7. Life of Pi:
As somebody that has been trained
to be able to find stories worth telling in the most mundane areas of life,
“Life of Pi” was a charming and unexpected pleasure that transcends the few
storytelling hiccups that it has, making for a life journey that is not only
enthralling to see play out but visually spectacular.
The nature of protagonist Pi’s
struggle at sea with a tiger rendered by and unfolded through incredible
visuals at this point has become the one definitive point of attraction that
everybody who has and hasn’t seen the film is aware of at this point. And to
the film’s credit, the visual direction is absolutely stunning, however I find
myself rather surprised that this has been the sole element attracting its
audience.
Pi’s recollection of his journey
to understand faith to a fascinated writer contains such an incredible level of
real life charm that I found myself intensely envious of Rafe Spall for being
allowed to partake in the life story such a fascinating man that has, for all
intents and purposes, lived a fairly normal life.
Ang Lee tells Pi’s story
masterfully through the charisma of Irrfan Khan with a terrific performance from
Suraj Sharma. The first half alone is had me charmed over so much that when the
visual direction kicks in, I was almost taken by complete surprise.
The incredible visuals of the
protagonist’s plight at sea with a live tiger served as icing on the cake and
were a true sight to behold. However the progression of the film into this
territory, despite the breathtaking visuals, the storytelling becomes
significantly more fantastical. As his life story becomes more of a fable than
a biography, details begin to become less consistent and although most of these
issues could be argued to be intentional, there are more than a few instances
in which it weakens the storytelling, culminating in a revelation that could
have been a terrific note to leave on, that is unfortunately spoiled by over
explanation.
Despite the unevenness of the
storytelling as a whole, “Life of Pi” easily takes the award for biggest
surprise of the year and on top of Lee’s previous directorial work, “Taking
Woodstock,” have redeemed himself permanently for the existence of “Hulk.”
6. Les Miserables:
In 2012, after an age where the musical has become something
of a joke, one film came to stand apart from all of the others, pushing the
envelope in terms of the current weak quality of musicals; a movie that has shaken
me to my very core to this day. That film was called “Rock of Ages,” a wretched
production of scum and horrors of one of the most embarrassing eras of Rock
history, distilled into a 2 hour theater experience of evil so terrifying, it
brought me within a hair’s width of quitting my ambitions of being a proper
critic of fiction at the sheer idea that my job would force me to willingly
expose myself to such inhumane tortures and perversions of genres that I love
on a regular basis. The embarrassment of the musical genre of film, despite 1
or 2 worthwhile productions over the course of the last decade or so
notwithstanding, had culminated in this film and has left me cold to something
that I once felt a very powerful love and appreciation for. “Les Miserables” is
the anti-“Rock of Ages.”
Tom Hooper directs a silver screen translation of a stage production
with care and intricacy the likes of which I have not seen since Kenneth
Branagh’s “Hamlet.” The film makes full use of its camera to create a world
that immerses its audience in the setting and story that it has to tell, a trick
that sounds very simple in theory but is rarely ever attempted or executed
properly. It draws you in almost immediately and never releases its grip on
your attention despite a few tight shots and close-ups.
The sense of immersions steals the show and enhances the
storytelling through a masterfully crafted and performed soundtrack. Every song
tells a full story within the film so incredibly well but are so beautifully
crafted and emotionally performed that they can stand alone in their own right.
I haven’t been this in love with a musical soundtrack since “Chicago.”
And most importantly, the human element is alive and strong
from start to finish. I was more spellbound in any given minute of “Les
Miserables” than almost any other film to come out this year. Jean Valjean’s
journey to redeem himself as a human being in his own eyes, Javert’s dedication
to his extreme views of right and wrong, Marius and Cossette’s desire to fight
through revolution to be with one another; all of these ideas and more are
powerfully presented with little to no traditionally spoken dialogue and while
many of the actors are asked to sing beyond their range, the emotion behind the
vocal performances and the incredible acting carries them a long way.
Pacing issues aside, “Les Miserables” was an emotionally
moving and brilliantly crafted journey that has not only restored my faith in a
genre but reinvigorated my love of it. It has earned my recognition sheerly for
its uniqueness as a production but as powerful therapy for my “Rock of Ages”
PTSD, it has earned a permanent spot in my heart.
5. Cloud Atlas:
The Wachowski siblings have fallen pretty far from grace
since the heyday of “The Matrix.” After taking the worlds of film and science
fiction by storm, their continuously fading star, culminating in the abysmal “Speed
Racer” seemed to be a sad sign that their first film, as impressive as it was,
was ultimately one epic fluke. While I still don’t doubt that they have a
tendency to be a tad bit pretentious, I find myself pleasantly surprised to
admit that “Cloud Atlas” proves beyond the shadow of a doubt that they are far
from talentless.
The ambitious undertaking of weaving the six tales of “Cloud
Atlas” together into a single 3 hour long coherent film worth the necessary amount
of time and investment it must demand of its audience was one that should have
ended in complete and utter disaster. By all means, this should have been the
largest cluster fuck of our generation. What was born out of this ambition instead
is a series of interweaved vignettes that contribute to larger messages about
celebrating life, karma and redemption, and destiny vs. free will that create
one of the purest art films of recent history.
Every second of “Cloud Atlas” feels like a necessary piece
of its puzzle; every shot, every line of dialogue, the usage of music, the
usage of makeup, the roles of the cast members, and the nature of the settings
are all integral in forming one of the multitude of interpretations that the
film intends for its audience to take away from it.
This film thoroughly blew my mind upon my initial viewing of
it and has left me hungry to rewatch in search of interpretations that I
missed. “Cloud Atlas” is a well rounded masterpiece that is both intellectually
complex and heavily emotionally resonant the likes of which the world of film
has never seen before.
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