It’s hard to make a film as emotionally resonating as “In The Bedroom,” a film that asks tough questions about the way in which we deal with loss while showing the subtle aspects of day-to-day life following tragedy. Death is so often used for shock in films that it’s rare for one to dig so deeply into the human psyche and show the way grief affects people. Tom Wilkinson and Sissy Spacek deliver outstanding performances as the parents of a deceased young man. This is truly intense drama from director Todd Field, one that refuses to simply pass through; it hits hard and stays there.
Leave it to the co-director of “City of Lost Children” and “Delicatessen,” two wonderfully dark French films, to make one of the year’s best lighthearted comedies. “Amelie” is a film about dreamers that made me smile the whole way through–and that’s no easy task. This is a film that never once comes close to being feel-good pap, avoiding almost every cliche of romantic comedies. Jean-Pierre Jeunet makes all the right choices and creates a touching, funny, original and visually impressive tale of a do-gooder and a mysterious man obsessed with torn photos.
The only film of 2001 to expand film as an art form, “Waking Life” at first seems like an exercise in pretension. But, without warning, it morphs into one of the most intriguingly beautiful films of the year. An unnamed dreaming man finds himself drifting in and out of lucidity as he engages in philosophical discussions with a variety of colorful, animated characters, questioning the nature of life. A plot slowly creeps in, and soon, the viewer completely immersed in the wonderfully rotoscoped dreamscape. This is not a film for everyone, but those who like it will really like it.
Peter Jackson, best know for doing enjoyable, low-rent horror films like “Bad Taste” and “Dead Alive,” has done something that has become shockingly rare: he made a big budget film that’s actually good. Based on J.R.R. Tolken’s classic book, Jackson has created Middle Earth and all of its inhabitants in excruciating detail. Making smart decisions in what to omit and alter from the original text, Jackson has made an epic worthy of the praise it’s gotten.
Wes Anderson’s offbeat sense of humor seems to be an acquired taste. But those who have acquired it will love “The Royal Tenenbaums,” his follow-up film to “Rushmore.” A tad darker, more character-driven, and more dramatic than the earlier film, “The Royal Tenenbaums” is at least “Rushmore’s” equal, if not its superior. With this film, Anderson proves that he has what it takes to be a great filmmaker. This also has one of the year’s best ensemble casts. Special mention must be given to Gene Hackman for one of his best roles in years.
For the life of me, I can’t explain what this movie was about, but that didn’t stop me from enjoying almost every second of it. David Lynch has created another cinematic mind screw. Most of me wishes this had been the first episode of a television show, as was originally intended, but as a film, it’s still oddly effective. While the 45-minute coda leaves much unanswered and just about every detail of the film can be left up to interpretation, David Lynch deserves credit for creating a film this bizarre that still seems somewhat coherent.
One of the best comic book adaptations of all time, “Ghost World” is a teen film for the rest of us. Though the film sadly loses some of the relationship between the story’s two cynical main characters present in the comic book, Enid (Thora Birch) and Rebecca (Scarlett Johansson), the addition of Seymour (Steve Buscemi), a 78 collector that Enid becomes obsessed with, makes up for it. The performances are universally excellent (special accolades going to Buscemi and Birch) and the script is hilariously biting and even tender in a few rare moments. It’s nice to see a film with weird main characters that don’t magically turn cool at the end.
The only 2001 movie I saw four times in theaters, “Monsters Inc.” is one of the most refreshing kids’ films I’ve seen in years. Like the best kids’ films, it appeals to a much larger audience, while not leaving it’s target audience out in the cold. As enjoyable as “Shrek” was, it doesn’t hold a candle to Pixar’s beautifully animated, hilariously funny fourth feature-length effort. I have a feeling this is one I’ll find myself playing over and over again on DVD.
A film from early in the year that most quickly forgot, this depressing, deliberately paced film represented something of a comeback for Jack Nicholson. His first film since 1997’s awful and overrated “As Good As It Gets,” “The Pledge” features Nicholson as a newly retired cop desperately trying to solve one last case. A wonderfully acted, powerful story about obsession, “The Pledge” is a harsh portrait of an aging man unwilling to give up his previous life at any cost. Actor Sean Penn proves himself as a director with this film that starts slowly but builds to a shockingly painful climax.
Ridley Scott has directed three films in the past two years. “Gladiator” and “Black Hawk Down” were both lousy films that received countless accolades, while the one really good film he’s done recently has sadly gotten panned. “Hannibal” is really just a big, dark romantic comedy: a tale of unrequited love with some sinister moments of black humor mixed in. This isn’t “The Silence of the Lambs,” and those looking for it will be disappointed. But those looking for some great dark humor will find a compelling film.
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