5. “Wildlife”
There are echoes of Douglas Sirk’s genius in this ‘50s-set marriage movie, but in his directorial debut, actor Paul Dano somehow skirts melodrama to provide an authentic, empathetic film that will leave you heartbroken. All the characters and emotions in “Wildlife” feel so true to the real world, and credit certainly goes to Dano and his screenwriting partner Zoe Kazan for their graceful, gracious adaptation of Richard Ford’s novel. However, what ultimately makes “Wildlife” work is Dano’s cast and their subtle performances that turn on a split-second look or the perfect pitch of a line. There’s real nuance here; the marriage between the couple played by Carey Mulligan and Jake Gyllenhaal begins with genuine affection, but his lost job and the changing opportunities for women in the 1950s tip their relationship into the red. All is seen through the eyes of their 14-year-old son (newcomer and brilliant find Ed Oxenbould, who bears more than a passing resemblance to Dano…), whose love and affection for his parents helps us identify with them, despite their flaws.
4. “The Favourite”
Wicked, indulgent, and entirely delicious, Yorgos Lanthimos’ follow-up to the misanthropy of “The Killing of a Sacred Deer” and “The Lobster” is . . . more misanthropy. If that’s your thing, you’ll leave this one licking your fingers in delight. But while “The Favourite” is situated entirely within Lanthimos’ cynical worldview we’ve seen previously, there’s a bit more humanity here than in his past work. Olivia Colman stars as real-life Queen Anne, who ruled England in the 18th century, despite struggling with both physical and mental health issues. Vying for the title of her confidant are Lady Sarah (Rachel Weisz) and her new servant Abigail (Emma Stone). Our sympathies shift between the women throughout the film, but the fact that we even have sympathies sets this apart from the filmmaker’s previous films. But Lanthimos’ trademark pitch black streak of comedy is still present, and it elevates what another filmmaker would have turned into a standard period drama about a royal power struggle. The director’s skewed perspective is evident in more than just his use of fish-eye lenses; this is an enjoyably nasty, oddball film, dressed up to perfection in Sandy Powell’s stark black-and-white costumes.
3. “Paddington 2”
Film nerds often rightly decry modern studio fare for its emphasis on adaptations and franchises, but Paul King’s gleeful British sequel does so much good in all forms that it almost redeems every “Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom” and “Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald” we were saddled with this year. (Almost.) Besting its solidly made predecessor – and not just because of the presence of a perfectly cast Hugh Grant here – “Paddington 2” was clearly made with a love and attention to detail that mirrors the beautifully crafted “popping book” that serves as its MacGuffin and adds an additional layer of childlike wonder for all but the most cynical in the audience. Here, Paddington (voiced by Ben Whishaw) is wrongfully accused of stealing a rare pop-up book, and the sweet bear sent to prison to serve his sentence alongside hardened criminals like Knuckles McGinty (Brendan Gleeson). “Paddington 2” isn’t subtle in its themes of kindness and concern for your fellow man/bear, with the marmalade-loving hero outright saying, “If we are kind and polite, the world will be right,” but it’s a sentiment that viewers both young and old need to hear. As comforting and substantial as the traditional Sunday roast, “Paddington 2” has brought me more joy than almost anything else – on screen or off – in 2018.
2. “You Were Never Really Here”
Revenge movies are a subgenre unto themselves with plenty of hallmarks even a casual filmgoer is familiar with, but Lynne Ramsay takes a hammer to all the tropes and cracks them open with this spare thriller. Set to a kinetic score by Jonny Greenwood, “You Were Never Really Here” centers on a broken Joaquin Phoenix as Joe, an enforcer whose past and present are steeped in trauma. Beset by flashbacks of his previous lives as a soldier in Afghanistan and an FBI agent, he currently works to find missing girls, but his most recent assignment turns out to be far more than a simple rescue. PTSD and depression course through the film, bringing us into the deep with Joe, who barely – and barely wants to – keep his head above water. This is a brutal, often bleak film that should leave viewers devastated, but it ends on a note of hope that still feels true to the 90 minutes that came before. “You Were Never Really Here” was fashioned with great economy, giving us only, exactly what we need, but it’s still generous in both its treatment of Joe as well as what it offers the audience.
1. “Annihilation”
The fear runs deep in “Annihilation,” triggering that classic fight, flight or freeze response. Alex Garland’s visuals – and those haunting sounds and score – unlock a level of primal terror that isn’t often evoked by most even the scariest pure horror films in the genre. Here, it mostly results in freezing you to your seat, unable to look away, which is good because if your eyes leave the screen you’ll miss not only Rob Hardy’s stunning cinematography and the wondrous special effects but also the subtle clues that help unravel as much of its mysteries as possible. But “Annihilation” ultimately doesn’t want you to fully solve it; it’s meant to confound and confuse, leaving the audience as unsettled as its characters. However, for all the fear it inspires, Garland’s film isn’t simply content to terrify; this is a deep meditation on self-destruction and how it manifests differently in each of us. A diverse, all-female expedition (Natalie Portman, Tessa Thompson, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Gina Rodriguez, Tuva Novotny) journeys into a mysterious area, where they discover strange, unnatural happenings that have kept previous groups from emerging from its ever-expanding borders. Though Jeff Vandermeer’s novel is a fantasy triumph, this is the rare adaptation that improves on its source material, evoking equal parts horror and wonder, engaging the brain as much as it does the heart in its narrative of destruction and evolution.
In a year this rich, there are literally dozens of films that just missed the cut. In any other year, my list might have included “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-verse,” “First Reformed,” “Mary Queen of Scots,” “Hearts Beat Loud,” “Tully,” “Gemini,” “Thoroughbreds,” “Private Life,” “The Rider,” “Juliet, Naked,” “Destroyer,” “Skate Kitchen,” “Izzy Gets the Fuck Across Town,” “All About Nina,” “To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before,” “Sorry to Bother You” and “Eighth Grade.”
This was a particularly bountiful year for documentaries, with my favorites including “Shirkers,” “Won’t You Be My Neighbor,” “They’ll Love Me When I’m Dead,” “Minding the Gap,” “Liyana” and “McQueen.” Beyond “Shoplifters,” other foreign language films I loved included “In Between,” “Cold War,” “Burning,” “Roma” and “Let the Sunshine In.” Coralie Fargeat‘s debut, “Revenge,” topped my favorite horror films of the year, followed by “Hereditary,” “A Quiet Place,” “Mandy,” “What Keeps You Alive” and “The Little Stranger.”
May every year be as great, film-wise, as 2018 was.
