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Top Ten Films of 2007

Here we go for the 6th time and another list of 10 films that I loved this past year. It was a good year for film and it featured films from some of my favourite directors such as the Coen brothers, Danny Boyle, Bruce MacDonald and David Lynch. It seemed a bit thin on documentaries, but many of the films incorporated documentary elements or reality into their worlds. Challenging and entertaining, it was a year that had some great moments.

The films in perhaps a rough order are No Country for Old Men, Sunshine, Control, The Tracey Fragments, Inland Empire, Michael Clayton, The Bourne Ultimatum, Low and Behold, Juno, and Good Copy Bad Copy. Read on to find out why they made my list.

No Country for Old Men

Joel and Ethan Coen came back to familiar territory with No Country for Old Men and they also share on screen directing credit for the first time. An adaptation of the novel by Cormac McCarthy, the Coen’s brought their own tone to the story while also striking a more serious tone than their previous dark film, Fargo. Built around three performances by Tommy Lee Jones, Josh Brolin, and Javier Bardem, the film moves between the characters in a haunting exploration of evil and how they respond to it. Shot in an understated style by Roger Deakins, it deliberately moves forward in a bold way with a constant sense of dread. It’s great to see the Coen brothers working in familiar territory while also challenging themselves and the audience.

Sunshine

With Sunshine, Danny Boyle creates a thoughtful science fiction film that explores the idea of the sun going out and a mission to restart our nearest star. With a solid basis of science, the film is really about the crew and how they respond to the challenges that they face. Beautifully shot by Alwin Kuchler, along with some stunning special effects, I didn’t think about any of the shots as effects until after the film. Filled with affectionate nods towards the sf films that have come before, it also doesn’t get bogged down in the details, but focusses on more important (and interesting) interactions between the characters and the choices that they need to make. With an enigmatic and strangely compelling performance by Cillian Murphy at the centre of the film, it’s yet another great film by Danny Boyle that is entertaining with a bit to think about as well.

Control

In Control, Anton Corbijn makes his feature-film directing debut by bringing aesthetics of a stills photographer to a biography. Avoiding the well-worn cliches of so many other music biographies, Corbijn gives us glimpses into the life of Ian Curtis of the band Joy Division in stark and beautiful black and white photography. Sam Riley is perfect as Curtis and Samantha Morton provides the emotional core of the film as Deborah Curtis. The music in the film is played by the actors, which adds another level of authenticity to the performances. Based on Deborah Curtis’ book, the film is respectful and brutally honest at times while resisting the temptation to gloss things over or to fall into easy answers. A fascinating and sad portrait of young musician from Manchester.

The Tracey Fragments

Boldly dividing the frame and shooting on video, Bruce McDonald tells a coming-of-age story in The Tracey Fragments with a solid performance by Ellen Page who is on screen for pretty much the entire film. At first the technique of splitting the screen into multiple images seems overwhelming, but McDonald skillfully manages the visual clutter and narrative to mirror the contradictory and complex nature of Tracey as she looks for her missing brother and tries to find herself as well. Jumping around in time and style and with a soundtrack by Broken Social Scene, with an experimental approach to a teen drama. Based on the novel by Maureen Medved, it’s a perfect combination of form and function that allows McDonald and Page to show off their talents.

Inland Empire

Nobody can bring dream logic to the screen better than David Lynch and with Inland Empire he abandons film and creates a strange world of a woman in trouble. Lynch works with digital video and pushes the cameras to the limit with close framing, low light and hand-held camera work. At first I had trouble getting into it, but as it went on I was sucked into the dreamlike world and mysteries within it. Shot over a couple of years with a script that evolved, it has a diverse range of elements and images that start to make sense over time. At the core of the film is a remarkable performance by Laura Dern as an actress who loses touch with reality.
The narrative folds back on itself several times and you start to make connections between what you have seen and what is happening. It’s hard to describe (like a dream), but I found it kept rolling around in my head for days and days.

Michael Clayton

Tony Gilroy makes his feature directorial debut with Michael Clayton, which is the story of a man who is able to solve problems for a law firm based on the connections that he has. George Clooney is fantastic as Clayton and he plays the character in an understated style that keeps us guessing about what he will do and what he’s thinking. While a legal / procedural drama often can bog down in the details, the focus remains on the character and we have to piece together the back story as we see small bits of information that begin to fill in the picture. The film plays with our expectations of the genre while constantly surprising us. Beautifully shot with long takes and solid performances, it’s a character study that builds to an electrifying climax.

The Bourne Ultimatum

My favourite thriller of the summer was The Bourne Ultimatum. Paul Greengrass expertly shoots action scenes that are quickly-paced without being confusing. Matt Damon is solid as the slightly blank hero without a memory who has the skill to be able to escape from any situation. With virtuoso sequences set in a train station, a cluster of claustrophobic houses, and the streets of New York, it’s a textbook example of how to shoot action that is exciting without losing the audience. While the plot is secondary to the action, the supporting characters are great and add a bit more depth to action that quickly moves around the world. An intelligent action film that delivers thrills and information in a precise and entertaining fashion.

Low and Behold

A surprise from the film festival season was the New Orleans-based drama Low and Behold. Directed by Zack Godshall with a script by (and costarring) Barlow Jacobs, it blends documentary and drama together to tell the story of an insurance adjuster in post-hurricane New Orleans. Shot on digital video on location it has a great performance by Eddie Rouse as a man who befriends the insurance adjuster as he makes his rounds through the devastation. Shot in a documentary style (with actual stories of New Orleans residents sprinkled through the film), it gave me a different perspective on the aftermath of hurricane Katrina. At times funny, at times heartbreaking, it’s a unique and heartfelt film that tells a simple story with the people and places in New Orleans portrayed in a realistic and gentle fashion.

Juno

I heard the buzz for a while before I saw Juno and while it has all of the earmarks of an indie darling, it’s only the first 10 or 15 minutes that seem to follow the quirky pattern of many recent indies. Ellen Page is great as main character Juno and she carries the film with a performance that is much more nuanced than many other actors would give. As the film went on I became more and more involved and it surprised me with the choices that were made as it avoided the quirky pitfalls. The supporting cast is also great with Michael Cera given a chance to play a character with more depth than he usually does and J. K. Simmons and Allison Janney playing Juno’s parents with skill and subtlety. It was funny, but far more moving than I thought it would be, so I ended up liking it quite a bit.

Good Copy Bad Copy

My favourite documentary of the year was the freely available Danish film, Good Copy Bad Copy, which is about the struggles over copyright. Co-directed by Andreas Johnsen, Ralf Christensen, and Henrik Moltke it provides some much-needed perspective on copyright law, music and culture. With a global focus, it adds more voices than usual to the debate and traces the journey of music and culture around the world by showing several different models of music creation and distribution. It quickly and comprehensively provides a concrete look at how music and culture is created and shared around the world.

December 31, 2007 2007, best, film, lists