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2008 - A year at the movies
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Whether or not 2008 was a good for movies can’t be properly judged for a few more years. The fact is, the past 12 months have been one big comedown after the sweeping releases of 2007. How could 2008 not feel lacking after the murderer’s row of No Country for Old Men, There Will Be Blood, 4 Months 3 Weeks and 2 Days, Once, Zodiac, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford and more. Simply, a lot of today’s finest directors took the year off to shoot for 2009 or prep for projects farther down the road. Those who did have pictures hit theaters were met largely with apathy - Spielberg’s latest adventure with Indie, Baz Luhrmann’s ballyhooed return Australia or Spike Lee’s dead on arrival Miracle at St. Anna.
With such wide open spaces, up and coming directors managed to build names for themselves. Martin McDonagh proved to be a fine writer and director in his debut feature In Bruges, a bitterly sharp comedy filled with drama, action and f-bombs. Artist Steve McQueen showed up on the scene with brimming confidence in the brutal Irish movie Hunger. Norwegian filmmaker Joachim Trier ran out the door baring style and substance with Reprise while John Crowley took the quieter, melancholy road with Boy A.
Elsewhere, a pair of the decade’s most unappreciated directors proved their heavyweight status in wildly popular summer fair.
Firstly, Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight wowed audiences, fanboys and critics. Nolan’s decisions to back off the cgi heavy blockbuster fair for rougher, meatier action, covered in contradicting themes that still have people fighting. His ability to crank tension as blatantly and forcefully as possible is all the more impressive due to how much it works. A perfectly pitched two hours only brought down by a stumbled conclusion. Secondly, Andrew Stanton showed again that Brad Bird isn’t necessarily the best director working in American animation with Wall-E, Pixar’s latest wonder. Shaded of Keaton, Chaplin and Lloyd dash through its opening act, making way for a sweeping space romance like no other. Stanton, who rightly credits much of his applause to his Pixar brethren, molds images of shear bliss. A couple sharing its first dance amongst the stars. A gang of reject robots finally set free to prove their worth. The world’s only lovable cockroach. Not to mention the finest hijacking of a song, Hello Dolly’s “It Only Takes a Moment,” since Tarantino remolded Stealers Wheel’s “Stuck in the Middle With You.” However, Wall-E shared the same problem The Dark Knight and so much of cinema suffered from, the lack of a terrific ending.
2008 was riddled with movie’s who peaked too soon. Hell, Tropic Thunder arguably goes downhill once the fake trailers came to a close. I’ve had this debate on repeat fellow filmgoers. Can a truly great film have all its finest moments before the final act. Doesn’t a finale mean something? The year’s top movie’s overcome the dilemma and left the audience either wanting more or shocked with what transpired.
Saddest of all was the state of mainstream comedy. Never mind the skippable fair of Mike Myers and Eddie Murphy, shells of their former selves, the letdowns came from the recently reliable. Will Ferrell’s Step Brothers was bloated, Pineapple Express lost all its steam after a hilarious first hour, the Coens Burn After Reading never got in the right gear and Steeve Coogan’s Hamlet 2 at times bordered on unbearable. Laughs had to be found in unexpected areas. We had Kung Fu Panda, Dreamworks surprisingly solid martial arts goofathon, Ricky Gervais bucking the trend of Brits stuck with bad American work in Ghost Town plus Michael Cera and Kat Dennings showing the madness of young love in theseverely under appreciated Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist. Finally, laughs were abound in a Mike Leigh release of all places. Mike Leigh aka the creator of such marvelous but dour fair like Naked and Vera Drake, mining grins and guffaws through Happy-Go-Lucky, aided by Sally Hawkins’ persistent glow.
As for the realm of acting, 2008 was no slouch. Robert Downey Jr. comeback became official, playing a pair of egomaniacs, one made of iron the other black face. Colin Farrell finally lived up to his potential with In Bruges and Woody Allen’s 07/08 borderline release Cassandra’s Dream. Heath Ledger gave his all in his final full performance as the Joker, leaving behind a character that will terrify and intrigue for decades. Elegy proved once again that Ben Kingsley is one of the finest talents in the industry as long he’s got something to chew on. A pair of young brunettes underplayed tough roles to perfection, with Rebecca Hall and Rosemarie DeWitt stealing the shows during Vicky Cristina Barcelona and Rachel Getting Married. Keira Knightley gave her finest bow in The Duchess. Everyone through out A Christmas Tale was in top form. Ralph Feinnes never took a misstep any time he showed up, which nicely seemed to be everywhere. Let the Right One In had a dazzling debut double, Kare Hedebrant and Lina Leandersson. Sean Penn and James Franco both found their smiles again, the foremost in Milk and the latter in Pineapple Express. Even the Muscles from Brussels Jean-Claude Van Damme showed unseen and hard to believe depths in JCVD.
However, the performance of the year goes to Kristin Scott Thomas. She is staggeringly good as a fresh out of prison woman in I’ve Loved You So Long, lonely and dire, clutching onto a world she could be so happy in if it wasn’t for her past deeds.
Surely, 2008 can’t be called a bad year for movies. It can’t be called an amazing one either. Tasha Robinson over at the Onion AV Club said it best. “Last year was a good year for great movies. This year was a great year for good movies.”
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