Top 10 Films of 2012
1. Lincoln
Slow, stately, and larger than life, Lincoln mixes mysticism with history as it tells the story of our 16th President’s effort to pass the 13th Amendment. Though Daniel Day-Lewis’s performance is unquestionably incredible, Lincoln tops my list because of its director’s sensibilities. Steven Spielberg takes what could be a snoozefest of a story and instills a suspense as underhanded as the President’s tactics. He’s always been a master of camera movement, and his work here is some of his best. For Lincoln, I couldn’t imagine anyone else at the helm.
2. Amour
Amour is a hard-hitting film that features some of the year’s best direction. Michael Haneke has told an honest story of love between a married couple in their 80s via remarkably commanding and assertive direction. It’s a story that could have easily gone for cheap tears, told in what would typically be an overwrought style, but most impressively, it all comes off without the slightest hint of fabrication or pretension. It also spawned the longest, most in-depth movie musing of the year.
3. Zero Dark Thirty
Zero Dark Thirty is a momentous procedural thriller with a captivating character study to boot. Jessica Chastain’s Maya is a marvel; Mark Boal’s writing is remarkably coherent, as is the film’s editing (some of the year’s best); and Kathryn Bigelow’s direction is some of her most assured and collected yet. Worth noting is her ability to build moments and punctuate them with a single shot. As if continuing the theme of coherence, her visual communication is as masterful as it gets.
4. Moonrise Kingdom
Wes Anderson is a master of the meticulous, and Moonrise Kingdom is his most beautifully assembled. Though clocking in at just over 90 minutes, he seems to have pieced together more elements here than in any of his previous films. This one makes my list, however, for being more than just a multifaceted charm. Coming out and around the edges of its alluring components are moments of unexpected depth and poignancy. Anderson’s amalgamation of comedy, charm, and pathos makes Moonrise Kingdom an idiosyncratic portrait of life itself.
5. Silver Linings Playbook
Silver Linings Playbook breaks free of its genre’s tropes in the most triumphant way. Though I still believe this is most noticeably due to its mesmerizing performances, I was wrong to criticize director David O. Russell for putting his credit first and failing to give me something greater (see linked musing). Without a doubt, it is his sharp screenplay and appropriately restrained direction that let the cast shine and make the film so great. And he really does display some impeccable camerawork. The use of steadicam throughout is pivotal in our identification with the characters. Also worth noting is one of the few pieces of visually expressive filmmaking, when his camera circles around the two leads as they kiss, then rapidly tracks backward down the street. If I recall correctly, the shot is actually flipped, played in reverse, and undercranked. For the perpetually out of balance leads, it’s a moment of kinetic bliss.
6. Beasts of the Southern Wild
Lush, brave, and beautiful, Beasts of the Southern Wild has a charm that overwhelms. It's a manifestation of its protagonist Hushpuppy—played by the awe-inspiring Quvenzhané Wallis (just 6 years-old at the time of production)—whose unimpaired worldview sears through every frame. Benh Zeitlin's direction evokes the poetry of Terrance Mallick and the imagination of Roald Dahl. The soft and saturated 16mm photography strikes an impervious illustration of the eternal beauty of a medium near extinction. In the future, when digital has completely taken over cinema, movie lovers will find this gem and know, once there was celluloid, and it was a beautiful and unequaled medium.
7. Life of Pi
Life of Pi will probably be more appreciated in the future. Film historians may look back and pronounce it a masterpiece. And it may very well be. It is certainly the pinnacle of 3D photography at the moment (yes, topping even Avatar and Hugo). And regardless of dimension, it deserves the cinematography Oscar. So why is it not higher on my personal list? Well, for similar reasons on a micro focus. While I certainly enjoyed the experience in the theater, I appreciated Life of Pi even more after the fact. Its thought-provoking ending had me more engaged than I was in the moment.
8. Argo
Argo is a good, solid thriller, but my reaction was affected by expectation. After all the overwhelmingly positive press I was expecting something truly great, and Argo doesn’t quite make it there for me. The opening scene, however, is a terrific lesson in how to create tension by establishing perilous stakes. It’s probably the best directed and edited sequence of the year. In fact, as a whole, I’d say Argo is the best edited film of the year. And as far as tension goes, Affleck does a great job of keeping it up throughout. My two biggest critiques: he overdoes it (taking us out of the experience as we become aware of the Hollywood manipulation) and his performance as Tony Mendez is almost entirely void of character.
9. Les Misérables
Tom Hooper makes this Les Misérables unmistakingly his through two of the year’s most ballsy directorial choices: recording the musical performances live on set and lensing it in his auteuristic wide-angle worldview. Both work quite well, and the ensemble cast is really incredible. It’s a little long and heavy-handed, but the emotional depth and movement is second to none.
10. Django Unchained
Django Unchained is another great addition to the Tarantino canon. Though he satisfactorily delivers exactly what we expect, one can’t help but feel like we’ve seen it all before. Django doesn’t resonate as well as his prior film, but it’s an otherwise unmatched piece of entertainment well worth the price of admission.
Honorable Mention: The Perks of Being a Wallflower (an honest and poignant look at adolescence that was too enjoyable to not mention), The Master (two great performances, glorious 65mm photography, and a welcome addition to the Paul Thomas Anderson filmography), and Looper (whose TK scene has the potential to go down in history as one of the most shocking and goosebumpy moments in the movies)
I also saw: The Avengers, Flight, The Sessions, Savages, The Dark Knight Rises, The Impossible, Premium Rush, Prometheus, The Hunger Games
Total count: 22
