DIP INTO THE BLEAK SIDE OF THINGS — AND SHINE IN THE LIGHT
by Molly Templeton
T
he fi rst thing I did when I fi nally
put these fi lms in order was let
out a huge — and not a little
bit surprised — sigh. It didn’t
feel like quite such a bleak year in movies
until now. Last year my great love was the
decaying future; now, it’s the brutal past lined
up next to the dark present. (Of course, it’s
also an animated rat and a quiet love story.)
In truth, the theme here (if there is one) isn’t
so much bleakness, as many murders and
as much darkness as these fi lms hold; it’s
fascination, obsession, fi xation, devotion.
These characters are fi xated on their work,
their talents, their futures, their pasts, their
own identities. They twist and shift in the
gaze of others, be it the look of an admirer, a
jealous child, an outsider trying to parse the
layers of disguise.
I didn’t put these top ten fi lms together
with a theme in mind any more than I
grouped as the second ten those that didn’t
suit the theme. I made a list, and then I
looked at it. And what it said to me was that
we’re in a dark and beautiful time (though
it’s also a time in which, as Manohla Dargis
aptly noted in The New York Times, many of
“the fi nest American directors working now
… [make] little on-screen time for women”
— but that’s a topic that deserves more
space than I have here). There wasn’t an
end of year fi lm like last year’s Children of
Men that left me teetering on the edge of my
seat; instead, there was a spring fi lm that,
though it already won an Oscar, was easily
the best thing released this past year. There
was a lush adaptation of a beloved book and
a slow build of fi lms that impressed their
images and characters on my mind. Like
last year, the last few weeks offered a few
new loves, fi lms that crept in under the last-
minute deadline to join the club. And as ever,
there are the fi lms I sadly never saw. It takes
years to explore all the cinematic offerings
of one single year, but here’s a start.
1. The Lives of Others
There Will Be Blood
Ulrich Mühe, died of stomach cancer.
When the Oscar memorial runs through
faces familiar and less so, look for his
serious eyes and remember: This was the
man who drew on his past as someone
being watched to play the one watching,
the one changed by observation as Georg
Dreyman (Sebastian Koch) changed by
being observed. (Reviewed 3/8/07)
2. There Will Be Blood
If there is a fl aw in Paul Thomas
Anderson’s epic, fi lthy, distinctly told
story of an obsessed oilman, it’s the slight
fl aw of familiarity: As good as Daniel
Day-Lewis is, I felt like I’d seen him do
something similar before. But here, Day-
Lewis’ Daniel Plainview has a dangerous
and unforgettable foil in Eli Sunday (Paul
Dano), a young preacher. As full of piss
and vinegar as Plainview is, Sunday can
match him; his pious face and solemn
manner can only mask the younger man’s
dark heart for so long. Anderson’s long,
stunning fi lm is, like The Lives of Others,
both of another time and wholly pertinent.
When Plainview gives a speech to the
citizens of the small California town he’s
essentially just purchased, my skin crawls.
He promises them everything: education,
brighter futures for their children, jobs,
improvements to their lives. And every
word he says is as empty as the show
Sunday puts on while claiming to cure a
woman’s arthritis. Capitalism and religion,
twined and at each other’s throats: This
isn’t a movie from a century ago. This is a
movie for and about now. (1/31/08)
3. Once
It wasn’t until I found myself comparing
everything else I saw to Florian Henckel
von Donnersmark’s Best Foreign Film
Oscar-winning debut fi lm that I realized it
was simply the most perfect movie of the
year. Subtle performances, precise details,
gorgeous colors, a gripping story: this fi lm
has it all. Others is a refl ection of a time
that wasn’t really all that long ago and a
reminder of the things, both horrible and
astonishing, people will do for what they
believe in. The fi lm’s golden year was
made bittersweet in July when its star,
praise from those who’d already seen it.
Once deserved every word. There are a
million love stories in which there’s just no
reason for the characters to fall in love with
each other, but here’s one in which we see
just how they fall into harmony with each
other, how their mirrored talents bring out
the best in each of them — and how a leap
of faith is often required in love and life,
even if your last leap found you wounded
upon landing. It’s compelling and sweet,
and I only hope it wins the lone Oscar for
which it was nominated (for the beautiful
“Falling Slowly”). (7/26/07)
4. Ratatouille
6. I’m Not There
Todd Haynes’ dizzying take on the life
and times of Bob Dylan actually might
make an interesting double feature with the
previous fi lm — one a fairly straightforward
look at a real but mythologized fi gure, the
other a splintered vision of the characters
one artist suggested over the years as
he reinvented himself in the public eye.
Haynes, whose six characters in search
of one singular man’s essence are, for the
most part, cleverly cast, made a divisive
movie that some say only Dylan fans can
appreciate while others argue that Dylan
fans would be the fi rst to dismiss the fi lm.
For my part, I’m a casual Dylan fan who
saw in I’m Not There a fantastical work of
creativity and inspiration, a cover version
whose melody of oddness and poetry is a
compliment (and complement?) to the man
who stands unseen at the fi lm’s center and
whose name is never mentioned. (12/6/07)
7. Eastern Promises
The story of Remy (Patton Oswalt), a rat
with dreams too big for his small, furry body,
Ratatouille is a joyous, exuberant tale that
borrows a few standbys of animated, kid-
friendly fare (Remy doesn’t have a mother,
like all too many Disney characters, and his
separation from and reunion with his human
friend are quite familar) while exploring
relatively grown-up notions about striving
for greatness from yourself and acceptance
from those around you. Rats, humans, even
critics get their moments in a movie that’s a
delight on so many levels that it, like a good
book, encourages multiple viewings; it’s as
funny, sweet and inspired the second time
you see Remy running through the sewers
of Paris and the kitchen of Gasteau’s as it is
the fi rst. (7/12/07)
5. The Assassination of
Jesse James By the
Coward Robert Ford
John Carney’s intimate portrait of a
gentle falling and a glorious shared talent
arrived bearing laurels and streamers of
magnetic and a little scary) and Robert Ford
(Casey Affl eck, reserved and observant).
Roger Deakins’ beautiful cinematography
wraps up landscapes and houses, faces and
fi gures, with such clarity and such wide skies
that you become certain that somewhere in
this country a place exists that is as empty
now as it was a century ago. Assassination
rewards patience and a willingness to
indulge its slightly dreamy tone (emphasized
by Nick Cave and Warren Ellis’ beautiful,
haunting score) and meandering narrative.
But focus on Ford, who worshipped James
only to fi nd he was just another man, and
you’ll uncover a story about hero worship
and American mythology, about those we
reward for standing outside the law and
those we resent for changing the course of
an unforgettable story.
Give yourself over to Andrew Dominik’s
introspective, involving exploration of the
relationship between Jesse James (Brad Pitt,
David Cronenberg can’t seem to look
away from the darker sides of humanity,
and he won’t let his audience look away
from some of the nastiest bits, either. Viggo
Mortensen’s naked bathhouse brawl is not
the sort of jaw-dropping fi ght that usually
gets talked about, all smooth choreography
and clever stunts, but a messy piece of
work that’s not even the most vicious
moment in the fi lm. Set in the underworld
of the Russian mafi a, Eastern Promises is
a story about loyalty, secrets, honor and the
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