Gold on the silver screen

Experimental indies, auteur-driven spectacles, eye-opening documentaries and big-budget blockbusters alike—2014’s best movies sizzled with ingenuity

I hate lists. I’m no good at them, for one thing. But there’s also something reductive and arbitrary about year-end wrap-ups. I didn’t see every film made this year (some have still yet to screen) and, the thing is, no one ever does. There’s still stuff out there to be experienced. From what I’m hearing, films like “Wild” and “Selma” could perfectly well be on this list in lieu of something else I loved. But the fact remains that these ten films, and fifteen honorable mentions, are the best I’ve seen all year. You could take them in any order you like—as long as you go and see them.

Inherent Vice

Like all the best noir, I’ll have to see “Inherent Vice” three more times before I find all the connections and red herrings, or a familiar cohesiveness to its plot. I’m more than fine with that. I’m thrilled. American directorial master Paul Thomas Anderson goes big, as opposed to going home, becoming the first to adapt the notoriously complex work of another master, novelist Thomas Pynchon. Fortunately he picked Pynchon’s most accessible book, an homage to The Long Goodbye, one that dovetails nicely with Anderson’s well-known love of Robert Altman. And—surprise—the film is great.

Reuniting Anderson with Joaquin Phoenix, “Vice” tells the off-kilter tale of a perpetually stoned P.I. who finds himself pulled into the life of his ex-girlfriend (Katherine Waterston) when she learns her married lover (Eric Roberts), a wealthy real estate mogul, might be held against his will in a mental institute. To try and explain more would be pointless. From the performances (particularly Phoenix and a hilarious Josh Brolin), to Anderson’s mind-boggling direction, the stellar editing, the gorgeous cinematography by Robert Elswit (who, considering his work on “Nightcrawler,” is having a hell of a run), and a fantastic score by Radiohead’s Johnny Greenwood, “Inherent Vice” is a pinnacle in Anderson’s filmography, and of 21st Century American cinema.

Birdman

It’s been a great year. If “Inherent Vice” were the only game-changing example of incredible cinema in 2014 we’d already be lucky. But we got “Birdman,” too. Director Alejandro Iñárritu’s left turn into the unexpected virtues of being light-hearted (after making a name for himself with great, if emotionally crushing, dramas) is a revelatory tour de force. Michael Keaton, in a role that’s a lock for an Oscar nod, plays Riggan, a former cinematic superhero who decides to mount a Broadway adaptation of a Raymond Carver short story—an Icarus-like endeavor to abandon cheap commerce for the lofty artistic heights of the theater. “Birdman” is a hypnotic, dark satire, wrestling wryly with themes of sex, death, and the business of art, and it’s stunningly shot and edited into an apparently single, perfect take. It’s also hilarious. Keaton throwing down for fisticuffs with Ed Norton (as Keaton’s troublesome lead actor) is one of the most surreal scenes of the year, and Norton is simply amazing (and funny) playing to popular perceptions of his real-life persona. Emma Stone courts Oscar-love as well, as Keaton’s somewhat-estranged daughter, who delivers the ultimate body blow to not just Riggan’s, but all artistic ambitions.               

Boyhood

There has literally never been a film like “Boyhood.” A fictionalized story of an adolescence told somewhat in real-time, writer/director Richard Linklater’s stunningly ambitious premise—to film his actors over the course of twelve years—is a one-of-a-kind experience. “Boyhood” is the plainspoken, deceptively mundane arc of the Evans family. Mason and Olivia (Ethan Hawke and Patricia Arquette) are the estranged parents of Mason Jr. (Ellar Coltrane) and his older sister Samantha (Lorelei Linklater). As Olivia struggles to make ends meet on her own, Mason Sr. is off trying to make money in Alaska. That’s how it starts out, but what transpires is surreal if only because “Boyhood” captures something on a temporal level that’s never been done before, at least not like this (meaning other films have revisited actors reprising their characters after years away, including Linklater himself, but “Boyhood” is an inversion of that idea). The stellar direction from Linklater imbues it all with a sense of hopeful resignation and gorgeous naturalism. Along with the wonderful performances from his cast, upon whom the passage of time cements something peerlessly genuine, “Boyhood” is cinema in its purest form.

Citizenfour

You’ve heard the saying “it’s funny because it’s true”? Well, the same goes for scary. A documentary filmed as the events unfolded, “Citizenfour” gives us intimate access to Edward Snowden, the most important government whistleblower since Daniel Ellsberg. In essence, the CIA has become a rouge group, forcing their way into the private communications of every American, and as a good chunk of the digitally connected world (including Congress). It’s an Orwellian network meant to catalog and keep tabs on the entire population. That’s not hyperbole. That shit’s actually happening. Even if you’re apt to pay attention to this kind of thing (i.e. what your government is doing), the revelations of “Citizenfour” are a shock.  

Directed with stylish immediacy by documentarian Laura Poitras, the film plays out like a real-time scene (a trend in this list) in an espionage thriller. Poitras documents the exodus of Snowden, holing up in a Hong Kong hotel with investigative reporter Glenn Greenwald for eight days as the two figure out how to change the world without going to jail. The result is the most important film of the 21st century. 

Frank

Based on Jon Ronson’s award-winning writings, “Frank” tells a largely fictionalized story of the real-life English comedic, musician Frank Sidebottom (nee Chris Sievey), a curious, cartoon-headed oddity who enjoyed cult fame on British television in the early ’90s. Jon (played by Domhnall Gleeson, son of Brendan)—a sort of fictionalized version of Ronson himself—is a wannabe songwriter who lucks into a gig—and an epically weird recording session—with a bizarre traveling band with an unpronounceable name (The Soronprfbs), led by the mysterious Frank. Michael Fassbender, as Frank, is wonderful. He delivers a sublime performance based purely on his vocal and physical inflections. Gleeson is our charming, if clueless, eyes and ears, and Maggie Gyllenhaal elicits a memorable turn as the violently defensive Clara. Scoot McNairy practically steals the film as the drugged-out, mannequin-obsessed Ron. Superbly directed by Lenny Abrahamson, Frank is a heartwarming, strange, visually inventive panacea to the doldrums of the average. And it has the catchiest song of the year that isn’t “Class Historian.”          

Life Itself

I’m not sure if the soft spot I have for Roger Ebert has anything to do with “Life Itself” being on this list, though Ebert himself is certainly responsible for my writing it here. I literally wouldn’t be doing this at all if I hadn’t been a fan of “At the Movies,” and had unfettered access to HBO at an unadvisedly young age. What I can say is, despite my personal nostalgia for Ebert and partner Gene Siskel, “Life Itself” is an amazing film—a poignant, funny and compelling macrocosm of lives well-lived. Long-time friend and director Steve James documents the last months of Ebert’s life as he’s hobbled by the cancer that robbed him of his iconic voice, but which has in no way beaten him into submission. Ebert’s indefatigable wonder for the human experience and his almost pathological need to explore movies led him to his most prolific work—thanks in part the advent of social networks, and his willingness to live and love for his family until the end. As far as great stories go, “Life Itself” is about as romantically American as they come. 

Calvary

That big Irish teddy bear, Brendan Gleeson, and director John Michael McDonagh (2011’s hilarious “The Guard”) reunite to deliver this funny and subversive comedic drama. Opening with Gleeson’s Father James taking confession from a man who, it turns out, means to assassinate the laid-back priest in one week (but who is polite enough to let him get his affairs in order), “Calvary” grabs us with the intoxicating mix of its bucolic setting, intriguing conceit and charming characters. McDonagh’s direction is deft and assured and strikes a perfectly amiable tone. Gleeson is typically great as James, a good man who bears the burden of the church’s sins and whose flock holds him in cordial contempt. Co-stars Chris O’Dowd (“St Vincent”), Kelly Reilly (“Flight”), and Aidan Gillen (“Game of Thrones”) bring further life to “Calvary’s” memorable, and lovely, world. 

Guardians of the Galaxy

No, it’s not “Birdman” or “Boyhood” or “Inherent Vice,” and it’s not supposed to be. But like them, “Guardians” was one of the best times I had in a theater this year. Genre geek favorite James Gunn takes a crew of relatively unknown Marvel characters and expertly uses them to tug on the heartstrings of anyone who saw “Raiders of the Lost Ark” and “Star Wars” when they were still in theaters. But beyond the fact that he directed the shit out of a gorgeous-looking space opera, he packed it with great action and unexpectedly effective humor while cleverly turning the unfamiliarity of his characters into the film’s strongest hand. Chris Pratt makes for a great leading man and is well-supported by his eclectic and equally adorable co-stars. The novelty of a wise-cracking raccoon and his Ent-like bodyguard quickly dissipates into total acceptance of their place in a thrilling and deliriously fun world. Gunn taps into some kind of weird golden ratio of genre excellence—the kind that doesn’t really need to be perfect, or even particularly high-minded, to make an indelible mark.            

The Raid 2

Picking up where 2011’s action- (I’m not even sure if there is a word to describe it outside of “joygasm”—OK) joygasm left off, “The Raid 2” ups the ante on every element of its predecessor. Where the first was a fat-free, no-holds-barred cacophony of stunning fight sequences held together by a straight-forward mission narrative, Welsh-born writer/director Gareth Evans takes this sequel and propels it into epic crime-story territory. Our hero, Rama (the kinetic Iko Uwais), finds himself going undercover to infiltrate the Jakartan mafia responsible for the death of his brother. Although that might sound pretty straight forward, too, “The Raid 2” achieves a Godfather-esque sense of tonal grandeur. It is such a clear example of massive growth for an already obvious talent. Evans elevates the martial arts genre with fight sequences that somehow often top those of the original in pure ambition and ingenuity, and his story gives the film a narrative and thematic heft the first film made up for with unapologetic, glorious bombast. Sound unlikely? Go see it. 

The Grand Budapest Hotel

Somehow Wes Anderson keeps turning his crushing stylistic pretensions into delightful assets, which is disconcerting because crushing pretension is what kept “Interstellar” off this list. But with “The Grand Budapest Hotel,” Anderson once again brings his signature aesthetic to a quirky and literary tale. The film strikes the kind of entertaining gold that makes me wish Anderson would get on an adaptation of “The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay.” Ralph Fiennes is perfect as Gustave H.—the erudite concierge of a prestigious hotel—whose sexual proclivities for widowed dowager-types runs him afoul of a vicious extended family when a geriatric lover leaves him a prized possession upon her untimely demise. Everything you expect from Anderson is present: symmetrically sumptuous compositions, delightfully detailed set design, and Bill Murray. For something this light-hearted, it’s hard to believe anyone would hate it, though Anderson’s films tend to be things one either embraces or ignores. Bring it in, big fella. a              

Honorable Mentions:

Only Lovers Left Alive, The Babadook, Noah, A Most Violent Year, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, Under the Skin, Obvious Child, The Double, 22 Jump Street, The Immigrant, The One I Love, Nymphomanic I & II, The Lego Movie, Wetlands.