If there was one trend in movies in 2007, it was an onslaught of unhappy endings. The majority of the films in my top ten are tragedies, films that portrayed the immoral desires of men, and how they and others around them face the consequences. One took place in a godless world; another drained the color out of life and let its protagonist try to breathe. One was a stark epic about wasted time; another was about the horrifying sacrifices that come with friendship.
So why watch these films in the first place? Because each is a life-affirming, stimulating work of art. They remind us that there are different kinds of life out there, characters that may or may not really exist, but nevertheless have stories that need to be told. To be a critic, you need to have your own sense of morals, and each of these films challenged my own perceptions and ideas of what a movie should be. They were transformative experiences that educated me, had me racking my mind and heart for deeper meanings. They are movies that have discrete stylistic qualities and narrative techniques that pay homage to older films, yet by experimenting with the art form, they successfully keep the medium fresh and alive.
Out of the 61 movies I saw in theaters this year, these are my favorites.
10. Control
Joy Division, probably my favorite band of all time, gets a biopic better than I could have hoped for. Music video director Anton Corbijn’s feature-length debut is a loving, intimate, perfectly realized biopic of frontman Ian Curtis, based on his wife’s memoirs, that not only does justice to the band’s music, but also makes you forget you’re watching actors in the first place. Sam Riley’s fiercely handsome face makes a perfect Curtis, and his portrayal of Curtis’ internal struggle with infidelity never fails to be interesting. Riley especially amazes when acting out Curtis’ near-epileptic stage performances. The black-and-white cinematography and musical cues are nearly perfect, and knowing the outcome of the story doesn’t lessen the experience.
9. We Own The Night
One of the most underrated movies of the year, James Gray’s third movie in 12 years is such a restrained crime drama that it almost takes you off-guard. A late-80s tale of New York cop family ties, Joaquin Phoenix and Mark Wahlberg play two brothers on both sides of the law, each one’s loyalty tested when their paths cross. Without any big-budget explosions or gunfights, calling it underwhelming is to ignore the fascinating character arcs, arguably some of the strongest uses of sibling-rivalry archetypes. From the rapturous opening club sequence to a car chase shown entirely from a first-person perspective, the movie is a highly sensory experience, and anyone who expects another Departed will be missing the point.
8. No Country For Old Men
Joel and Ethan Coen have been such consistently great filmmakers over the last 20 years that their last couple of misfires were easily forgiven. Here they bring their entire career full circle, creating a tremendous suspense film that echoes the nihilistic themes of their debut Blood Simple, while also containing such trademarks as memorable dialogue and crisp cinematography from Roger Deakins. Javier Bardem, in a career-defining performance, and Josh Brolin play a cat-and-mouse chase through a landscape of diegetic sound and breakable motels, while Tommy Lee Jones provides elliptical bookends for a tale that could only exist in a world where morality is just a passing fad.
7. The Host
Every year there comes a foreign film that should serve as a wake-up call to America that certain kinds of movies can still be successful. In this case, it’s the monster movie, which comes in no better shape or form than Joon-ho Bong’s effort, which is the highest-grossing film ever in South Korea, and deservedly so. A giant fish-monster (one of the few recent convincing CGI-rendered creatures) attacks Korea, and sends the entire country into a frenzy, heavily stemming from the government to instill fear into its citizens. The film is so successful because, aside from being as entertaining as any summer movie, it really makes you care about the characters, and its surprising moments of humor and pathos make it into something more than just a horror movie.
6. The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters
The most entertaining movie of the year is also the best documentary of the year, which says something about the integrity of popcorn filmmakers these days. (Did I mention that this is already getting a Hollywood remake?) The true story of the rivalry between the egotistical maniac who held the record for the highest score in Donkey Kong for 20 years and the humble underdog who challenged his legacy is the best movie ever made about videogames; a movie with more plot twists and oddball characters than you could fictionalize. Even if you don’t like videogames, it’s impossible for anyone not to enjoy this movie. And the best part, even after the last-minute overwhelming twist, is that the story isn’t over. Sequel, anybody?
5. 4 Months, 3 Weeks, and 2 Days
The scariest movie of the year is also the most true-to-life. The winner of this year’s Palm D’Or at the Cannes Film Festival, this Romanian film follows a woman trying to secure an illegal abortion for her roommate in the late 1980s, told through long camera takes and natural sounds. Like the sound of a speeding car in the distance—a subtle motif throughout the film—you’re constantly alarmed and worried about their safety, even when the main character is stuck at dinner with her boyfriend’s family in a claustrophobically framed, nearly five-minute take. Yet the film ends up being about a more fundamental theme: the instability of friendship. You wonder, after sitting through two hours of nervewracking tension and frustration, whether you would have taken the same risk.
4. Before The Devil Knows You’re Dead
Director Sidney Lumet, at 84 years old, is beyond trying to make a name for himself. 12 Angry Men and Network remain compulsively watchable moral tales, and I feel that his latest, a tragedy involving two brothers who attempt to rob a jewelry store, will eventually join the ranks of those films as an overwhelming testament to the wrong thing to do. Indeed, this movie is all about the casualties of immorality, and who better to play the lead than Philip Seymour Hoffman, an actor who continues to give his all, always fascinating to watch, and yells up a storm to our delight. Ethan Hawke gives a fittingly submissive performance, while Marisa Tomei and Albert Finney fill out the rest of an incredible ensemble. If you want great, unfettered drama, this is your ticket.
3. There Will Be Blood
I’d be lying if I said this wasn’t my most anticipated movie of the year, and I’d also be lying if I said it was exactly what I expected. Paul Thomas Anderson, who hasn’t made anything less than stellar yet in his career, brings us a sweeping indictment of American ideals with hardly any sentimentality, set to a freaky, remarkable strings-and-percussion score by Jonny Greenwood. His weapon of choice, Daniel Day-Lewis, as fiery and mustachioed as ever, is the cinematic equivalent to a train wreck—scary as hell, but you just can’t look away. In the most talked about performance of the year, he embodies an oil prospector who hates people, particularly a young preacher (Paul Dano) that stands in his way. These are single-minded characters that are as far apart in beliefs as they are in Anderson’s frame, and like all opposing forces, must eventually clash. And by the time the YouTube-bound ending comes around, it’s obvious that this is a caliber of filmmaking rarely displayed and essential to preserve.
2. Zodiac
David Fincher, like Stanley Kubrick before him, is a notoriously meticulous director, and with that, he has made his longest, most involving movie yet, a cinematic case study to the nth degree. I don’t think I’ve ever seen such an obsessive film. The story of the 30-year case on the Zodiac killer and the policeman, reporter, and political cartoonist that gave a good chunk of their lives working on it, Fincher directs tried-and-true actors Mark Ruffalo, Jake Gyllenhaal, and Robert Downey Jr., whose characters combine enough enthusiasm and skepticism to sustain the movie to its overwhelmingly protracted finish. Because the film seems to leave absolutely no details out, it doubles as a historical document, one that is as entertaining as it is informative.
1. The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
It’s funny how, after all these excellent movies made by veterans, my favorite was from a relatively unknown director, and mostly shunned by critics for reasons I can’t comprehend. Andrew Dominik, obviously a highly visionary filmmaker, brings us one of the most indulgent, achingly cinematic, heartbreaking, and beautiful movies of the decade. It’s as if he knew he just had to make the movie of all movies, an ode to fiction and artificiality, and the consequences of making them a reality. The power of the film lies in the cinematography by Roger Deakins, the unforgettable score by Nick Cave and Warren Ellis, and in Casey Affleck’s chilling performance. From the opening shots of clouds passing by; to the melancholy, oft-repeated chimes of the xylophone; to the disarmingly sheepish grin on Affleck’s face as he holds his tattered hat—this movie has it all. In a year with several attempts at a revisionist western, this is the only one that takes complete control of its environment to bring out the emotions of its characters. And even though the title gives away the ending, you’ll still be on the edge of your seat when it happens. It’s long, but not long enough; and once that feeling is over, when the huge title is finally displayed on the screen, barely able to fit, you’ll know what to call it.
