprising restraint throughout in one of his subtlest performances since Five Easy Pieces, a film directly referenced here with a roadside café scene in which Schmidt dutifully accepts the waitress’ ordering policy, in contrast to the confrontational encounter from 1970. This scene neatly sums up the overall tone of About Schmidt – the grudging realisation that life is just a series of flawed relationships and quiet disappointments. Painfully funny in every sense.
19 WALL•E (2008)
Dir. Andrew Stanton
The world has become uninhabitable through pollution and a surplus of junk, with a cleaning robot and a VHS copy of Hello Dolly! pretty much all that’s left of civilisation on earth. The opening section of Wall-E is an ingenious, dialogue-free account of WALL-E falling in love with advanced probe robot EVE, only for her to attempt to blast him to pieces at every opportunity. As you’ll no doubt gather, Wall-E is a very unusual animated film, even by Pixar’s standards. The film unapologetically refuses to pander to young children (or even some adults!) in its political and ecological agenda, or with its subtle visually driven story, but embraces anyone happy to ride the film’s daring science-fiction concepts. In fact, it’s almost unthinkable that the Disney corporation would put out a film openly criticising the homogenous consumer society of America, considering their huge merchandise range and theme parks, but here it is! With a bold scope of ideas, a delicate emotional impact and stunningly realised artistry, Wall-E can sit proudly alongside Fantasia, Beauty And The Beast and Toy Story as one of the greatest animated films of all time.
18 Amores Perros (2000)
Dir. Alejandro González Iñárritu
The film that first catapulted the Mexican New Wave on to the international scene, Amores Perros is an astonishingly visceral and profound viewing experiences. Consisting of three starkly different stories, all featuring dogs and all centred around a pivotal car accident, the opening ‘Octavio and Susana’ sees Gael García Bernal become involved in the dangerous pursuit of dog fighting and the closing ‘El Chivo and Maru’ is the surprising story of a professional hitman (Emilio Echevarría) living as an apparent vagrant surrounded by his pack of beloved mongrel dogs. But my favourite segment is the central ‘Daniel and Valeria’, a curiously moving tale of a supermodel confined to a wheelchair who loses her dog beneath the floorboards of her new apartment, the trapped pet paralleling the restraints of her life and relationship. The first, and best, of Iñárritu’s loose ‘Death Trilogy’ along with 21 Grams and Babel, Amores Perros is a smouldering cinematic powder keg waiting to explode across your senses.
17 United 93 (2006)
Dir. Paul Greengrass
Five years after the September 11 bombings seemed the appropriate time for a series of dramatic responses to the event. Oliver Stone’s World Trade Center was a disaster movie with a heart, but the twin towers attack could hardly be presented with more affecting power than in the startling 2002 real-footage documentary 9/11. So Paul Greengrass approached the tragedy from a different angle, presenting in real-time the brave resistance of passengers aboard United Airlines Flight 93, the hijacked plane that failed to reach its planned target. Filmed with permission from the victim’s families (though one can barely imagine the heart-wrenching catharsis they must have experienced watching it), United 93 is almost unbearably explicit in its unfolding of events. A difficult and controversial film for sure, but a defining piece of emotive cinema, with Greengrass’ vérité style simply documenting the horror without compromise.
16 Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind (2004)
Dir. Michel Gondry
The fractured and deceptive nature of memory forms the basis for this mind-bending romantic comedy from writer Charlie Kaufman. Taking the pioneering visual trickery of his music videos to the big screen, Michel Gondry perfectly channels Kaufman’s stream of consciousness into a beautifully lucid flow of imagery. Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet appropriately play against type in a film that essentially reinvents cinematic storytelling as it goes along. Structured with dizzying ingenuity and presenting its ideas with impressive clarity, Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind is one of the most satisfyingly contorted assaults on mainstream cinema.
15 The Assassination Of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford (2007)
Dir. Andrew Dominik
The greatest exhumation of the Western since Unfogiven and one of the most beautiful films of the decade, The Assassination Of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford is a rueful psychological study of the criminal mind, of lonely landscapes and eager mythologizing, all filmed with impeccable mood and lighting. Brad Pitt embodies the ageing Jesse James with a growing paranoia and gradual acceptance of his own inevitable demise, manipulating his friendship with the young wayward gang member Robert Ford (Casey Affleck) to seal his legendary standing. Affleck is an absolute revelation in the complex role of the troubled and insecure Ford and several sequences, including a shocking train hold-up, are among the best the genre has ever delivered. A stunningly photographed, epic character assassination.
14 Downfall (2004)
Dir. Oliver Hirschbiegel
The first major German film to feature Adolf Hitler in the central role, Downfall presents us with the last ten days in Hitler’s bunker, Oliver Hirschbiegel filling every moment with a chilling tension and a true sense of irrevocable decay. Bruno Ganz, a legend of the German New Wave, pulls off a remarkable feat by humanizing Hitler as a dimensional character but offering no sympathy for him, instead we are witness to his spiralling madness and pain as power slips from his hands. But there’s an emotional attachment from the Führer, with all activity in the bunker seen through the eyes of young personal secretary Traudl Junge (Alexandra Maria Lara) who is not complicit to the evils of the Nazi regime and offers an important central heart to the film. Downfall is one of the most powerfully vivid depictions of a specific time and place you could ever see.
13 Zodiac (2007)
Dir. David Fincher
Having perfected the serial-killer shocker with Se7en (1995), David Fincher turned the whole concept on its head with this amazing procedural thriller. Following the lives of Crime Reporter Paul Avery (Robert Downney Jr), Political Cartoonist Robert Graysmith (Jake Gyllenhaal) and San Francisco Detective Dave Toschi (Mark Ruffalo) over a 20 year period, this is a serial-killer film where the destructive evil is not so much in the perpetrator as within those who obsessively hunt him down and the effect on their relationships and careers proves devastating. Although Fincher punctuates the narrative with several bravura murder (or attempted murder) sequences, and even sneakily offers a false suspenseful ending, the majority of Zodiac is taken up with the gripping and insightful study of three characters destroyed by their own haunted quest for the truth. With its ambitious and subtle use of effects, its refusal to make things easy for the audience and a unique approach to its topic, I’ll stick my neck out and say that Zodiac is Fincher’s finest film to date.
12 In The Mood For Love (2000)
Dir. Wong Kar-Wai
Having made the greatest romantic film of the 1990’s with Chungking Express, the great Wong Kar-Wai repeated the achievement and then some for the 2000’s with the sublimely gorgeous In The Mood For Love. No film has ever achieved the same mesmeric beauty seen in this tale of unrequited love in 1960’s Hong Kong. Chow Mo-wan (Tony Leung) and Su Li-zhen (Maggie Cheung) fall for each other after discovering an affair between their respective partners, but refuse to take the same destructive path themselves. Imbued with deep reds and yellows, and put to an incredible string score from Michael Galasso and Shigeru Umebayashi, In The Mood For Love is a sumptuous treat for the eyes and a tender sensation for the heart. Also highly recommended is the 2004 sequel 2046 which traces the aftermath of the unconsummated affair.
11 A History Of Violence (2005)
Dir. David Cronenberg
One of the few out-and-out Horror directors to carve out a critically lauded career of art house/genre crossover films, David Cronenberg distilled the best of both areas with his incredible noir-thriller A History Of Violence. Viggo Mortensen plays the mild-mannered diner owner Tom Stall, whose past catches up with him when he becomes a local hero after an attempted robbery. With a dark nod to the bleak character studies of film noir and an obvious debt to Straw Dogs, this riveting thriller is rich with social and evolutionary metaphors, Tom’s secrets representing mankind’s innate need for violence both for success and survival. Allowing plenty of scope for Cronenberg’s brilliantly explicit gore, but also for a revealing meditation on the nature of violence, A History Of Violence has become the essential first port of call in this director’s remarkable “body horror” of work.
The 100 Films Of The Decade: 100 – 91
This is not a 100 best films of the decade, or a 100 most important or influential films. That kind of list would have to be drawn from a huge collation of lists covering wide areas of film. Naturally I can’t claim to have seen the definitive 100 best films of the decade, but I have seen hundreds of films from the last 10 years, many of which have disappointed me – although I credit myself for avoiding films I’m pretty sure I’d hate on the assumption that sitting through them would be a worse experience than unknowingly missing out on a possible masterpiece. That’s you I’m looking at, Transformers. Or rather, not looking at.
The best I can do is offer 100 films which I consider to be essential viewing for anyone with a robust interest in cinema and the medium’s many possibilities. These are the 100 films which have touched, astonished or hooked me to the point of obsession. It’s a very personal list, filled with the directors, writers and actors I love. For a decade largely dominated in the mainstream by CGI-laden blockbusters, super-hero films and gross-out comedies, I’m happy to announce that my list features none of these selections. The nearest for consideration were the excellent but overrated The Dark Knight, which fell just outside my 100, and The Lord Of The Rings trilogy, which was certainly a staggering achievement but ultimately too drawn-out and self-aggrandizing for my liking.
The exact ranking of the films is more of a template and not to be taken as a rigid order – afterall, out of 100 truly great films how can one really be measured as better than another? Suffice to say I believe those in the top 50 are greater in some way than those in the last 50. And the top 20 is pretty much my fixed selection of the films I consider to be the very best of the decade. Until I catch up with all those other superb films I’ve yet to see and the whole thing changes …
100 Before The Devil Knows You’re Dead (2007)
Dir. Sidney Lumet
In his 50th year as a filmmaker and at the grand age of 83, Sidney Lumet made this mesmerizing thriller about two brothers botched robbery of their own parents jewellery store. Told with a non-linear, multi-angled structure, the tension is cranked up as the inept robbers become increasingly desperate in their attempts to cover their tracks. Another gem to add to Lumet’s incredible back catalogue and a first-rate cast of Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Ethan Hawke and Albert Finney into the bargain!
99 Grizzly Man (2005)
Dir. Werner Herzog
Always a filmmaker exploring the crazy limits of human endeavor, it’s no wonder Werner Herzog took the story of bear enthusiast Timothy Treadwell to heart. Treadwell spent 13 summers with the wild bears of Alaska until he and his girlfriend were killed and eaten by one in 2003. Herzog narrates in his own intense style, weaving together recovered footage from Treadwell’s own video camera with interviews from his family and friends to paint the portrait of man eventually destroyed by his own dangerous obsession.
98 Inland Empire (2006)
Dir. David Lynch
For those not sufficiently weirded-out by Mulholland Dr, David Lynch offers Inland Empire, a 3 hour assault on the senses, blurring the lines between fiction and reality on the Hollywood backlot. Shot entirely on digital video, Inland Empire still retains the eerie aesthetic that is totally unique to Lynch. This is probably his strangest film, which is really saying something, and it certainly won’t win over any new fans. But more fool them – the cinema of David Lynch is as good as it gets and the stranger the better.
97 Far From Heaven (2002)
Dir. Todd Haynes
I had already immersed myself into the world of Douglas Sirk before seeing Far From Heaven, so it’s difficult to say how I would view the film had I not been aware of the debt owed to its source material. The sumptuous autumn colours, rousing score and near-melodramtic performances perfectly evoke Imitation Of Life and, in particular, All That Heaven Allows. But Haynes delves deeper into the themes of racism and homosexuality which Sirk could only use as subtext in the 1950’s, making this uniquely a period piece for the 21st century. And Julianne Moore can do no wrong in my book.
96 Dirty Pretty Things (2002)
Dir. Stephen Frears
One of the great underrated thrillers of our time, Dirty Pretty Things submerges itself into the desperate world of immigrant workers, who live on the expendable peripheries of society. Chiwetel Ejiofor (in a startling screen debut) and Audrey Tautou (riding high from Amélie but proving her great range) are excellent as the mismatched pair of immigrants who plan to sell a kidney in exchange for passports. Stephen Frears continues to prove himself as a director of great insight and energy.
95 Panic Room (2002)
Dir. David Fincher
Wrongly rejected by critics who were perhaps expecting another film as ambitious as Fight Club, this home-invasion thriller is a tightly controlled excercise in isolated terror. Made on a huge studio set à la Rear Window and with plenty of Hitchcock touches, Fincher adds his own unique flourishes with seemingly impossible tracking shots. Panic Room is Fincher’s taut study in suspense and a small masterpiece compared to his bloated Benjamin Button.
94 Battle Royale (2000)
Dir. Kinji Fukasaku
“At the dawn of the millennium, the nation collapsed. At fifteen percent unemployment, ten million were out of work. 800,000 students boycotted school. The adults lost confidence, and fearing the youth, eventually passed the Millennium Educational Reform Act—AKA: The BR Act…” And so the scene is set for every bitter teachers revenge fantasy. Takeshi Kitano plays the wronged teacher who masterminds the ultimate youth challenge scheme, where a group of schoolchildren must fight to the death on an isolated island. A fantastically violent and controversial sci-fi thriller, this is Lord Of The Flies with detonating neck collars and submachine guns.
93 A Mighty Wind (2003)
Dir. Christopher Guest
A Christopher Guest comedy is always something to celebrate and A Mighty Wind just pips For Your Consideration as his comedy of the decade. Almost a folk riposte to Spinal Tap, here Christopher Guest, Michael McKean and Harry Shearer are legendary trio The Folksmen, preparing for a reunion concert. The song parodies are spot on and remain brilliant in and of themsleves. As always, the supporting cast of Catherine O’Hara, Eugene Levy, Fred Willard, Bob Balaban and Parker Posey are exceptional.
92 Dead Man’s Shoes (2004)
Dir. Shane Meadows
Something of a godsend to 21st century British cinema, Shane Meadows makes uncompromising films deeply rooted in the neglected underbelly of society. His films are often powerful character studies in the best tradition of the British social-realism scene, but his best film is this unflinching thriller with a style which creeps up on its audience and eventually strangles them into shocked admission. Paddy Considine has a commanding presence as the paratrooper returning to avenge the death of his disabled brother. The Peak District has never looked so fascinatingly sinister.
91 Corpse Bride (2005)
Dir. Tim Burton & Mike Johnson
Another dark romance from the mind of Tim Burton, lovingly rendered in excellent stop-motion. This has all the hallmarks of classic Burton – wildly comic, weirdly poignant and fully embracing his love for 19th century gothic horror. Although it’s not amongst his very best work, (that would be Edward Scissorhands, Ed Wood, Big Fish and Sweeney Todd for my money) Corpse Bride is almost a greatest hits package that can’t fail to delight any Burton fan: Danny Elfman once more provides songs and score, most of the Nightmare Before Christmas crew return, Michael Gough and Christopher Lee add vocal support and, of course, Johnny Depp takes the lead. The saturated blue colours lend a haunting beauty to a world populated by gaunt, rotund and skeletal grotesques. For those weary of certain all-too-saccharine animated films, Corpse Bride is the perfect macabre antidote.
FANTASTIC VOYAGES 