A three hour exploration of what people value and what they are willing to do in order to keep stability in their lives. The film has been called anti-American but in its examination of how a small town helps out then begins to abuse a woman running from the law, I see only an indictment of human nature, Brecht-style. The only reason this film works though, is the performers' ability to believe in the material, especially Nicole Kidman and Patricia Clarkson.
2004 was the year of the movie that takes romance/ love/sex seriously and attempts to explain the facets of it. Of the six movies on my top ten list that deal with it, this is clearly the best. Joel and Clementine are just out of a bad relationship with each other and decide to get each other erased out of the other's mind. As Joel does, we see their relationship as it ebbs and flows and as Joel sees this, he realizes that you can't just eliminate something unpleasant because you can still learn from it. Gorgeously filmed by Michael Gondry and very well-acted by Jim Carrey and Kate Winsley. A wonderful film.
In 1994, Richard Lanklater came out with Before Sunrise which looked at the night of two people who ran into each other on a train bound to Vienna, got off the train, and explored the city for one night. At the end they promised to meet again in six months. Ten years later, they happened to meet while Jesse is signing a book based on that past experience in Paris. Where Before Sunrise was a film of glorious idealism and romance, this is a film with more maturity, more experience, and thus, more sadness. Between Jesse's failing marriage and Celine's optimism turning somewhat jaded, they seem to blame the other for their ten years of problems. A fascinating exploration of what time does to people.
The most impressive thing about Garden State is its ability to take a rather time-worn premise about a depressed guy heading back to his hometown and make it seem fresh and relevant to a whole new generation. The movie is very well directed by newcomer Zach Braff who has a definite eye for the visual. The script could use some work (Ian Holm is just able to create something out of nothing as Braff's father) but the performances by Natalie Portman and Peter Saarsgaard as well as the best used music of 2004 (including The Shins, Frou Frou) carry this movie into something fascinating to watch though you've seen it many times before.
In post-WWII London, Vera Drake is a cleaning woman who performs reasonably safe (but illegal) abortions on the side for poor girls who aren't able to afford to go to a "clinic" (still illegal, but hushed away) and get rid of it that way. When one of her girls almost dies, the cops bring her in to answer to performing illegal activities for decades. The movie is lovingly filmed by Mike Leigh with excellent period detail, but the movie is carried by Imelda Staunton as the smiling, loving Vera whose world is shattered completely by the end of the film. Heartbreaking, poignant, and a searing indictment of the double standards the rich are allowed to possess.
The life of sex researcher Alfred Kinsey becomes a bio-pic under the superb craftsmanship of Bill Condon (Gods and Monsters). The movie follows Kinsey's life, focusing on his writing Sexual Behavior in the Human Male and the aftermath. The relationship between Kinsey and his wife is well portrayed and the movie is unafraid to focus on his flaws as well as the importance of his research. Liam Neeson is superb as Kinsey, wonderfully showing his internal conflicts with seemingly every bit of research and his rage as nothing he does seems to be taken seriously. Good work by Laura Linney as his wife and Peter Saarsgaard (again!) as one of his researchers.
Ramon Sampedro has been living as a quadriplegic for near thirty years. He can do nothing but move his head and has been dependant on his brother's family for his care. Simply put, he wants to end his life, but can't do it himself. As he says, a life without freedom is not worth living. Javier Bardem gives a wonderful performance as Sampedro being able to make the audience understand (and in my case anyway, agree) with his decision to end his life. Director Alejandro Amenabar (The Others) is able to present the other side with care and dimension with the exception of an idiotic priest who comes to convince him to life. Fantastic supporting cast as well. Put me in the category who prefer Amenabar to fellow Spaniard Pedro Almodovar (Talk To Her).
In my opinion, it's best not to acknowledge the fact that this film is based on the real-life Sam Bicke and his attempt to kill Nixon because I get the feeling too many liberties have been taken with the story. However, considered as an examination of a man who blames everyone but himself for his own failure at achieving the American Dream, it is great and rather well-timed in our jingoistic rage. Sean Penn stars as Sam Bycke, a divorced salesman who wants to be closer to his ex-wife and his kids and to live in a world created by his own idealism. That the movie is able to make you care about such a whiny, naive malcontent is a tribute to Penn.
This movie probably shouldn't be this high on the list, but oh well, the more I think about it, the more it stays with me, and that's bound to mean something. Jean-Pierre Jeunet's follow-up to Amelie is a much more serious story of a never-ending love between Mathilde (Audrey Tautou, still as radiant as ever) and Manech who is presumed dead after being sent out on a forced suicide in the French plains during WWI. What follows is Mathilde's search for him as she has an undying faith that he is alive somewhere. The story is beautifully shot and very well-acted by an all-star French cast. The score is also excellent, underscoring the intense sadness deliciously.
Well, it had to happen sooner or later, all the happy movies about romance had to be checked by this cynical (yet ultimately more realistic than any of the above romantic movies) look into four people who over five years screw up their lives and each other in a dangerous cat and mouse game of feelings and emotions. Clive Owen and Julia Roberts are able to shine most brilliantly as a couple who falls apart to due to Jude Law's persistance in his love for Roberts while romancing Natalie Portman. The movie would be higher if not for a somewhat weak performance by Portman. Ultimately fascinating, well-filmed, and full of great dialogue.
The Assassination of Richard Nixon
Before Sunset
Dogville
Eternal Sunshine of The Spotless Mind
Garden State
Kinsey
The Sea Inside
Vera Drake
Quite Good
Closer
Collateral
Control Room
Fahrenheit 9/11
Finding Neverland
I Heart Huckabees
The Incredibles
Million Dollar Baby
William Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice
Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow
Sideways
The Stepford Wives
A Very Long Engagement
Decent Flick
Anchorman
Goodbye, Lenin!
Hotel Rwanda
The Hunting of the President
In Good Company
Kill Bill, Vol. 2
The Ladykillers
The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou
Monsieur Ibraham
National Treasure
Secret Window
Shrek 2
Spiderman 2
THX 1138 - (re-release)
I'd Like to Recommend This, But I Can't
The Aviator
The Butterfly Effect
Coffee & Cigarettes
The Forgotten
I'm Not Scared
Miracle
The Manchurian Candidate
Super-Size Me
Win A Date With Tad Hamilton!
The Woodsman
Not Good
De-Lovely
The Passion of the Christ
Spartan
The Village
We Don't Live Here Anymore
Well That Was Painful, Wasn't It
The Big Bounce
The Clearing
Envy
Napoleon Dynamite