Thursday, 31 December 1998

THE BEST 10 FILMS OF 1998

This was a great year for great movies. Narrowing down my Top 10 wasn't terribly hard as it turned out. But I am thrilled to say that only two of the films on the list come close to being conventional Hollywood movies. That is not to say that there are critical consensus faves here. I think it's the great irony of 1998 (or maybe just another lesson in The Education of David) that so many professional critics whine for more original films and yet hate anything that is actually original. Amongst my 19 Honorable Mentions, three in particular (The Cruise, Dark City and Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas) got hit hard for being different (and coincidentally, fall together in alphabetical order off that list.)

Of course, as on the other two year-end lists, there are films that I haven't seen that may have been serious contenders for this list. Happily, this is the shortest of the lists with only five films. And with my predisposition to hate Hal Hartley films and Dogma 95 productions, it's really just three. Festen (The Celebration), Hartley's Henry Fool, The Hi-Lo Country, Love and Death on Long Island and A Soldier's Daughter Never Cries. But then again, last year, despite being bored by most Alan Rudolph films, Afterglow jumped onto my Top 10 the day after Christmas. So, who knows what I could love?

HONORABLE MENTION: Affliction, Babe: Pig in the City, The Butcher Boy, A Bug's Life, Bulworth, City of Angels, The Cruise, Dark City, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, Free Enterprise, Hilary and Jackie, The Horse Whisperer, The Mask of Zorro, Mulan, Still Crazy, There's Something About Mary, Waking Ned Devine, The Waterboy and The Wedding Singer.

10. Living Out Loud: There were a load of first-time directors out there this year with serious credentials and serious attempts to break into the directing ranks. Richard LaGravenese did not have the best visual skills (Tony Kaye) or the most novel idea for a film (Gary Ross). What he did bring to the party was amongst the very best set of dramatic writing chops in the business today. And while Robert Towne (Without Limits) may rank higher on the all-time writers list, it was LaGravenese who reached beyond traditional Hollywood limitations to bring the most adult romance of the year to the screen. (Even if self-love was what really won out in the end.)

9. Wild Things: No wonder it's been undervalued. Every time I ask someone, even a critic, if they saw all the credits, I get a blank look. "Oh, yeah... he showed some outtakes, right?" No. He (John McNaughton) gave us all the scenes that kept the mystery alive throughout the film and then, in what I believe to be a film first, actually offered up the real answer to a "whodunit?" at the end of those scenes. If you haven't seen all the credits, you haven't seen the film. Sony sold a fabulous combo of T&A -- and it was fabulous -- but the sale stained this all-color noir thriller for all time. McNaughton gave us an absolute classic that would have attracted the hottest young cast of any era and would have been better remembered in its own era had the sex been restrained. But pushing that envelope was always part of the great fun of noir, wasn't it? (Here's a hint: Theresa Russell was comic relief as much as Bill Murray. If you thought she was overacting, you didn't get the joke. Nor have you watched her career, which is 95 percent overacting. Do you think McNaughton hadn't noticed?)

8. Primary Colors: The most heinous victim of the Clinton affair. At least Wag the Dog, which was also hurt financially by America's disgust with the scandal, gets mentioned every time Slick Willie goes to war at a convenient moment and will continue to be mentioned in presidencies of the future. Primary Colors offered at least two Oscar-level performances (John Travolta and Kathy Bates), a brilliant script by Elaine May that was outside of her usual wheelhouse and a beautiful, gentle hand by director Mike Nichols. But more than a movie about Clinton, this film will someday be remembered as the great document of what the '90s in America were all about. And Nichols has continued to document his generation brilliantly. The Graduate, Carnal Knowledge, Working Girl and now, Primary Colors are testaments to our growth, our passions and our greed over the last 30 years.

7. Out of Sight: Steven Soderbergh seemed to have finally found the perfect note to match his iconoclastic view of the world with mainstream commerciality. BZZT! Wrong! Audiences stayed away in droves. "It was too slow." "What was with the freeze frames?" "Why are they talking so much?" Well, what can I say? I thought it was a work of brilliance. Style, classic movie star roles and a morality tale with a kick, all together in one. Plus Albert Brooks with a bald head, Steve Zahn at his wackiest and Jennifer Lopez's butt. What's not to love?

6. Elizabeth: This one took two viewings to fully appreciate. Any monkey can see that Cate Blanchett is freaking amazing as Elizabeth. But where is that ever-moving camera moving and why? Why lay so heavily on the love story? And why can't Joseph Fiennes catch a break? Well, I got all the answers the second time around. This is a beautiful coming-of-age movie with a historical background. What would you do if you became the head of a nation overnight? What would you do if you lost all your privacy and were seen as a icon, not a person? Would you survive? Director Shekhar Kapur could be the next Alan Parker, one of my favorite directors. He has the taste, the visual skills and the interest in unique stories.

5. Happiness: I expected Todd Solondz' horrifying comedy to be higher on the list. Just goes to show you how strong this year has been at the top. How do I explain this film and its power? Truth + the darkest part of our natures = Happiness. Unlike Neil LaBute and Peter Berg (see the 10 Worst list), Solondz seeks meaning. It's not just a film about beating us over the head with the evil acts of which we are capable. It's a film about how the things we perceive as evil are really just human weaknesses. It's funny, but it's no joke. Solondz never descends into farce or the super-realistic. These people could be our friends, our families or even us. And that is truly horrible. And hysterically funny.

4. Rushmore: I was pretty happy to dislike Bottle Rocket a couple of years ago. Damned Sundance people. They think they are so clever. But they are far more clever than I thought. Wes Anderson and Owen Wilson have served up the most original, unexpected, bittersweet, insightful comedy about coming of age since Ferris Bueller's Day Off. That would be a decade ago, folks. And this movie is a decidedly more intellectual romp than Ferris', for better or for worse. These are the movies that make going to the movies worth the effort. Truly inspired lunacy.

3. Saving Private Ryan: The greatest war film ever made. For almost five months. What more is there to say? The greatest battlefield sequence ever shot. A powerful story filled to the brim with young talented actors and Tom Hanks at his dramatic best to boot. For me, it was better than Schindler's List or any other Spielberg film. This director has now made the best classic war film, the best serial romp, the best two killer animal movies on land or in the sea and the best friendly alien movie (unless you prefer Starman). How can you not admire this kind of mastery?

2. The General: A master of another stripe, John Boorman has fashioned maybe his smallest film and one of his very best with The General. It's not tricky. It's not slick. Just great performances, led by Brendan Gleeson, who holds the screen with the same overwhelming power of his American namesake, Jackie Gleason. Wow. And the supporting cast just couldn't be better. Like the top eight of this list, this film is deeply concerned about where we draw the lines of morality. Or don't. Many critics have hit this film for not taking a moral stance on the "immoral" actions of the film's central character, the General. But Boorman respects us too much to feed us the answers. We will all decide for ourselves what is right, what is wrong and what is too much for us to accept. A work of singular humanity and grace.

1. The Thin Red Line: I actually think that most of the films on this list will be well remembered for years to come. But none more than The Thin Red Line. After offering up a rave for the film, critic Andrew Sarris complains about the cult of personality that has been built up around Terrence Malick and his absence from the business, bitterly mocking comparisons to Orson Welles' two-picture output, Citizen Kane and The Magnificent Ambersons. I agree with him. Malick's Badlands and Days of Heaven are not in that class, but they did change how filmmakers made film. And they did break all the rules with great success and artistry. And so does The Thin Red Line. I don't want to keep preaching to the converted and I don't quite know how to get past the complaints of those who don't like this film. All I can tell you is that this great epic poem about man, war, God and nature is one of the best films ever made. If you allow it to, it will fill your soul. I hope that's praise enough. (If not, check out my Thin Red commentaries in THB 12/14, andTHB 12/16).

HOLIDAY SCHEDULE:
Thursday, Dec. 24: Hanukkah Special
Today: 'Twas The Night Before Christmas '98
Monday, Dec. 28: Weekend Review
Tuesday, Dec. 29: Top 10 Movies I Just Don't Get
Wednesday, Dec. 30: The Worst 10 of 1998
Thursday, Dec. 31: The Best 10 Films of 1998
Friday, Jan. 1: New Year's Resolutions

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E ME: throughout the holidays.