THE BEST AND WORST OF 2016: IN DEFENSE OF A LACK OF CERTAINTY

When someone is honestly 55% right, that's very good and there's no use wrangling.  And if someone is 60% right, it's wonderful, it's great luck, and let him thank God.  But what's to be said about 75% right?  Wise people say this is suspicious.  Well, and what about 100% right?  Whoever says he is 100% right is a fanatic, a thug, and the worst kind of rascal.

--attributed to An Old Jew of Galicia

The above quote appears at the beginning of The Captive Mind by Czeslaw Milosz.  And as a reformed film scholar and occasional movie critic this quote is a solemn reminder of the duties of a critic (and as a citizen, but we'll limit our brief discussion here to the film critic).  Not as the final arbiter of the good and the bad, the quality and the dreck (though there is an element of that, too).  No, it is as a guide to the audience, a gentle (or not so gentle) prodding either toward or away from the film under discussion.

I cannot possibly know what you will or will not respond to, and I can only relate what I have responded to, for good or for ill.  And, to that end, it is my sincere hope that this simple missive may inspire you to see a film you might have otherwise dismissed or to seek out with more vigor a film you wanted but failed to see.  And if I disliked a particulate favorite movie of yours, please keep in mind that there's no accounting for taste.  Especially mine.

All that said, I feel comfortable stating that my opinions are 60% right.  Of course there are many people to thank, but I won’t bore you with all that here.  If you’re reading this, please accept my thanks.  I’m grateful to all of you for different reasons and in different ways.  But I can safely say that your presence in my life has not left me unchanged.  And I mean that in a good way.

Finally, thanks to my always supportive family.  I’m lucky to have you.

  

Brian Pope

February 26, 2017

THE BEST OF 2016
(in alphabetical order)

ARRIVAL  Despite its science fiction trappings Denis Villeneuve’s film is a meditation on endurance in the face of inevitable tragedy and grief.  Eric Heisserer elegantly adapts Ted Chiang’s short story “Story of Your Life,” and Amy Adams’ sensitive performance anchors this profound and often moving drama.

THE HANDMAIDEN  South Korean director Chan-wook Park’s twisted, twisty tale of repressed passion and betrayal, inspired by the Sarah Waters novel Fingersmith, is chock full of crosses, double-crosses and steamy sex.  I double-dog dare you to stay ahead of this one.  Not for the prudish or faint of heart (in more ways than one).

HELL OR HIGH WATER  Two Texas brothers rob banks that stole their family home from them, but the road to hell is paved with good intentions.  Writer Taylor Sheridan and Scottish director David Mackenzie beautifully evoke the post-financial crisis desolation and desperation.

I AM NOT YOUR NEGRO  Raoul Peck’s documentary based in part on the unfinished novel Remember This House by provocateur James Baldwin traces the fight for racial equality in the 1960s but ties in, and is just as urgent and vital, to today.

THE LOBSTER  This bleak black comedy from Greek director Yorgos Lanthimos takes society’s notion of ideological purity, applies it to romantic relationships, and carries it to the absurdist extreme.  As the film’s fine line between humor and horror gradually breaks down we find ourselves alternately gasping with laughter and shock.

LOVE & FRIENDSHIP  Even Whit Stillman’s most “modern” films have always felt like the product of a bygone era.  So it should surprise no one that his most entertaining and insightful film in years is this crisp, clear adaptation of the relatively obscure Jane Austen novella “Lady Susan.”  Kate Beckinsale has never been better.

MANCHESTER BY THE SEA  Writer/director Kenneth Lonergan has a distinctly Irish sense of tragedy, and this devastating drama is no exception.  The filmmaker refuses easy sentimentality and pat catharsis and instead grapples with inconsolable grief.  Casey Affleck, Lucas Hedges and Michelle Williams are exceptional.

MOONLIGHT  A tender, lyrical tale about a black boy/youth/man seeking an identity and human connection in Miami’s inner city.  Writer/director Barry Jenkins divides this journey into three parts, and each feels like a revelation.  Exquisitely acted and gorgeously shot, this is the year’s finest film.

NOCTURNAL ANIMALS  Tom Ford adapts Austin Wright’s novel Tony & Susan about a visual artist who, while reading a novel written by her ex-husband, reevaluates her feelings about their separation and her life.  Ford brilliantly explores the power of fiction to alter our sense of the past and manipulate our desires for the future.

ZOOTOPIA  This delicious animated confection tells a timely and timeless tale of tolerance and cooperation without feeling preachy.  Instead the film relies on smart storytelling, clever world building, and engaging yet complicated (but not too complicated) characters.  This is a captivating kids’ movie that will delight adults as well.

Runners-Up of 2016
(in alphabetical order)

CAPTAIN FANTASTIC

EVERYBODY WANTS SOME!!

FENCES

HIDDEN FIGURES

LION

Honorable Mentions: DEADPOOL; DON’T BREATHE; GREEN ROOM; HUNT FOR THE WILDERPEOPLE; JACKIE; LOVING; MIDNIGHT SPECIAL; MOANA; ROGUE ONE: A STAR WARS STORY; SILENCE; SWISS ARMY MAN; 10 CLOVERFIELD LANE; 20^TH CENTURY WOMEN

THE WORST of 2016
(in alphabetical order)

THE BIRTH OF A NATION  Nat Turner’s slave rebellion deserves to be told, just by a more accomplished filmmaker.  Writer/director/actor Nate Parker believes he's hit a home run only to be thrown out at second base.

CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR  Is this a superhero movie or a philosophical treatise?  Either way, it lost me at hello.  And yet it kept on talking for over two hours.  Put a sock in it.

HACKSAW RIDGE  A thick pudding of jingoism sprinkled with just enough Christian palliative to provide cover for the last hour's non-stop pornographic violence.  Sanctimonious, self-righteous and shamelessly manipulative.