The Ten Best Films of 2005

Originally printed in the Fredericton newspaper 'The Brunswickan' on Feb. 1st/2006

With the Golden Globes handed out and with the Academy Awards quickly approaching, it is the time for all the critics’ infamous top ten lists. No one can say that 2005 was a bad year for movies. How could they when there were so many good ones, and quite a few great ones? It would have been impossible for me to see EVERY film released in 2005, but out of the ones I DID see – which were many - these are the 10 best.

10.) 'Sin City' (dir. Robert Rodriguez, Frank Miller, Quentin Tarantino)

Robert Rodriguez, Frank Miller and Quentin Tarantino have joined to create one of the most visually thrilling films of all time. For the first time, and properly so, a movie has been made into comic book, instead of trying to turn a comic book into a movie, as is the usual routine. Every scene jumps off the screen with awesome visuals and stark contrasts of black and white and vivid color. The film has been criticized for its scenes of harsh violence, but I applaud its unapologetic fun. Every frame of ‘Sin City’ is stunning – to the point where you could watch it on mute and still enjoy watching it.

9.) 'Hustle & Flow' (dir. Craig Brewer)

Terrance Howard is the new Denzel Washington. After a stellar work year – including roles in ‘Get Rich or Die Tryin’’, ‘Four Brothers’ and ‘Crash’ – Howard gives the performance which will someday define his career in ‘Hustle & Flow’. Howard takes what could have been a standard ‘growing up through oppression in the hood movie’, and turns it into a full on powerhouse drama. This film is not a one-note show by any means. It actually makes us sympathize with Howard’s character – who is a drug dealing pimp. The hookers whom he pimps are not used as artificial plot devices as in most films of this nature, but are actual multi layered, sincere characters who we care about. This could be the best film of its kind since ‘Boyz N The Hood’ (1991).

8.) ‘A History of Violence' (dir. David Cronenberg)

David Cronenberg’s most mainstream film to date and his slyest. This film masquerades itself as an obvious, straight to the point, violent, mainstream film – which is confusing at first considering Cronenberg’s body of work. The truth to this film – much as it in its main character – lies underneath. There are more layers to this film then it presents and it asks some very fascinating questions as to the temperament of human nature and to the necessity of violence. One aspect I found particularly fascinating was how the son in the film (Ashton Holmes) discovers gifts he did not know he had, because they came from the secret life that he did not know his father had. The film continually asks the question ‘which life is real and which is the act’? This could be the most deceivingly ‘simple’ film of the year, but one of the most powerful in actuality.

7.) 'Jarhead' (dir. Sam Mendes)

Sam Mendes has created a contemporary war classic, in the tradition of ‘Full Metal Jacket’ and ‘Platoon’. Mendes and his cinematographer Roger Deakins are often able to make a raw, gritty war film while at the same time allowing almost every shot to be as visually appealing as a painting, such as when the oil wells ignite, the vastness of the desert, and when Jake Gyllenhall’s character ‘Swoff’ comes across an oil-drenched horse in the desert. The beauty of the film is in the way it perfectly exemplifies the futility of the war, and the frustration of the soldiers – who train for so long and yet feel useless, with no outlet for that training. The film does not give in to the urge of being a typical war or action movie. The fact that this film is about the soldiers and their struggles against loneliness, boredom, and the constant feeling of ineffectiveness is what makes it so great.

6.) 'Walk The Line' (dir. James Mangold)

Joaquin Phoenix gives a more impressive performance in ‘Walk The Line’ than Jamie Foxx gave in ‘Ray’ – and that is saying something. Mangold’s ‘Walk The Line’ is the brilliant portrayal of the life of rock/country legend Johnny Cash. Mangold makes the story accessible to the audience by using Cash’s drug dependency problem and his love for June Carter (Reese Witherspoon) as the two initial subplots. One phenomenal aspect of the film is that Phoenix and Witherspoon sang all of their own songs – which initially made many Cash fans – as well as his family – nervous. That is until they heard Phoenix’s voice. He is not merely imitating Johnny Cash is in this role, he is channeling him. Witherspoon steps out of her ‘Legally Blond’ mode to deliver one of the best performances by an actress this year. I would not be surprised if the two of them take home Oscars for this film.

5.) 'King Kong' (dir. Peter Jackson)

Peter Jackson has the most guts of any Hollywood director right now. Not only did he take the chance of being crucified when he decided to take on the L.O.T.R. trilogy, but then he decides to remake one of the greatest films ever made. Yet again, he pulled it off. ‘Kong’ is the biggest adrenaline rush of the year, utilizing some of the most impressive special effects in history. What makes the film so great though, is the human aspect of it. There is real platonic love between Kong and Ann Darrow (Naomi Watts). She cares for the ape as much as he cares for her. The scenes in which they interact – especially at the end with her attempts to save him from his persecutors – gives the film a wonderful emotional appeal that saves it from being merely a special effects extravaganza. Jackson has made another great film, and not only stayed true to the original material, but in many ways improved on it.

4.) 'Brokeback Mountain' (dir. Ang Lee)

Featuring one of the most powerful love stories I have ever seen in a film, it is a real shame that ‘Brokeback Mountain’ gets unfairly labeled as ‘the gay cowboy movie’. In fact, the point of the film is not homosexuality – it is love, plain and simple. It is a story of how love can be unpredictable, everlasting, and even dangerous. By the end of the film, I did not even think in terms of gay or straight or men and women. It is the fact that there is a love between these two that supercedes all – whether they want it to or not. The fact that their relationship begins in the 1960’s and lasts over 20 years makes it all the more poignant because they fell in love at a time when living that lifestyle could get them killed. This perfectly exemplifies the power of their relationship – the fact that if they could control their emotions, it would have been smarter not having them at all – but no matter what, they could not deny what was there. When I saw it, a few people walked out of the film. I understand that this subject matter can make some people uncomfortable, but if people see it in its entirety, many may realize what a great film this is.

3.) 'Syriana' (dir. Stephen Gaghan)

The year 2005 was the year for political films that stirred up controversial and thought provoking questions. Films such as ‘Good Night and Good Luck’ are important because they force their audience to think about certain topics that they may not otherwise think about. ‘Syriana’ sheds new light on the war over oil. Its plot is convoluted and often flat out confusing, and yet you cannot look away. You do not follow the plot - the plot engulfs you. The film allows you to look inside the worlds of everyone involved in the oil business – from the corrupt politicians, to a burnt out CIA agent, to the royalty of an oil controlling country, and even into the life of a suicide bomber. The film may even be brave enough to allow the audience to sympathize with the bomber, depending on how the viewer reads that particular story arc. The same team who created Steven Soderbergh’s ‘Traffic’ created ‘Syriana’, and while I would not say that ‘Syriana’ is as exalted as that film, it is still a powerhouse political thriller.

2.) 'Munich' (dir. Steven Spielberg)

The most courageous film of the year, Steven Spielberg’s ‘Munich’ is the legendary director’s most personal and heart-felt film since his 1992 masterpiece ‘Schindler’s List’. The film starts with the murder of the 11 Israeli Olympians in Munich, Germany by Palestinian terrorists in 1972. It then follows the secret death squad put together by Golda Meir and the Israeli government, as they track down and kill those involved in the events at Munich. The film speaks volumes in the way that it does not take a side in the murders or the events thereafter. It is a message to all people of the ways that violence begets violence and that the vengeance put forth by governments only perpetuates the cycle of violence and terrorism.

1.) 'Crash' (dir. Paul Haggis)

Undoubtedly, the most poignant, influential and flat out best film of the year is Paul Haggis’ ‘Crash’. Films like ‘Crash’ come along only on occasion - the kind of film that can actually have an influence on people. The kind of film that stays with you long after the screen has gone black. ‘Crash’ follows the same interconnecting plot structure as ‘Syriana’, but ‘Crash’ never loses its audience – it grabs hold and mesmerizes. It uses the interlocking plot to show how people are connected and that everyone is on the same playing field. Everyone has the ability to sin and be sinned. No matter what sex or nationality you are, everyone will walk out of ‘Crash’ thinking – at least for a moment - about the way in which you treat or think of other people. Films that affect me in the ways ‘Crash’ did, do not come along all the time and for that, it is my pick as the best film of 2005.