Ed's Top 5 of 2016

2016, the year that was. Some may say that it’s been a tepid year for movies but I found that this year’s Top 5 were closer than ever and I could have had even more honourable mentions. Based on Australian release dates as usual.

A masterclass in tension-building and the gold-standard for drone-warfare films - a new contemporary sub-genre that’s sure to be explored further – Eye in the Sky was a surprise gem during a bitterly bland and disappointing period of the year (remember Batman v Superman? Yeah, it was that week). With a powerhouse penultimate performance from the late Alan Rickman and equally impressive roles from Helen Mirren and Aaron Paul, Eye in the Sky’s conflict between military procedure and political discourse kept it as an intelligent thriller first and an action film second. Never has a little girl selling bread been so tense.

Damien Chazelle brought the intensity to 2014 with the thrilling Whiplash, and he similarly brought sentimentality and heart to 2016 with La La Land. A love-letter to classic Hollywood, Los Angeles, musicals and Jazz, La La Land breathed new life into a genre of film rarely seen and even more rarely pulled-off in our contemporary age of cinema. Magnificently visually composed and scored, with near career-topping performances from Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone, La La Land was easily one of the best of the year.

The minimalistic film of the bunch, 45 Years is a simple, elegant, beautifully acted reflection on a marriage that has outlasted the test of time but is not immune to faltering moments. Much like Paterson, 45 Years celebrates the hum-drum and the ordinary, with two exceptional performances from Charlotte Rampling and Tom Courtenay. It won’t overwhelm you with blockbuster thrills but it will leave you pondering about the enduring effects of the past. Mature, sentimental cinema at its very best.

Somewhere in a remote Canadian wilderness a film crew slaved away to create this masterpiece. An expert example of visual storytelling, the same elements that made Fury Road my top pick last year are oozing from The Revenant - namely its visceral style and atmosphere. Shot on the Alexa 65 medium-format digital camera, the only film that even came close to being as beautiful this year was the 65mm roadshow release of The Hateful Eight. Quite apart from its composition, The Revenant’s fictionalised rendition of the story of Hugh Glass weaves a rich tapestry of religious symbolism, familial motifs and native-American folklore. Add the all-round unbeatable performances from the cast, and The Revenant certainly earned its place as one of the most memorable films of the year.

My top 2 this year were incredibly difficult to pick between, and whilst for some cinefiles the concept of ranking Swiss Army Man above The Revenant may mark a disturbance in the force, it’s not just about what film ticks all the boxes, but which one keeps you coming back for more. Swiss Army Man was that movie, and whilst I sit here pathetically defending my decision - because this movie does divide audiences - I can’t help but feel that I’m going against the grain of what makes this film so beautiful: acceptance. Chris Stuckmann described Swiss Army Man best when he screamed into his camera “It’s just so different and weird I LOVE IT”. 

There truly is so much to love about this film; the originality, the best performance of Radcliffe’s career, the montages, the insane soundtrack, the technical achievements of such a small budget film, and the tenacity of the Daniels filmmakers to construct a story entirely from elements they hate (fart jokes, Musicals, acapella, Cottoneye Joe) to see if they can find a diamond in the rough. But perhaps the most endearing element of Swiss Army Man is that in a year of forgettable blockbusters and bland-as-shit superhero flops, a low-budget buddy film about life, love and farts could stand out as the one with the most heart.

Honourable Mentions:

Kubo and the Two Strings
An Astounding beautiful allegory about family and the human condition, played out on an epic scale with a stellar cast, Kubo and the Two Strings was the best animated film of the year.

Arrival
Denis Villeneuve’s mature, meticulously crafted, stunningly beautiful sci-fi feature where language take centre-stage. A slow-burn exploration of communication and expression with a killer performance from Amy Adams.

Anomalisa
A close second for best animated feature, Charlie Kaufman’s Anomalisa couldn’t get any more Kaufman-esque if it tried. A brutally honest, bizarre, beautiful look at a man stuck in the mundanity of his own life.

Hunt for the Wilderpeople
Although it lacked the dramatic punch of his film Boy, Taika Waititi’s Hunt for the Wilderpeople was another unexpected and down-right hilarious film that popped up out of the blue and charmed the pants off of audiences.

My Scientology Movie
Louis Theroux’s first theatrical release mixed equal amounts of theatrics and humour to approach Scientology from a completely different angle to Alex Gibney’s documentary. Only Theroux could be so hilariously nonchalant with such a challenging and invasive subject. One of the funniest films of the year.