In the year of box office flops, female lead blockbusters and surprise indie hits. Here are my top 5 favourite films of the year.
(Honourable mentions: High-Rise, A Bigger Splash, Tickled, Room, Hell or High Water, Hunt for Wilderpeople.)
5. The Neon Demon
Nicolas Winding Refn’s newest release was perhaps my most anticipated film of year purely on an aesthetic level. With the neon glows, symmetrical framing and stunning cast, this was always going to be on of the best looking films of the year. Many critics believed however that The Neon Demon was too style over substance, and was far too synthetic and shallow. I believe however that the shallowness of the film is part of its greatness; it is a film about the fashion industry, about modelling and about beauty, it is a film about shallowness so of course it was going to shallow. It is a cultural critique on our obsession with beauty which also purposely adds to the culture. NWR premiered his film yet again at Cannes Film Fest, in which the film received a polarising response – from standing ovations to walk outs and boos. The film has also earned a status of notoriety, with one specific scene particularly shocking audiences. However NWR is aiming to shock, he is pushing the boundaries between beauty and death, as well as pushing artistic and audience expectation. The film is NWR most stunning but also most him auteristic piece of work, and is the perfect critique of today’s culture of striving for perfection.
4. American Honey
Andrea Arnold returned this year with road movie, American Honey. Making a name for newcomer Sasha Lane, the film follows Starr (Lane), a teenager who runs away with a travelling sales group. Winning the Jury Prize at Cannes, American Honey received extremely favourable reviews with critics praising the Arnold’s direction, the performances and its 4:3 aspect ratio, photography. Predominantly a coming-of-age tale, some have criticised the film for being a road movie without a map, a road movie taking a meandering and somewhat pointless journey. However American Honey works best as a character study, following star as she settles into independence. Arnold has also shown her honest and intimate touch when its comes to examining young women before in Fish Tank however the triumph of American Honey proves that Arnold is still one of the best independent directors around today.
3. Nocturnal Animals
Tom Ford’s second feature Nocturnal Animals received similar criticisms that The Neon Demon received; that it’s shallow, sexist and style over substance. However as Nicholas Winding Refn was critiquing the world in which he was portraying, Ford was similarly criticising the bourgeois, artistic elite that he is portraying. The most impressive part of Nocturnal Animals for me is the three part structure – you have the steely, austere life of Susan, a gallery owner and art curator, you have the world of the novel, a humid, crime filled western, and you have the glossy world of Susan’s memories. Each structure filmed with a specific colour palette to immerse you in the different worlds. The film, particularly in the novel segment has been criticised for glamourizing violence towards women and rape. Nevertheless, this segment is not the real world, this is the world that Susan is imagining whilst she is reading. Why would a shallow, art curator, not imagine everything glamourized and beautiful? And this is why Nocturnal Animals is much smarter than it seems on surface. Performances are great across the board but its the supporting cast that really shine, with Michael Shannon and Aaron Taylor-Johnson giving award worthy turns. But the best part about Nocturnal Animals is how designer turn actor is criticising the type of people that buy into his brand and for that reason alone, it is one of the best films of the year.
2. I, Daniel Blake
This years Palme d’Or winner (and the second Palme d’Or for Ken Loach) was definitely the most emotive film of the year. The story of a man, whose doctor deems him unfit for work is denied employment and support allowance. Dave Jones’s eponymous character, though is dire straits of his own, befriends a single mother at the job centre and begins to help her emotionally and financially. Newcomer, Hayley Squires gives such an incredible performances that its difficult not to shed a tear with every tear she says, especially is the show stealing food bank scene, which is one of the most gut-wrenching and difficult watches of the year. Nobody has been able to capture the British working class on screen as well as Ken Loach, and the tenderness of I, Daniel Blake and the way Loach deals with such a well debated but delicate subject, that proves that he is the greatest living British film-makers.
1. Arrival
In his short career Denis Villenuve has come up with gem and gem of a film, and his 2016 release Arrival has managed to come up trumps over them all, and over the rest of 2016’s releases. Based on a short story about a linguistic expert, that is hired to try and communicate with aliens. Arrival is an extremely smart, plot bending, surprisingly quiet, sci-fi that is much more about the importance of communication and understanding one another than it is about the aliens themselves. Amy Adams has had one hell of year, with both with leading performances in Nocturnal Animals and Arrival, but the extra emotion and character layering needed for her role as Louise pips her role of Susan to the post. Arrival is a rare type of film, that is not only extremely rewarding to go into the film blind, without having seeing the trailer first, but it also manages to be as rewarding on repeat watches, where a more active spectator and look for clues. Arrival is smart, emotional, unique, beautiful shot and scored, confirms Amy Adams as one of the best leading ladies working today, and further cements Villenuve’s talent as a formidable filmmaker, and that is why Arrival is my film of the year.
Rhi Writes Film 