Top Ten Films of 2006 [ Top Ten Index ]
10. V for Vendetta
Along with many of my Top Ten picks, the thing I remember most of this film is the imagery. Luxuriously bathed in reds and blacks, the palette of V for Vendetta is incredibly sinister and apocalyptic. The visuals are rich, the action is energetic and the story is compelling. It is somewhat of a leap for the notoriously stale Natalie Portman, whose last great performance in my mind was the brilliant The Professional. But she tackles this project head-on with an emotional transformation from helpless maiden to neo-Nazi radical. At heart it is an anti-establishment piece, a genre I always seem to be drawn to for some odd reason. Its scenes advancing along like cells in a comic book, V for Vendetta builds a magical suspense right up to its gorgeous pyrotechnic ending.
9. Casino Royale
Not only would I consider Casino Royale to be one of the best films of the year, but I would also confidently declare it to be the best Bond flick of our generation. From the downbeat of its oxygen-depleting opening action sequence, we are thrown head-first into an adventure we have yet to experience in the entire Bond franchise: the beginning; where it all started. And it is here we meet a whole other bond; enter Daniel Craig. Craig’s brilliant Bond is more human than machine, exhibiting a vulnerability that has been noticeably absent in previous Bonds. His edgy delivery and suave body language build on the icon previously molded by the legendary Sean Connery. All later Bonds tend to wind up a bit too polished for me to believe them. But the point here is that Bond is back to a time when he is still wet behind the ears. He hasn’t learned to tame his feelings in that uber-Jedi fashion and he doesn’t quite comprehend the consequences of his actions. Like any young punk, he thinks he is invincible. Armed equally with as much heart as it is with energy, we are finally delivered a true Bond: rife with rough edges and brimming with unpredictability.
8. Little Miss Sunshine
Nothing like a hearty film that dives right into the dysfunctional family dynamic to make you appreciate life. Little Miss Sunshine is a superbly cast and a beautifully performed observational experiment of how people live together uncomfortably whilst simultaneously paying homage to the credo of “everyone deserves a shot.” The character development of each member of the Hoover family is unique and captivating right up to the hilarious last act. But it’s the performances that set this movie among the best of the year. Alan Arkin, in his most comical performance since his huggable police captain in So I Married An Axe Murderer, is unforgettable as Olive’s grandfather and pageant coach. In what I consider to be the runner-up for best supporting performance—see my pick below—Arkin is the only elder actor I know who could pull off a sex-kitten growl and have it resonate. But I certainly lose it when he tells his grandson after asking about his sparse sexual activity that he should be “getting some of that young stuff.” Steve Carrell delivers a deliciously less-is-more performance contrasting his more outwardly hilarious work on The Office and Bruce Almighty. Taking the odd-hundred mile journey with this family alone is worth the price of admission.
7. Children of Men
It appears to be the year of the Latin director, with three excellent capitános making it to my Top Ten. Alongside Mexico’s Guillermo del Toro (Pan’s Labyrinth) and Spain’s Pedro Almodóvar (Volver), Mexican visionary Alfonso Cuarón follows up his brilliant helming of my favorite Harry Potter film to date (Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban) with a troublingly apocalyptic look at a world where women are now infertile and the planet is dying a relatively speedy and fiery death. Clive Owen, who always manages to captivate just by showing up, is purely gallant as the white knight in an otherwise dark & hopeless world, who battles to transmit the last remaining expectant mother to a sanctuary away from the riots and destruction. Cuarón’s coarse directing style is the critical ingredient for this type of film. His ability to slowly build tension and suspense keeps you hoping that world won’t really end this way. Though it is inherently bleak, there’s that glimmer of hope that there is a light at the end of the tunnel—not unlike a modern day tale of the Virgin Mary and her travels to Bethlehem.
6. The Prestige
Of the two “magician” pictures I saw in 2006, I go against the grain of the norm and declare The Prestige to be the superior effort. Though they are both excellent films, where The Illusionist fails is that I don’t have any attachment to the films lead characters (with the glorious exception of the magnificent Paul Giamatti, who in my opinion was the only reason why I liked that film). The Prestige gives you a cornucopia of characters played by a cleverly-selected range of actors from the legendary Michael Caine to the dashing Hugh Jackman to the intriguingly curious Christian Bale. Both films have an interesting twist at the end, but I find the discovery at the end of The Prestige to be far less predictable. Christopher Nolan continues his brilliantly dark streak (Memento, Batman Begins) with yet another beautifully photographed achievement. Every shot is dazzling and like most magic it distracts your eye towards one hand so that you cannot see what the other is doing.
5. Volver
Pronounced "bol-'ber," volver is a Spanish verb meaning "to return." Half-way through this magnificent film, you start to understand its title. The most poignant memory I have of this film is the tearful, gut-wrenching flamenco piece that Penelope Cruz sings about halfway through. If it is not indeed her voice, she makes you believe that it is. For an actress so highly disregarded in America as Cruz, I was so pleasantly surprised not only by her performance but also the heart she contributed to the film along with her supporting cast. Director Pedro Almodóvar, whose films I’ve only just discovered within the last year, delivers yet another stunner. If you happen to be a disciple of any kind of afterlife principle, then you will certainly appreciate this movie. What I appreciate most is the ensemble’s ability to deliver comedic, dramatic and suspenseful performances without going over the top or playing into cliché. Each character is presented realistically and with plenty of intrigue to make you care about each individual. There are no frills in this picture, by any means. But Volver has enough emotional resonance to keep me remembering this film for a while to come.
4. Pan’s Labyrinth
Many times with foreign films, what I’m often left with is not necessarily the story or the performances but with visual impact. In the case of Pan’s Labyrinth, I was impressed by all three. The story of little Ofelia and her imaginary world sucks you in right from the opening shot of the poor damsel bleeding gruesomely; quite near to drawing her last breath. As we meet key characters of the story, it is quite clear whose side you are on. The brutal Sergi López is pure evil, probably channeling the soul of the torturous General Franco himself. Maribel Verdú (Y Tu Mama Tambien) is maternal and revolutionary at the same time. She has a tenderness that is captivating when she is in the presence of Ofelia but also harbors a fiery passion when attempting to aid the rebel cause in an almost Princess Leia-like fashion. But most of all, it is the imaginative and somewhat disturbing imagery that lingers in my mind—particularly that of the chilling Pale Man monster from the underground scene that still has me white-knuckled. Del Toro’s effort—a lifelong pursuit to bring a childhood idea into a cinematic masterpiece drawn from notes and sketches scribbled into notebooks and scrap paper—is a delightful achievement in spite of its dismal, horrific and nowhere-near-appropriate-for-the-kiddies violent content. Pan’s Labyrinth is a visual and dramatic triumph bringing you a darker side of the fairytale realm deposed from its even darker reality.
3. Stranger Than Fiction
Stranger Than Fiction is the picture that everyone mistook for a comedy. Sure, it has its funny parts and the very look of Will Ferrell is enough to make you chortle. But there is most certainly an underlying dark, dramatic thread here. This man knows he is going to die and there is nothing anyone can do about it. And so the lesson is to live as if you will die tomorrow. Ferrell is refreshingly complex in this film compared to his brainless roles of yore (Old School, Anchorman, et al.). Harold Crick is a simpleton and Farrell tackles it with a comical drone that perpetuates until he learns his brutal fate. Suddenly, he decides to make the effort to complicate his life a bit—but still with a quiet subtlety that many other actors, I fear, would have chosen to shove down your throat. Another noteworthy performance is that of Emma Thompson, who plays the tormented author of the simple Crick’s life. When she learns that her ill-fated character really exists, the tug-of-war moral torment she goes through is almost as gut-wrenching as that of the poor slug who actually has to go through the brutal experience. I was so amazingly moved by this film. It is almost embarrassing to say that about a Will Ferrell picture. But if you truly treasure your life, this film will speak to you.
2. The Queen
To be honest, this movie should be tied for first place. Director Stephen Frears (whose Dirty Pretty Things I enjoyed) delivers two perspectives on one event that shook the world. Firstly, you have the torment of a very private woman, driven by tradition and propriety, who puts her foot down on any public acknowledgement of the death of a woman whom she credits with the destruction of the Royal Family’s reputation. On the other side, you have the newly-elected hooligan Prime Minister, a man of heart and emotion, who has the cries of the devastated Britons ringing stridently in his ear. Frears excels in finally presenting Elizabeth II as a human being. Though she feels she is doing the nation right by abstaining from any Royal involvement in the matter of Diana’s death and burial, you watch the transformation of a hardened monarch into an ordinary woman— a mother and grandmother—who merely wanted to look out for her family before considering the welfare of her subjects. Helen Mirren is spot on as the Queen: the quiet but turbulently conflicted head of the British monarchy. She has a beautiful gift of speaking volumes with her eyes and body language, a profound quality that would betray Her Majesty’s plight to do things the Royal way: “with quiet and dignity.” Michael Sheen is utterly gallant as Tony Blair, considered to be quite the upstart when he was first elected but who throughout the course of the film is considered to be the voice of reason. He is driven not only by the overwhelming public opinion of the tragedy but also of the heart that appears to be blatantly absent among the Royal Family. Many would probably discredit this film as being nothing more than a festival of impressions (If James Cromwell’s portrayal of Prince Philip is even fractionally accurate, I will never look at the Royal patriarch the same way again). But I find it much more of a brilliantly painted portrait of the humans behind the gates of Buckingham Palace.
1. The Departed
Chilling, suspenseful and gritty. Save for a select few, movies about organized crime don’t normally make my Top Ten list. But with a cast this incredible (to name a fraction of them: Jack Nicholson, Matt Damon, Leo DiCaprio, Mark Wahlberg), it’s hard not to sit up and pay attention. Star power aside The Departed gets better, darker and more suspenseful with every passing minute. By the explosive conclusion, I was left completely speechless. Nicholson is cool, slick and deliciously evil. His comic delivery on many of his lines makes you laugh more out of fear. His interaction with the other players, particularly with the fantastic Leonardo DiCaprio, is quietly explosive to the point where you expect him to tell you a joke and slice your neck for the punchline. DiCaprio and Damon are equally exceptional, playing characters who pirouette meticulously on both sides of the moral boundary. The corral of stars that round out the rest of the cast (Wahlberg, Alec Baldwin, Martin Sheen) are the icing on this gâteau of bloodshed and butchery. The Departed is crafted by director Martin Scorcese with an intense savagery and calculated debauchery that hits very close to the home best known for the likes of Whitey Bulger and his band of goons. With Scorcese at the helm, you can bank on the fact that it will be raw, dismal and vulgar (IMDB actually notes in the movie’s trivia that the f-word “and its derivatives are said 237 times throughout the film.”), but with that character behind the camera you are insured that it will flesh out the complex and intriguing characters in front of it. There is no doubt in my mind that The Departed will be showered with the accolades it truly deserves. It gives new meaning to the term “whack-a-mole.”
The Best…
So I’m not in Academy. But even if I was, I imagine that I would almost always be counted on for being perpetually—and tragically—outvoted. So, in the interest of thumbing my nose up at the Academy, I commend the following people, whom I think delivered the best of 2006.
Lead Actor
Will Ferrell, Stranger Than Fiction
Supporting Actor
Michael Sheen, The Queen
Lead Actress
Helen Mirren, The Queen
Supporting Actress
Emma Thompson, Stranger Than Fiction
Best Director
Martin Scorcese, The Departed
Honorable Mentions:
The precious few that couldn’t make the Top Ten but which I found worthy enough for mention among the best of the year.
Little Children
Flushed Away
United 93
The Illusionist
Notes On a Scandal
Worst Movie of 2006
Hollywoodland
So bad, that it’s not even worth talking about.
Jury Still Out
Because I actually have a life, I wasn’t able to get out to the cinema to see some movies that I think that probably would have found their way into recognition.
The Pursuit of Happyness
An Inconvenient Truth
Flags of Our Fathers
Letters from Iwo Jima
Jonestown
Miami Vice
Over the Hedge
Running With Scissors
The Good Shepherd
The Science of Sleep
We Are Marshall
World Trade Center
