For 2011 (So Far)

Just over halfway through the year is a good time to review the year so far, so below is my top 5 up to now. You may notice some big omissions The Kings Speech, Black Swan, True Grit and The Fighter are not included mainly because they were very much 2010 films and only released in this Calendar year and country due to the Oscar machine.


5. Source Code 

Director: Duncan Jones
Stars: Jake Gyllenhaal, Michelle Monaghan and Vera Farmiga



Duncan Jones’ second feature doesn’t quite reach the heights of its predecessor Moon (2009) but there really is little shame in that. Source Code sees Jones again toy with high concept Science fiction but with a methodology more akin to summer block busting as opposed to his debuts more low key scale. Captain Colter Stevens (Gyllenhaal) is the soldier lost in a reoccurring mission that is half Groundhog Day and half Quantum Leap where he must enter the body of a stranger in an attempt to thwart the deadly bombing of the train he is aboard. What ensues are the conventional big budget synonyms of cat, mouse, chase, punch and explode. However Jones finds an inner warmth to proceedings in the shape of varying shades of romance, humanity, joy and sorrow. Resulting in a film that will engage heart, mind and soul.

4. Hanna

Director: Joe Wright
Stars: Saoirse Ronan, Cate Blanchett and Eric Bana




It really is testament to the qualities of film making when it can take an idea that has done to the proverbial death, yet induce some kind of freshness and originality out of it. In what should feel like a Luc Besson effort such as Nikita (1990) or to a lesser extent Leon (1994), director Joe Wright envelopes all cliché in a wondrous shroud of fairy tale thematics, gorgeous visuals and a near perfect cast who deliver just about all that could be asked. Saoirse Ronan may just be the best young actress on the planet at the moment and her performance as the eponymous, laser blue eyed, Germanic, child assassin equates to boarder line mesmerism. Adding to the piece are Eric Banna and Cate Blanchett creating a deranged oedipal dynamic which drives the simplistic structure of the plot, in which Hanna trained all of her life Erik( Banna) in isolation for the challenge of Marissa (Blanchett) she must encounter. In the process the real beauty of the film evolves which sees our heroine in an innocent mode of inner journeying and self discovery as a juxtaposition to the violence that is ingrained in bother her history and destiny.

3. Submarine

Director: Richard Ayoade
Stars: Craig Roberts, Yasmin Paige and Paddy Considine
 


Much in the way of the glorious (500) Days of Summer (2009), Submarine is a film about core generation X values. Richard Ayoade makes the jump from small screen actor to big screen orchestrator and writer in this delightful debut where he brings together a mesh of childhood memories and sappy teenage ideals. Everything here works the leads Oliver (Roberts) and Jordana (Paige) offer assured performances as the incongruent (He a cine-phile, she a pyromaniac), would be school boyfriend and girlfriend loners forging a relationship based on obscure romantics, adolescent exploration and an ambivalent sense dependence based on shared woes of of each others family strife. The superb supporting cast are tasked with portraying the ridiculous and the ordinary including home-wrecking mystics, depressed fathers, over supportive teachers and more. Ayoade’s directorial flair makes for a flourishing aesthetic, even finding the beauty of Swansea, whilst the comedy is fueled by witty dialogue it is also blackened by themes of adultery, bullying and terminal illness but never to the point of crassness. The finishing touch is Alex Turner’s dreamy soundtrack which galvanises this heartfelt, darkly funny and distinguished film – a real achievement.

2. Win Win

Director: Thomas McCarthy
Stars: Paul Giamatti, Amy Ryan and Jeffrey Tambor



American cinema is often at its best when operating in a mode of self examination, and in doing just that Thomas McCarthy unravels the functionality of dysfunction that resides within the post-millennial American dream and life. McCarthy pens a story very much of our time, Mike Flaherty (Giamatti) is the patriarchal arrowhead of his family, a practicing Lawyer who's facing the impending hardships of his failing career and business. When the opportunity arises to earn some much needed extra income as a carer for an elderly client circumstances converge to bring Mike in contact with a hapless and semi-homeless youngster named Kyle played with impressive understatement by rookie actor Alex Shaffer, the two are drawn together by their love of wrestling. Wife Amy Ryan’s maternal instincts are soon engaged and Kyle becomes part of the Flaherty clan. Win Win however doesn’t just wallow in the ideals of doing the right thing, there are plenty of shadowy  moralistic mechanisms in McCarthy’s script such as pity, forgiveness, inconvenient truths and general ambivalence between characters to allow his directorship to focus on invoking a range of bittersweet emotions and ironic humour. This is a rewarding picture of multi generational appeal and effortless charms.
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1.Senna 

Director: Asif Kapadia
Stars: Ayrton Senna, Alain Prost and Frank Williams

 It will be interesting to see if at some point anyone will attempt to give the life of Aryton Senna the full blown biopic treatment that many possibly would have preferred. However the thought of topping Asif Kapadia's triumphant documentary will however be a daunting task. Senna succeeds on every level – Visually it is an intrusive collage of uninterrupted clips  sharing all facets of the legendary race driver’s revered life, from grainy home video to polished FIA film. The Audio plays like a sombre eulogy as we hear voice after voice faceless interview footage broken up with words from the man himself. When put together the narrative is undeniably the strength of the film, charting a journey from Go-Karting ambitions to Formula 1 glory, exploring the vitality of a great sporting rivalry and uncovering the truths about a sport with a politically oppressive system. Of course the truth is this is a celebration of a miraculous figure Senna the man belied boy racer pastiche with a complex psyche, portrayed as on one hand an ethereal almost prophetic character, manifested by his talent, faith and mutual love of his country . On the other hand a cannibalistic competitor focused, irksome and rebellious in his nature. Gripping from start to finish Senna is a must see.