I think it was around early November when I realized how great 2016 was for movies. Regardless of all that this year will go down in history for (politics, mass shootings, celebrity deaths...) I hope it is also remembered for the endless array of movies that continued to surprise me every time I went back to the theater. Comedies, foreign cinema, big-budget flicks, documentaries... There wasn’t a wrong note. I was genuinely struggling to pull together a list of just 10 movies to highlight such an extraordinary year... Without any further delays:
*****
10. Deepwater Horizon
I wasn’t expecting much, but after Deepwater Horizon ended I was convinced that it’s one of the greatest disaster movies I’ve seen. A true story about the recent tragedy from 2010, the movie has a perfect setup (including a clever scene in which we learn how oil rigs work from a can of coke and a straw) that helped keep us engaged even when the dialogue was thick with exposition. Contrasted to a lot of other disaster flicks, this one also had genuine heart.
9. Don't Think Twice
There was something really amazing about this ensemble and the story they told. This was a movie that followed an improv troupe and the turmoil that comes when one of them is cast on a late night variety show (think SNL). When you’ve worked your whole life to be mediocre at one thing, this movie asks whether or not it’s always possible to achieve your dreams and at what cost. Don’t get me wrong, it’s also painfully funny.
8. The Edge of Seventeen
I will admit I have a small obsession for Hailee Steinfeld, and here is finally a movie that proves she is a great actress. From the moment it started I had a smile on my face. We have seen a lot of high school comedies in recent years, but this one joins the ranks of the best. Not only is it one of the funniest movies of the year, but it has a brilliant understanding of the way high school minds work. Woody Harrelson as an English teacher is not to be missed.
7. Tower
I saw a lot of documentaries this year, and in the end it had to be ‘Tower’ that made the list. In a lot of ways it’s very hard to classify it as a documentary, since it’s both rotoscoped and recreated by actors. It’s the story of America’s first school shooting when a sniper took an entire college campus hostage for over an hour during a hot Austin, Texas summer. We hear first-hand accounts from all points of view (many victims we learn are still alive) and see a story that could have easily been talking heads filmed in an explosively original way.
6. Moonlight
It’s really hard only putting this movie at #6 when I think a lot of other years I would have probably considered it the best. It’s a story told in 3 parts following a young boy on his journey to manhood. Not only does it have the year’s strongest cast, it’s filmed in a way that set it apart from everything else I saw this year. There’s a lot to unravel and sort through, but it makes for a rewarding and heart-wrenching movie.
5. Lion
The only reason this movie didn’t rank higher for me was because of... well, I don’t know. Out of every movie I saw this year, ‘Lion’ was the most heart-breaking. A young Indian boy is separated from his family by over 1,000 miles purely on accident, and only after getting adopted and maturing into a young man does he attempt to discover the fate of his long-lost mother and brother. I defy you to watch this movie and keep a dry eye, because the last 30 minutes of the movie absolutely ruined me.
4. Little Men
Little who? Yes, even I admit that this is the smallest movie of the year, a little arthouse picture that played in probably 20 theaters in the country. If you can find it, definitely watch. It’s the story of two boys who become friends in the twilight years of their childhood, simultaneously dealing with the consequences of their parents’ legal battles. It’s a love story but in the most atypical sense. As small a movie as it was, it’s not without strong implications, mainly how the older generations can cause lasting effects on the next.
3. The Lobster
For most of the year I was convinced that this was going to be the movie that would win the race. It’s so clever and inventive, how could it not? Set in a dystopian future (or maybe an alternate universe) where it is the law to be in a monogamous relationship, failure to adhere results in individuals being sent to a resort for rehabilitation. Either they meet a new ‘soulmate’ in the allotted timeframe or they are turned into an animal of their choice and released into the wild. It’s absolutely bonkers in the best sense, and so darkly-comedic that you can’t help but feel uncomfortable with each new absurdity. Colin Farrell and Rachel Weisz have never been better.
2. The Handmaiden
This is another movie that defied conventional wisdom. Endlessly entertaining and deeply erotic, this was a South Korean movie about a wealthy maiden (Lady Hideko) and two thieves who pose as a maid and wealthy suitor in order to swindle her out of her fortune. Only that’s not the plot at all... The story takes twists and turns that are eye-opening and clever in ways we never see coming. A romance blossoms in the thick of the plot and yet we are still clueless as to what is to come around every corner. With flashbacks, altering points of view, and subtitles that cross languages and cultures, ‘The Handmaiden’ definitely isn’t for everyone, but it is by all definitions “movie magic.”
1. Manchester By The Sea
And in the end, when I saw so many movies that were wild and creative and brilliant, this one topped them all. Not only is ‘Manchester by the Sea’ the best movie of the year by a mile, but it is also overflowing with talent in every respect. Casey Affleck is undeniably good and so is Michelle Williams. The director and writer Kenneth Lonergan wrote a story so perfectly-structured and achingly real that it’s hard to find a flaw. Yes, I cried, but I also laughed, and the amazing thing about this movie is how all the characters feel so real, so lived in... No, it doesn’t have a happy ending or characters that are always sympathetic, but who said things are better with a pretty bow on top?
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