Top 5 Films of 2011 (Part One)

As we are starting both our site and the journey through the cinema of 2012, we at Indie Film Network Australia thought it’d be a great idea to share each of our four core bloggers’ top five films of 2011, so you can get to know each of us and get a vague idea of our respective film tastes as well.

 

Brad Mariano:

Brad was the president of Sydney University Film Society in 2011 (USYD’s film society being the state’s largest student film society) and has a film major under his belt (don’t worry; he also does Law so it’s not like he’s a complete drain on societ-oh wait). He is probably the most classical (ie. snobbish) one of us in terms of taste.

1. Melancholia

With a film more polished and less provocative than what von Trier fans and detractors expected, Melancholia is most likely his finest film yet, and one of the very best in years. With an absolutely stellar and inspired cast, extremely effective (and un-Dogme!) use of music and special effects and a stunning opening and profound conclusion, Melancholia is the single best film I saw this year (and for what it’s worth, the best film in quite a few years).

2. The Tree of Life

The two most talked about and significant films of the year premiered and took home awards at Cannes and are both epics from extremely idiosyncratic auteurs, immensely personal films about singular experience and trauma to the backdrop of the vast, universal and cosmological. For von Trier, human life seems insignificant and weak in the broader scheme of the universe, for Malick it is unique and awe-inspiring. These films seem destined to be linked together, both incredibly executed, fascinating films. Has there ever been a more impressive sequence filmed than the Universe segment in Tree of Life? It’s also impeccably acted and there’s a profound and ambitious nature to this film that is impossible to ignore. What holds this back from number 1 is a pretty weak, overly metaphorical and self-indulgent ending – Melancholia ends with an overwhelming gut punch, Tree of Life leaves you with a slightly bad taste in your mouth from an otherwise brilliant film, and that’s all there is in the distinction between 1 and 2.

3. The Eye of the Storm

Patrick White never lived to see his dream of one of his novels turned into a film, but it’s a safe bet he would have been pleased with this one. With absolutely top notch Australian talent – director Fred Schepisi, actors Geoffrey Ruse, Charlotte Rampling and Judy Davis, The Eye of the Storm is an excellent drama of a highly dysfunctional family and the complex relationships therein, and with the delusions and flaws we all hold. It’s a beautifully made picture depicting an Australia on the cusp of change, and indicative of the immense filmmaking potential in this country.

4. True Grit

The Western isn’t dead! And the Coen brothers provide some crucial life-support. An extremely enjoyable and clever remake of the 1969 John Wayne vehicle, it showcases the best of the Coens dark anti-humour – is a man taking a dead corpse on the back of his horse to trade funny? You can’t really tell, but probably. The film does become somewhat predictable and less interesting towards the second half, but the first is so full of character idiosyncrasies and pitch-perfect dialogue (“I wouldn’t buy a winged pegasus for 325 dollars!”) and proved that there is plenty more to be milked from one of the oldest Hollywood genres in the book.

5. Drive

An action film and Cannes favourite? Not a perfect film and all style, no substance but as entertainment and filmmaking Drive excels. Excellent handling of suspense and with some truly shocking moments of violence, Drive is a film just well made – interesting and able cast, inspired soundtrack and full of references to films past and present, Drive is a film lovers film. Sure the romance sub-plot doesn’t quite feel real and the characters are fairly two dimensional, but this sort of energetic, cool filmmaking was welcome this year, and somehow did feel a little different.

 

Conor Bateman:

The baby of the group, Conor Bateman is still chewing his way through a film major. He’s arguably got a more alternative taste than the rest of us.

1. The Future

I saw Miranda July’s second feature film at the Sydney Film Festival and it was my first introduction to her work. I think that everything she does is polarizing, I guess because of people doubting the genuine emotion behind her work, but for The Future, I found it to be a refreshingly original and quite surreal look at human intimacy and the fear of growing up.

2. Drive

Out of all of the films on this list, I think Drive will be the one I return to most in time. It feels like so much of it is iconic instantly. The visual flair and the surprisingly perfect faux-80s soundtrack goes hand in hand with Gosling’s fantastic near-silent performance and Albert Brooks’ great turn as the cold and calculated Bernie. Another thing the film has going for it is the script, which was remarkably adapted from James Sallis’ short kaleidoscope of a novel.

3. Red State

Probably the most entertaining movie I saw this year in terms of its self-awareness and unabashed bloodshed. Kevin Smith turns his sights on the Westboro Baptist Church and delivers a shocking and exhilarating horror film. Also, has the longest shootout I’ve seen since The Town.

4. Midnight in Paris

I only saw this recently but it clearly stood out for me as one of 2011′s better films. Woody Allen proves that he is still able to dip into the Manhattan-era filmmaking genius from time to time, with this time-bending narrative about nostalgia for a time you didn;t exist in.

5. Never Let Me Go

A film adaptation of one of my favourite novels essentially arrives upon this list because they didn’t screw it up. The story is fantastic, the emotionally powerful elements of the book still remain and all three main actors, Garfield, Mulligan and Knightley, are superb.