Feature: The Top 10 Films of 2011

It's that time of year again, finally, when I roll out the Official Filmverdict Top 10 of the Year. What better time than the day the Oscars take place? Tonight's runners and riders at the big awards jamboree may be largely absent from this list (I haven't seen many of them, and several count as 2012 releases in the UK) but here are my favourites that I have seen from 2011...


Firstly, the honourable mentions, AKA close but no cigar:

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy - Very nearly made the 10.
Morning Glory - Underrated romcom with on-form Harrison Ford.
Rise of the Planet of the Apes - Far better than everyone expected.
TT3D: Closer to the Edge - Not just for petrolheads or Manx people.
Captain America: The First Avenger - A refreshingly different superhero film, more Indy than Iron Man.
Green Lantern - Seriously.
Paul - 2011's second best Spielberg love-in.
Black Swan - The freakiest horror film I've seen in ages.
The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn - Spielberg back on form.
The Way Back - Engrossing journey, disappointing destination.


And now, the ten best.

10
127 Hours

Danny Boyle became a proper Big Name Director with Slumdog Millionaire, making his follow-up project much more intensely anticipated than it would have been. (For my money, by the way, Sunshine is his best.) No-one else could have taken a story of a hiker who (spoiler!) cuts off his own arm after being trapped by a rock for days and turned it into a film so kinetic and idiosyncratic. Boyle's penchant for skewed camera angles and manic editing annoys me sometimes but here it comes together really well. James Franco also delivers a near-revelatory performance. 127 Hours may be a one-time watch, but it is, in the end, truly inspirational.

9
Animal Kingdom

This Australian gangster film came with good notices from its native land. They proved to be well founded as it's a very engrossing character driven piece with memorable moments of sudden violence. However, expecting the Australian Godfather or Goodfellas proves to be some way wide of the mark. This is an altogether more unassuming film, with a smaller scale and a cast restricted to just a few characters (amongst whom Joel Edgerton and the Oscar-nominated Jackie Weaver are standouts). The lead character is a complete blank slate, which is unusual, and though his passivity takes some getting used to it doesn't turn out to be a negative.

8
13 Assassins

Mood has a lot to do with my appreciation of a film. First time I watched 13 Assassins I was mildly entertained but disappointed. When I recently watched it a second time, though, I was completely in the mood for it (having just booked a trip to Japan) and found it far more engaging. I think as well it's to do with expectations. 13 Assassins has a downbeat, talky, and occasionally disturbing opening hour, which tested my patience first time round, but I may now actually prefer this half (with its subtle building of intrigue and politics) to the bombastic, extravagant finale, which is certainly an impressive achievement.

7
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2

Before Christmas, I'd never seen a single Harry Potter film, but I finally bought the whole box set and watched the lot in quick succession, as exhaustively detailed in my Potter marathon articles. Although Potter 8 fell short of being my favourite of the saga, I still had few complaints about it: the action was thrillingly handled, the effects better than ever, the stakes off the charts, and the experience wonderfully emotional. Having taken a week rather than ten years to watch the films, I lost some of the sense of occasion that accompanied each film on release, but I still had a great time filling in a conspicuous hole in my pop-culture knowledge.

6
The Adjustment Bureau

A sort-of-science-fiction romance, The Adjustment Bureau is totally unlike anything I've seen before and all the better for it. The way director George Nolfi grounds the story in realism (Matt Damon's senatorial candidate is shown mingling with numerous real-life dignitaries) and makes eyecatching use of tremendous New York locations lets you swallow the more far-fetched aspects. The film's biggest success, however, is the Damon-Emily Blunt partnership: it's hard to think of another recent film where the romantic chemistry has equalled the fireworks on display here.

5
True Grit

Typical Coen wit meets the traditional American Western and a classic of the genre is born. Jeff Bridges makes the definitive Rooster Cogburn but it's the precocious Hailee Steinfeld who canters off with the acting honours, her whirling dervish of a character sweeping away all before her. The intricate, dialogue driven opening act is superb and even though I felt the rest of the story failed to live up to the beginning (as expressed in my original review), it remained a fine example of classical storytelling. Unlike No Country for Old Men, it also has a proper ending too.

4
Arrietty

Studio Ghibli is basically known as the Pixar of world cinema, but none of their efforts since Spirited Away have managed to make quite such a mark on the international stage. In Arrietty's case it's probably because it's a low-key, small film, and was not directed by the legendary Hayao Miyazaki. Nevertheless it's captivating, with (of course) absolutely beautiful art design married to relatively gentle pacing completely alien to most American animated movies. It's also, for want of a better word, less weird that many prior Ghibli films, which was a plus point for me as it was just totally involving and endearing. Small but perfectly formed.

3
Senna

There were two brilliant motorsport documentaries that I saw this year. TT3D: Close to the Edge was an unexpectedly poignant look at the Isle of Man motorbike race that, being a resident of said Isle, meant a lot personally to me. Senna, however, was even better: a tribute to a true genius, with an inevitable gut-punch of an ending. Comprised entirely of archival footage with narration from various interviewees, it's a triumph of editing. Sure, you can accuse it of being one-sided; Alain Prost comes across as an absolute bastard, while Ayrton Senna was far from blameless. You can't fault its passion, however, telling a true story more dramatic than most fiction. Towards the end the dread mounts as the end looms, but it's all sensitively handled: a celebration of a life fully lived rather than a dissection of an untimely death.

Standout scene: Possibly the scarcely believable moment when Alain Prost and FIA president Jean-Marie Balestre cheated Senna out of his first world title on a ludicrous technicality. Of course, the tragic ending leaves the most indelible impression.

Bonus points: The Blu-ray comes with an extended version which is almost an hour longer. The extra footage is entirely talking head interviews, but they add much appreciated further insight.

2
Super 8

From the day I saw it, Super 8 was my number 1 film of the year until just being pipped to the post. (And still, these rankings are far from set in stone in my mind.) Other than the slightly underwhelming reveal of the monster, I love pretty much everything about this film, but the element that raised its level to something on a par with its obvious inspiration, Close Encounters, was the interaction of the young actors. The script is an underratedly elegant construction, with spot-on pacing and distinct roles for all the characters, but it's the cast who really shine, led by unknown Tom Courtney and the already-known Elle Fanning. Some of the Spielbergian imagery may feel derivative, but the way the drama and intrigue escalates together with the emotional stakes leads to a hugely satisfying finale.

Standout scene: The train crash is an obvious high point but it occurs early. For me, the moment when this film crossed over from great to really something special was Tom Courtney and Elle Fanning's heartbreaking scene when he discusses his late mother while watching old super-8 home movies.

Bonus points: It's really funny, with laughs entirely driven by hugely natural dialogue. And you've got to love that the kids' zombie movie is shown over the end credits.

1
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo

I went into Dragon Tattoo blind, pretty much. I'd deliberately avoided spoilers and put off seeing the Swedish films or reading the books because I wanted to experience this new Fincher film fresh. The result was that I was absolutely hooked throughout the film, with absolutely no knowledge of where it was eventually heading. I imagine it's a similar sort of experience that has made the book into such a bestseller.

After getting past some initial bewilderment, the film's central murder mystery, and the unconventional lead pairing, made it utterly compelling. Inevitably with a film adaptation of a popular novel - one that has already been previously adapted to film, no less - there are going to be comparisons with the story's prior incarnations, but I'm able to just look at it in isolation, and in that capacity, it's a keeper.

Standout scene: Many to choose from, but the one that sticks in the mind is Lisbeth Salander's rather graphic revenge. If you know the story, you know the scene I'm talking about.

Bonus points: The soundtrack is another moody concoction from Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, Oscar winners for their collaboration with Fincher on The Social Network, but for me this symphony of suspense was the superior effort. That awesome cover of "Immigrant Song" was just the icing on the cake.