THE DIRECTORS CUT - THE TOP 50: The Best Films of 2013

The following list appears later than I would have liked it to – but it’s here. The issue of ranking 50 feature films, all excellent, against each other is rather silly and entirely subjective. I closed 2013 with 304 films IN THEATRES, starting on January 1^st with Cirque Du Soleil: Worlds Away and finishing up with Dhoom 3 on December 29^th.

As I said in my comments at The Film Stage, 2013 wasn’t a landmark year, I singled out 20 not so good films for my worst of the year and 50 good ones, the rest all fall into that middle ground. Will my feelings evolve on those, perhaps? My lists normally have a few odd choices like ATL, a studio teen drama that had topped my list in 2006 (and I stand by it even presenting a paper on the film at an academic conference). What hooks me are films that study time and place – no matter how flawed, it’s no wonder the two best films of the year (in my humble opinion) promise and deliver that, right in their titles.

Before we start I’d like to award a special jury prize to re-release of The Wizard of Oz, which looked stunning even in Real D 3D (It had been rendered for Digital IMAX 3D). The new version apparently digitally aligns the three-strip Technicolor print perfectly, for the first time in its exhibition.

Now onwards to the top 50:

50. The Way Way Back (Nat Faxon, Jim Rash)

A coming of age summer comedy that speaks to me as the 30-year old son of a single mom, who was once shown the ropes during a summer job by a kind co-worker. The Way Way Back is an excellent blend of carefully observed drama and sweet comedy.

49. Lee Daniel’s The Butler (Lee Daniels)

An entertaining history lesson, silly with some unrestrained moments that Lee Daniels is known for but utterly engaging thanks to Forest Whitaker’s portrait of Cecil Gaines.

48. The Great Gatsby (Baz Luhrmann)

As The Film Stage’s Dan Mecca observes, you can read Gatsby in less time than Luhrmann’s 148-minute film (plus 30 minutes of trailers if you see it at Regal). A decadent 3D film it’s flawed but visually stunning – especially for those party scenes. I do wish the technology existed so that the whole movie wasn’t in 3D; much of the drama would be better off in 2D.

47. The To Do List (Maggie Carey)

Announcing the arrival of Aubrey Plaza, movie star, The To Do List is a hilarious summer comedy staring alt comedian Plaza as an awkward over achiever who applies the same principals she uses to get straight A’s to losing her virginity. Set in the early 90s before the Internet the film has a great deal of fun with the politics and zeitgeist with many hilarious moments. (Full Review)

46. Big Joy: The Adventures of James Broughton (Stephen Silha & Eric Slade)

Celebrating the work and life of filmmaker James Broughton, told by those that loved him – from his former partners (including lovers Joel Singer and Pauline Kael) to colleagues like George Kuchar. Blending archival materials and talking heads, the film employs an “explainer” to fill in the gaps. An enlightening documentary that celebrates both joy and pain. (Full Review)

45. Pioneer (Erik Skjoldbjaerg)

A conspiracy thriller with nods to the great thrillers of the 70’s, Erik Skjoldbjaerg’s latest stars Aksel Hennie as a deep-sea diver that uncovers a conspiracy while taking part in oil exploration research. Wes Bentley plays his American counter-part in this superb thriller. Magnolia Pictures will be releasing the film in the US.

44. The Company You Keep (Robert Redford)

An entertaining ensemble thriller staring Robert Redford as an attorney and former member of the Weather Underground leading a quiet life in Albany, NY.  After a young news reporter (Shia LaBeouf) publishes an expose, he’s driven underground visiting his old contacts. Smart and engaging, that is until its 3^rd act.

43. The Gatekeepers (Dror Moreh)

Exposing state secrets, Dror Moreh’s The Gatekeeprs captures frank interviews with the Shin Bet, the Israeli security agency that is perhaps a bit like the famed Seal Team Six. It offers up an interesting alternative perspective on geopolitics from those who were pulling the trigger.

42. Short Term 12 (Destin Cretton)

Lead by Brie Larson in a star-making performance, this great little indie follows a few days in the life of the 20-somethings that work in a short-term youth detention center. A bitter sweet look at the ups and downs, the lighter and darker days.

41. The Kill Team (Dan Krause)

The story of a young private assigned to an evil sergeant, in a group later branded by the media as The Kill Team. Krause has a made a portrait of a young man caught in the system and his family, fighting to free him the military courts. Oscilloscope Laboratories will be releasing the film in the US.

40. Ain’t Them Bodies Saints (David Lowery)

 Lyrical and haunting, Rooney Mara and Casey Affleck play lovers separated as his good luck comes to end early in the film’s first act and he’s sent to prison for his crime spree. The real star of the film is Bradford Young’s stunning cinematography.

39. Disconnect (Henry Alex Rubin)

A 90’s style ensemble tackling 2013 problems. A drama connecting cyber bullies with child pornographers, a family man who builds an unexpected connection, a reporter who crosses the line, identity thief and his victims. An entertaining character study elevated by good work from Jason Bateman, Andrea Riseborough and Paula Patton.

38. Evocateur: The Morton Downey Jr. Movie (Seth Kramer, Daniel A Miller, Jeremy Newberger)

A portrait of little known American icon, Downey held no-holds-barred court at Channel 9 in the swamps of New Jersey – his show was described as a talk show with hockey fans. Stopping at nothing to drive up ratings he ratchets up racial tension even taking his show on tour to the Apollo Theatre. Here’s a movie without a dull moment. (Full Review)

37. The Grandmaster (Wong Kar Wai)

The haunting and beautifully filmed story of Ip Man, directed with all the cinematic touches of Wong Kar Wai (even if it played at shopping mall multiplexes). Complex, sweeping and lucid – it adds emotion to the physical poetry of Kung Fu.

36. The Bling Ring (Sofia Coppola)

A candy colored crime drama; it offers a rather sick-self diagnosis of celebrity obsession. Masterfully directed by Sofia Coppola, it’s fun and pretty while painting a sick and depressing picture.

35. To The Wonder (Terrence Malick)

Despite its lack of plot, Malicks’ latest is surprisingly his most straightforward film. Free from character and plot it’s strictly about the joy, regret and atmosphere of falling in love, finding and loosing your faith and potentially many other interpretations. It’s an experimental film that sets the tone and then provides room to wonder.

34. All Is Lost (J.C. Chandor)

A one-man show – Robert Redford takes the seas alone for reasons unknown. His ship collides with a lost shipping container and the rest of the film is rather brutal as he struggles to survive. With the focus squarely on the here – and with virtually no dialogue – this is an entertaining and engaging picture.

33. – Koch (Neil Barksy)

Koch is a comprehensive documentary about the man, the myth and the legend that is New York City mayor Ed Koch (also the co-star of Muppets Take Manhattan). A man who embodies the energy of New York City – part street performer, part wacky uncle, Neil Barksy has made an intimate portrait up to a certain point. When asked the question everyone’s mind, his subject responds “its’ none of your fucking business”.

32.- Starred Up (David Mackenzie)

One of the most exciting films at TIFF this year – Starred Up is no-holds-barred balls to the wall filmmaker, an explicit exploration of prison culture as father (Eric Mendelsohn) and son (Jack O’Connell) are reunited behind bars. What kept me on edge after the film’s opening sequence you just about anything can happen. With no rules, I was on edge the whole time. (Full Review)

31.- The Attack (Ziad Doueiri)

An Arab surgeon living in Tel Aviv confronts a reality he’s unprepared for in a complex, thought-provoking thriller, personalizing geopolitical tension.

30.-Before Midnight (Richard Linklater)

Checking in on our pals Jesse and Celine nine-years later we’re offered a unique perspective of what the future is. Strangers in the first film (Before Sunrise), they ponder alternative realities in the second (Before Sunset) and here find themselves together, older, and wiser in real life in a situation that far more emotionally complex than the fantasy.

29.-The Dallas Buyers Club (Jean-Marc Vallee)

Set in 1985, Ron Woodroff (Matthew McConaughey), a heterosexual hard living electrician finds himself on death’s door. Committed to find a way he starts importing AIDS medicines from Mexico, cutting costs drastically until the FDA comes knocking. An entertaining Texas drama, Vallee keeps his camera lucid and alive.

28.-The Place Beyond the Pines (Derek Cianfrance)

Flawed but such a fantastic movie on every level. It’s a living and breathing epic about fathers, sons, and career choices. Spot on until its third act when I wished the film would pull away just slightly.

27. Prisoners (Denis Villeneuve)

Directed by Denis Villeneuve (Incendies) and featuring some strong performances, Prisoners is an effective edge of your seat thriller. It’s the kind of movie where from frame one you know you’re in the hands of a great director and he doesn’t blow it.

26. Beyond the Hills (Cristian Mungiu)

Beyond the Hills is a stunning drama about the line between faith and common sense, between modernity and tradition. Following two friends - Cristina Flutur as Alina who visits her childhood best friend Voichita (Cosmina Stratan) in a hilltop Romanian convent.

25. Philomena (Stephen Frears)

A sublimely funny drama made by the one and only Stephen Frears (and thank God – his last movie was a major misfire). Judi Dench stars as a women haunted by the son she was forced to give up 50-years ago. Steve Coogan signs on a journalist who ultimately takes her to the US to continue the search. (Full Review)

24. Blue is the Warmest Color (Abdellatif Kechiche)

A film that hits so many emotional notes perfectly with beautiful performances by Lea Seydoux and Adele Exarchopoulos, it wonders and looses its way periodically. It’s a living, breathing film – raw and emotional but not one without significant flaws.

23. Run & Jump (Steph Green)

Run & Jump is a wonderful and warm comedy staring Maxine Peake as a woman caring for her husband who has suffered from a rare stroke (Edward MacLiam). Enter Dr. Ted Fielding (Will Forte) an American researcher who grows awfully attached to the family. The first feature from Steph Green, it’s a wonderful and wise character study. Sundance Selects/IFC will release Run & Jump in the US. (Full Review) (my interview with the cast & crew) 

22.-The Hunt (Thomas Vinterberg)

Mads Mikkelsen stars as a teacher accused of molesting a student, causing his life to implode as his small town turns against him. Riveting all the way through its last shot – Vinterberg has crafted a brilliant nightmare.

21.-Dirty Wars (Rick Rowley)

Following American hero Jeremy Scahill as he does the dark work of uncovering the secrets of America’s covert wars. It’s amazing this man is still alive – an interesting study of how he works and what keeps him going.

20.-Bastards (Claire Denis)

Difficult to describe (and watch) Denis’ first digital outing is a visually superb exploration of family secrets and their violent effects on otherwise levelheaded adults.

19.- Mud (Jeff Nichols)

Another exceptional film by Jeff Nichols – who is immerging as one of American best storytellers, Mud is a simple story of an escaped convict (Matthew McConaughey) and two friends that help him (Tye Sheridan and Jacob Lofand). Beautifully shot with well-developed characters and settings, Mud is excellent.

18.-Enough Said (Nicole Holofcener)

A brilliant comedy with some big laughs and emotions, Nicole Holofcener remains one of the most perceptive American filmmakers, here going a little broader (while retaining her voice). Julia Louis-Dreyfus stars as Eve, divorced she’s adjusting to her daughter’s departure for college, making friends with Marianne (Catherine Kenner) while falling in love with Albert (James Gandolfini). Wonderfully acted and directed, Enough Said is best romantic comedy of the year.

17.-Medora (Andrew Cohn and Davie Rothbart)

Powerful and perceptive, a documentary that uses high school sports as a proxy for a larger discussion. This is what the eroding middle and lower class looks like, holding on to its glory days. Sharing the narrative quality of an episode of This American Life (it’s co-directed by a TAL contributor Davie Rothbart) it’s a sports movie about economic underdogs. (Full Review)

16.- Inside Llewyn Davis (Ethan Coen & Joel Coen)

A funny and sweet look, ironically at a man that’s anything but. Llewyn Davis (played by Oscar Isaac) is a couch-hopping folk singer in the Greenwich Village of 1961. The film is an effective character study and another home run for the Coen Brothers.

15.-Computer Chess (Andrew Bujalski)

A charming gem of a comedy that turn the mumble-core genre on its head – creating a film that appears to be shot with primitive 80s video technology. Centered upon a man vs. machine chess competition amongst many standouts is Myles Paige as an obnoxious and inquisitive figure, hilariously challenging every claim.

14.-Paradise: Love (Ulrich Seidl)

This is one brave film fronted by Margarete Tiesel, a 50+ plus size women taken on vacation by her friends. The Austrian group heads down to Kenya where they become “Sugar Mamas” for young African boys looking to sell their bodies. Both buyer and consumer are aware of their roles. A much different film than Laurent Cantet’s Heading South, Paradise: Love, is a brilliant film about repression, loneliness, and commerce.

13.- Wolf of Wall Street (Martin Scorsese)

A fuck you punch to the gut – those that say it glamorizes the 1% have missed the point. Sure – it looks fun but the thing about sleezeball Jordan Belfort (who traded in risky unregulated penny stocks) is he and his group of slouches were far from being members of the lucky sperm club. The rise to the top and the fall is thrilling – Scorsese still has it, at 3 hours it’s without a boring moment.

12.-Joe (David Gordon Green)

An unexpected Nicolas Cage film, one his best performances a Joe, a man with a past making an honest days living. He hires young Gary (Tye Sheridan – from Mud) a kid who comes from a violent and broken household (his father is an alcoholic whose a line, he’s beyond redemption). A disturbing masterpiece, I’m glad to see David Gordon Green return to his roots with this and Prince Avalanche. Lionsgate will release Joe in the US.

11. The Past (Asghar Farhadi)

A film that opens simple enough – an Iranian man (Ali Mosaffa) returns to France to finalize a divorce from is estranged wife (Berenice Bejo). She’s taken up with a new lover with a questionable past, as the spirals into something far deeper than it appears on the surface. Asghar Farhandi (A Separation) has a unique touch – keeping the action, the deceit and the lies seemingly at the frame’s edge, each new reveal feels both organic and unexpected.

10. At Any Price (Ramin Bahrani)

After floating around the 2012-2013 festival circuit, this Sony Classics release should have made director Ramin Bahrani a household name, but At Any Price remains a remarkable American indie that sadly failed to find an audience. Starring Zac Efron as a free spirited racecar driver who rejects his family business, an agriculture supply and farm in crisis, Dennis Quaid plays the patriarch of the family, squeezed under investigation for his seed practices. Co-starring Kim Dickens, Heather Graham and Clancy Brown, At Any Price is a family drama-thriller that offers up a fascinating and entertaining look at modern agriculture.

9. Gravity (Alfonso Cuaron)

One of the year’s most talked about blockbusters, what I found most remarkable about Gravity is its scale. An effective and thrilling technical achievement, it’s essentially a one-women show led by Sandra Bullock in her best performance. A psychological thriller above all, Cuaron has made a smart sci-fi story masterfully contained within an airtight 90 minutes.

8. Blue Jasmine (Woody Allen)

Woody Allen’s best film in years, a sort-of retelling of A Streetcar Named Desire with a few twists, Blue Jasmine is both a brilliant comedy and powerful drama. Cate Blanchett gives a stellar performance as a Jasmine, a women abandoned by her businessman husband (Alec Baldwin in a particularly slimy role). Moving from New York to San Francisco to live with her sister Ginger (Sally Hawkins), the New York socialite finds herself a fish out of water, downsizing her life drastically. The film contains so many brilliant moments and great performances, including Andrew Dice Clay as Ginger’s ex-husband and Bobby Cannavale as her current boyfriend.

7. 12 Years a Slave (Steve McQueen)

A paradigm-shifting film, 12 Years a Slave is a complex look at the dynamics and economy of slavery. Despite its flaws (including the casting of Brad Pitt), films like this are revolutionary when they arrive. Steve McQueen continues his transformation from art star to A-list director in a film that studies perspective including the guilt of Solomon Northup, a freeman enslaved (played by Chiwetel Ejiofor). This is a well-crafted, psychologically brutal film offering a unique perspective on the subject.

6. Her (Spike Jonze)

A beautiful study in alienation and loneliness, presenting so many themes the film could be the subject of its own TED conference, Spike Jonze’s Her is a lyrical and soulful film recalling Mike Mills’ Beginners. Joaquin Phoenix gives a beautiful performance as Theodore, a lonely man who asks his mobile OS to play him melancholy songs. Soon his tame OS is replaced by Samantha (Scarlett Johansson, giving an Oscar-worthy voice performance). Complex and rich, Her is the most daring film released by a major studio this year, exploring the complex psychological nature of falling in love: what we expect, what we project and how we evolve.

5. Let the Fire Burn (Jason Osder)

Let the Fire Burn tells the incendiary story of multiple bad decisions made by the City of Philadelphia which lead to the destruction of a densely populated neighborhood in attempt to “evict” the extremist African American liberation group MOVE. Told entirely in archival footage, Osder masterfully captures time and place; we know exactly what was known then, as muddy as the facts are. Framed by testimonials given before a commission investigating the day, the chips fall where they will. A powerful, thrilling, engaging and essential documentary, it’s fresh, speaking to us in the present tense from 1985. (Full Review)

4. Finishers  (Nils Tavernier)

Finishers is a wonderful, crowd-pleasing tearjerker, inspired by the real life Hoyt Family. Starring Fabien Heraud as Julien, a 17-year old with congenital palsy, he gravitates towards his mother (Alexandra Lamy) while his relationship with his father Paul (Jacques Gamblin) has remained distant. After several attempts, Julien convinces Paul to carry him on his back for the grueling Iron Man France triathlon. Packing a physical and emotional punch, Finishers (currently without a US distributor) is a first-rate family sports drama that left not a dry eye in the house when it premiered at TIFF. (Full Review)

3.- The Act of Killing (Joshua Oppenheimer & Anonymous)

The Act of Killing is rare kind of film that leads to a temporary paralysis. Examining the current lives of former members of Indonesian death squads, they are celebrated as heros for their work in ridding the country of communists. They continue onwards participating in talk shows, TV pageants and recreations where they receive the royal treatment. Indonesia has never had a truth and reconciliation moment and Oppenheimer (and collaborators credited anonymously), have made a brave and powerful film exploring a bastardized version of history. The film forces us to question the narratives of our national history: what atrocities have we glossed or repressed?

2.- Nebraska (Alexander Payne)

Alexander Payne’s latest feature is his best, a wonderful film that does so much right from its unique tone (shifting quietly from parody to melancholy) and its relationships. The story is centered around the life of Woody Grant (Bruce Dern, in a brilliant performance) and potentially his alternative life as he returns to rural Nebraska on his way to claim a prize. Enabling the stubborn old Woody is his son David (Will Forte), a lonely stereo salesman. June Squibb also gives a hilarious performance as Woody’s wife. Nebraska is a rough, yet lovable movie, hitting notes so rarely seen. It is one of the best road comedies ever made, embodying the old notion that road movies are about the journey, not the destination. Here is a film that reflects on journey in truly profound and often heartbreaking ways.

1.- At Berkley (Fredrick Wiseman)

A rich, behind-the-scenes look at academia, Fredrick Wiseman studies his largest institution yet while barely scratching the surface. Berkeley is a challenging subject, a laboratory of many issues percolating in higher education, however, administrators interested in transparency give Wiseman tremendous access. Each scene never overstays its welcome as the film captures many fascinating moments from the bottom up. Juxtaposing administrators crafting a public safety and PR response to a planned protest, with a classroom where freshman undergraduates struggle to define their roles in society, At Berkley, the 38th institution-centered documentary by Wiseman, is not only one of his best, but his most accessible, despite its four-hour running time. (My interview with Fredrick Wiseman)