Top 10 Films of 2008

January 1, 9:19 AMSeattle Movie ExaminerBrian Zitzelman

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10. Elegy : Director Isabel Coixet’s adaptation of Philip Roth’s novel is a slow burning drama with some of 2008’s finest acting. Ben Kingsley is critic David Kepesh, content as the bachelor in his aging days. After meeting Consuela (Penelope Cruz), Kepesh is unsure whether to give up his self proclaimed emancipated manhood and delve in to his greatest aversion, monogamy and love. Amidst this, he deals with his monthly friend with benefits, a smashing Patricia Clarkson, and an abandoned son (Peter Sarsgaard) angry with how his own life could mirror Kepesh’s. Coixet’s directing is soft, letting each confrontation take its course, aided by Nicholas Meyer’s screenplay. Kingsley is enthralling, one of today’s most gifted actors, too often relegating himself to lesser fair. His chemistry with Cruz is necessary for Elegy to work and they smolder together.

9. Hunger : Steve McQueen’s unflinching, unrelenting directorial debut will turn off a lot of people. Those who wade through it, however, will be rewarded with one hell of a movie. Hunger focuses on IRA hunger strikes of 1981, led by Bobby Sands (Michael Fassbender) in full, brutal detail. Sands and his group claim they deserve to be treated like political prisoners, instead met with ferocious beatings by their guards. Largely shot in long takes to emphasize the cruelty and dehumanizing effect the ordeal has on everyone, inmates and their keepers, Hunger features noteworthy cinematography from Sean Bobbitt, fusing glaring lights and deep blacks into a blinding screen presence. The movie’s somber build to its inevitable conclusion never wavers and the overall viewing of McQueen’s composition feels like a punch to the face.

8. I’ve Loved You So Long : Want breathtaking acting, go see director/writer Philippe’s Claudel’s first foray into film I’ve Loved You So Long. Everyone here is sublime but it is Kristin Scott Thomas that blows away all other performances this year. As Juliette, a woman fresh from a 15 stint in prison due to a little known, horrific act, Thomas imbues a humanity, intelligence and fragility. With a role fit for theatrics, Thomas simmers, reigning in her emotions, yet never so subtle as to bore. As Claudel’s film moves forward, the movie blossoms. The fact that this is his initial foray into theaters is astounding. Claudel’s storytelling is a wonderful blend of human nature, touching on the secrets we keep from each other and the forgiveness we can never truly receive.

7. A Christmas Tale : If there is an emotion, A Christmas Tale likely lingers on it. Amaud Desplechin’s lengthy, almost laborious story about the Vuillard family, whose dysfunction is deeply honest. The wife questioning whether she’s chosen the right one. The son unable to overcome other’s preconceptions. A sister relentlessly worried about her child, unable to see the real problems. Desplechin and fellow writer Emmanuel Bourdieu give them all time to stretch their wings. A cast, headed by Catherine Deneuve and Mathieu Amalric, bring it all to life, making each annoyed laugh or self reflection that much more powerful. Desplechin forms all of it with random techniques that shouldn’t work, like puppetry, but never feel out of place.

6. The Dark Knight : Director Christopher Nolan’s blockbuster with a brain barreled into theaters in July and has had people talking endlessly about it before and since its release, a testament to all involved. The cast is superb, with Gary Oldman, Christian Bale, Aaron Eckhart all bringing their best, while Heath Ledger, in his final full performance, weaves one of cinema’s great villains in the Joker, a tough act considering the countless ways the character has been portrayed in popular culture for roughly 70s years. His Joker is terrifying, funny and nerve wracking.The Dark Knight’s first two hours are near perfect, the definition of edge of your seat filmmaking. A visceral action thriller, packed with ideas. The film’s only downside, a final act set piece that rings false when so much in a big, boisterous world felt real. Nevertheless, The Dark Knight is instantly iconic, pushed to the brim with a stunning score by James Newton Howard and Hans Zimmer.

5. Doubt : This is about the heavyweights, Meryl Streep and Philip Seymour-Hoffman. Possibly the finest acting talents of their respective generations unite in Doubt, John Patrick Shanley screen adaptation of his own Tony and Pulitzer prize winning play. Streep is the secular hating, strict Sister Aloysius Beauvier, Principal of St. Nicholas Church School, certain that Father Brenadan Flynn (Hoffman) has abused a boy. Amy Adams play another variation of her innocent optimist and Viola Davis rules her one key scene as the child’s mother, however, it is Streep and Hoffman’s movie. Their exchanges erupt after a series of condescending glances and conversations and when they do it is something special. Cinematographer Roger Deakins surrounds Shanley’s film with stark black and whites, sharpening the thematic core. 

4. Wall-E : An instant hit, even classic to some, by one of America’s finest animation directors Andrew Stanton, Wall-E is a wondrous tale of a lonely robot, ever vigilant, learning to love. The scope of the movie is huge but the storytellers move in small steps and little flourishes. Wall-E discovering trinkets amongst mammoth mountains of trash, like a bra or car alarm, turn into discreet, joyous gags. The film’s positive energy is undeniable. A stupendous opening hour whose final act, a bit of a comedown, still works solidly, able to earn a few more tears. 

3. Let the Right One In : Scary. Moving. Disturbing. Sad. All are applicable descriptions of Tomas Alfredson’s terrific Swedish picture Let the Right One In. The story of lonely 12 year old Oskar (Kare Hedebrant), bullied to the point of revenge, who meets an odd companion one night out on the jungle gym, little Eli (Lina Leandersson). A bond grows between them, with shades of love of flourishing. However, things aren’t so simple for Eli is drastically older than she appears and isn’t quite a fan of sunlight. The best vampire film in decades, possibly ever, John Ajvide Lindqvist’s adaptation of his own novel is molded by Alfredson into a solemn, desperate world where everyone moves in packs to stay happy and alive. This is the confident, bold and visually daring filmmaking we need more of. 

2. Happy-Go-Lucky : British director Mike Leigh has made a career out creating movies (Naked, Vera Drake) that most would describe as dour, glum or just plain depressing, making the infectious positive energy of Happy-Go-Lucky all the more impressive. Leigh’s picture is about Poppy, the deliriously good Sally Hawkins, who oozes smiles and a practically hyper aura, to the delight and annoyance of those around her. Poppy is that woman on the bus who wants to talk to you about your day or adding a sunny side take on even the worst situations. As in much of Leigh’s oeuvre, the plot steps aside for characters. Poppy spends time with her friends, takes flamenco lessons and goes on a few dates. The closest thing to a narrative is her interaction with the bitter, loud driving instructor Scott, a wonderful Eddie Marsan. Poppy tries to make light of her inability to drive but is continually scolded and yelled at by Scott, insistent that he knows best and everyone else is a bunch of idiots, maybe criminals. Nothing here would work without Hawkins, whose personality borders on unbearable. Many will hate her. I love her as well as the movie. 

1. In Bruges : The biggest surprise of the year had to be Martin McDonagh’s In Bruges. After a trailer that looked like just another bunch of blokes in a European gangster movie shooting and screaming, In Bruges was skipped by most people. A shame and one that is slowly being fixed for McDonagh’s picture is a charmer, with sharp dialogue, a fantastic pair of leads in Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson, gorgeous cinematography and smart pacing, making each new viewer a fresh convert. Stuck in Bruges, Farrell and Gleeson lay low after a hit gone wrong, waiting for angry as hell boss Ralph Feinnes to call with orders. McDonagh, one of this year’s bountiful set of impressive rookie directors, can write a wicked, probably offensive dialogue, like Farrell’s Ken’s defense of his mounting boredom, “I grew up in Dublin. I love Dublin. If I grew up on a farm, and was retarded, Bruges might impress me. But I didn’t. So, it doesn’t.” McDonagh handles the weightier matter with equal accord, letting Ken’s remorse over a past accident crawl to the top, making our vicious leads empathetic. In Bruges zips along and by all accounts shouldn’t be so effective. But the movie is a gem and 2008's best.