Now that we have seen the year-end crop of award-worthy movies, it is clear than 2013 was rich in quality films. Family dysfunction, struggles for survival and looks back at our history are among the themes in this highly subjective selection of the best.
1. Nebraska — Alexander Payne’s signature territory of pain-laced comedy about deeply flawed, but recognizable characters certainly describes this father-son road trip from Montana to the title state to receive probably non-existent sweepstakes winnings. Factor in the vivid performances of Bruce Dern and June Squibb and the beautifully desolate black-and-white cinematography and you have the year’s best film, no matter what the Oscars tell us later.
2. 12 Years a Slave — With unflinching direction, Brit Steve McQueen brings to the screen the true tale of post-Civil War free black man Solomon Northup, abducted and sold into slavery. Actor Chiwetel Ejiofor lets us experience from the comfort of a theater seat what slavery felt like, an antidote to so many previous Hollywood depictions. Not an easy film to sit through, but must viewing.
3. Captain Phillips — With documentary-like authenticity, Paul Greengrass (United 93) relates the true story of the captain of the first American cargo ship to be hijacked in 200 years. In the title role, Tom Hanks plays an ordinary man plunged into extraordinary circumstances, trying to keep his cool and protect his crew from Somali pirates. Arggh.
4. Stories We Tell — Canadian actress-turned-filmmaker Sarah Polley (Away From Her) makes her most personal film yet, focusing her camera on her own family to sort out the secrets and lies about her origins. By fabricating home movies, she rankles documentary purists, but by peeling back the layers of her family’s history, she made the year’s most involving non-fiction film.
5. Inside Llewyn Davis — Ethan and Joel Coen probably could not tell a story without tongue-in-cheek quirks if their lives depended on it. So to immerse us in the folk music scene of 1960s Greenwich Village, they have invented an unlovable loser (Oscar Isaac) who keeps getting in his own way, insulting friends and supporters in his unlikely attempt to forge and sustain a performing-songwriting career. The Coens show a palpable affection for the music of the period, recreating the era with amusing accuracy and even some empathy for sad sack Llewyn.
6. Gravity — While this fictional story is full of science, it is hardly science fiction. No aliens, no futuristic inventions, just the most realistic depiction of outer space, packed into a brisk, tense 90 minutes. What begins as a fairly routine mission for a scientist (Sandra Bullock) and a veteran astronaut (George Clooney) becomes a fight for survival when their ship is bombarded by space debris. From the opening 13-minute continuous shot through to the emotional conclusion, director Alfonso Cuarón shows off a mastery of high-tech, yet human drama.
7. The Great Beauty — Welcome to the world of 65-year-old Jep Gambardelli, our guide for a sensory overload tour of contemporary Rome, in the style of Federico Fellini — particularly La Dolce Vita — will all of the excesses intact. From his 65thbirthday celebration to eye-popping visuals of The Eternal City, Jep educates the viewer in the sweet life, even as he contemplates his own mortality. With director/co-writer Paolo Sorrentino (Il Divo) piloting his nimble, mobile camera, the result is pure decadence.
8. Philomena — Proving that there is life after James Bond — take the hint, Daniel Craig — Dame Judi Dench devours the juicy role of an elderly Irish woman suddenly intent on finding the 50-year-old son she was forced to give away by the convent nuns who ran an adoption mill. The naïve Philomena teams up with a cynical journalist (Steve Coogan, who also wrote and co-produced the film), and their search takes them to the United States. Dench is the main reason to see the movie, but the real-life story is gripping and a little horrifying.
9. Blue Jasmine — Merging the aftermath of Bernie Madoff’s scam with Tennessee Williams’ Blanche Dubois, writer-director Woody Allen is back in fertile territory with this yarn about a New York socialite (the great Cate Blanchett), reduced to poverty and forced to move in with her uncultured sister (Sally Hawkins) in San Francisco. Allen gets a couple of knockout performances from the two women and has something to say about self-delusion, wealth and the lack of it.
10. August: Osage County — Tracy Letts pares down his own sprawling, Pulitzer Prize-winning play about a dysfunctional (is there any other kind?) Oklahoma family, gathered together after the patriarch is found dead. Director John Wells (The Company Men) gathers a terrific ensemble cast, including Julia Roberts as the eldest, take-charge daughter and a blowsy, cancer-striken Meryl Streep as the mother, usually high on pills and booze. The performances are theatrical in size, particularly in the take-no-prisoners dinner sequence. If you are honest with yourself, you will probably recognize your own family in these folks.