My Top Ten o' 2007*

*Irish release dates only. That excludes No Country For Old Men, There Will Be Blood, Sweeney Todd and other critical darlings.

This list was not hard to compile at first, but then I took a second look at it and began switching titles, taking off names completely and scratching my head with puzzlement. Funnily enough, the top five are the locks; I was blown away by each of those films and the top place has been firmly there ever since I first saw it back in the summer. These films aren't necessarily the best of the year; to qualify, I had to be engaged both emotionally and intellectually, and also be able to appreciate the craft of the film. What follows is a mixed bag; political thrillers, children's films, adult dramas and a musical. Not all will appeal to everyone, but I can assure that each will provoke discussion, thoughts and opinions.

10. Michael Clayton

09. Ratatouille

08. A Mighty Heart

07. Away From Her

06. Hairspray

05. Breach

04. Zodiac

03. INLAND EMPIRE

02. I’m Not There

01. Jindabyne

Each of these films shocked me, thrilled me, made me laugh or left me with tears in my eyes. Not all accomplished all four criteria, but some definitely did. Glancing over my list, I cried at six of the titles, squirmed in fear at four and in every case left the cinema (or living room, in the case of the two I watched on dvd) feeling like I was walking on air.

Where is the love?

The Screen Actor's Guild (SAG is such an unfortunate acronym, no? It's doubly unsuited for actors, for whom sagging is anathema) announced their noms this morning. I had expected them to show some love for Laura Linney's turn in The Savages. She's getting left out in the cold for her portrayal of Wendy Savage and not one of the American critics have nominated her, which is baffling. Linney is an actor's actor, it's an unshowy but memorable perf and she's continuously been excellent in everything she's done. Let's look at the Best Actress SAGs:

Best Actress
Cate Blanchett
Julie Christie
Marion Cotillard
Angelina Jolie
Ellen Page

I thought Christie and Jolie were both excellent in Away From Her and A Mighty Heart respectively. I'm kind of surprised that Jolie is getting recognised, I thought she was lovely and understated as Marianne Pearl but there's so much baggage attached to the role (like, she kind of blacked-up...not exactly pc...I didn't have a huge problem with it but nobody seems to be talking about it). Cotilard got a lot of hatred and muck thrown at her, but I was still moved by her Piaf. The film was muddled, but Cotillard didn't edit the damn thing and in my opinion she deserves her placing. Juno hasn't opened her yet, but I'm enthusiastic about the indie/young actress push. Which leaves Blanchett. Ahem. Some people don't exactly love her and are (perhaps rightly) angered by her place here. I didn't bother seeing The Golden Age but from what I heard it was a godawful mess in which Blanchett yelled a lot. Reviews were universally middling, so why the constant worship? She's not an actual queen, ballot writers. Heads won't actually roll if you don't write her name on the ballot paper! I actually am quite fond of Blanchett (this is residual habit, left over from her Galadriel. We used to have fights in the playground, Galadriel v Arwen and I always backed the Lothlorien Queen) but she doesn't have to be nominated for everything she appears in (even though she didn't get a Best Supporting Oscar for her best role yet, in Coffee and Cigarettes).

The solution, as I see it, would have been to give Blanchett a Supporting nod and leave the fifth space for Linney. But no, look at the Supporting Actress noms:

Best Supporting Actress
Cate Blanchett
Ruby Dee
Catherine Keener
Amy Ryan
Tilda Swinton

Oh. Hi Cate. Again. Why a double nod? Why? She is a good actress, but The Golden Age is not a good film and you've already rewarded her in another category. Gah! Stop being such an award hog!

I haven't actually seen The Savages yet (it opens in Ireland late January). But I'm still cross that Linney's being snubbed. Partly because of this. Also, this. But mainly because I'm saddened that Jindabyne is not getting any notice whatsoever, in any category.

Bah. Dispelling any bad vibes I'm transmutting through the web, Hairspray got an Ensemble nod and three of the Michael Clayton team (Clooney, Wilkinson, Swinton) got recognised.

Michael Clayton (2007) Tony Gilroy

The summer film season is, by it’s very nature, a distracting force. Just remember our summer just gone; a veritable explosion of superheroes, car chases and giant robots. As we slipped into Autumn there came a handful of comedies headed by Seth Rogen, superficially different than the summer blockbusters but ultimately serving the same purpose, distracting people (in our case, a welcome diversion from the non-stop rain). There’s absolutely nothing wrong with setting out to make a film with the primary goal of entertaining people, but sometimes it’s more satisfying to make a film with something to chew on, a little moral ambiguity to get the brain cells churning. So, as the days get shorter and I get back into the routine of study, the cinema offerings get more serious, more literary, more intelligent. Basically, I’m in cinema heaven with the series of political thrillers and serious dramas like Breach, Rendition, A Mighty Heart and Michael Clayton either currently showing or on their way to the cinema.

Michael Clayton is the latest George Clooney vehicle showcasing his intelligence rather than his looks. It’s something I like about Clooney, that even in his most serious political roles he never seems preachy or even as if he’s grabbing for awards. He has a point to make and does so affably, it almost seems as if he isn’t really acting. In this respect, he’s the closest thing we have to a Cary Grant, somebody who just enters a film with enough self-confidence and charm to just be himself. As the eponymous character, a shady man who works as a “fixer” for a law firm, we never really get into the heart of his character, to discover what makes him tick. Personally, I was never quite sure what to make of him. In another setting this could be a problem, but in this case it suits the film perfectly, dealing as it does with lies and obsfucation.

Although Clooney is the film’s biggest sell, Tom Wilkinson delivers a standout performance as a corporate lawyer. His current client, a sinister multinational called UNorth, have murdered hundreds of farmers with a carcinogenic weed killer. Wilkinson eventually goes crazy and turns his back on his professiona duties after neglecting to take his manic-depression medication, a discomforting downward spiral of insanity. Part of Clooney’s job is convincing Wilkinson that his change of heart is a result of the resulting chemical imbalance, but to the viewer there is no doubt that it is the unbelievable guilt of compromising his morals day-in, day-out that has triggered the madness. The film’s best scene occurs with Wilkison, alone and raving in his apartment, playing UNorth’s advertising spot on repeat, the comforting words and images of small, multicultural children familiar to anyone who has ever winced at the friendly posturing of big businesses. The high-tech audio-visual equipment he uses have all been paid for with the blood of innocents, yet even this chilling scene never reaches the tense heights it could achieve. I have a feeling this is a deliberate move on the part of the director, the whole film is coated in a very slick, corporate feel which furthers the subject matter.

Bolstered by a fine supporting cast and a dense script, Michael Clayton is a head scratching treat. It won’t be for everyone, there’s little flashy or fun, and a quick glance on the IMDB boards show that many people consider it boring, but I thoroughly enjoyed it.