What I Loved at the Movies in 2011

Brad Pitt and Jonah Hill in Moneyball

Next week, I'll publish a post on my top 10 films of 2011, but first I need to review a few final films from last year. For today, however, I'm writing about some of my favorite things from movies from 2011; this will include some of the best sequences as well as acting performances along with screenplays, original scores and a few other categories:

Best Sequences

The elevator sequence in Drive.

The seven and one-half minute flashback in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2, beautifully directed, photographed and scored.

In Moneyball, the game where the 2002 Oakland A's go for the American league record of 20 consecutive wins. I love the way director Bennett Miller uses actual film clips and recreations of certain situations in that game (these recreations are done remarkably well). I also love the way he alternates between crowd noise and silence on the soundtrack, as this game took its strange twists and turns. This sequence was one of several highlights from this notable film.

The Halloween night sequence in We Need to Talk about Kevin, with the use of Buddy Holly's song "Everyday." What a chilling moment!

The fire sequence in The Artist where Uggie the dog helps save the life of George Valentin.

The wildly inventive title sequence of The Adventures of Tintin. It's too bad the rest of the movie wasn't as inspired.

The first battle in War Horse, where the cavalry is seen emerging from a wheat field. Beautifully photographed by Janusz Kaminski and directed by Steven Spielberg.

The sequence in Hugo where we see how Georges Mélies made his movies - wonderful imagination by Martin Scorsese.

The scene at the café in Budapest, near the opening of Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy; this set the tone for the rest of this first-rate work.

Gary Oldman in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

Best Performances

Actors

The list of lead performances by actors in 2011 begins with Gary Oldman and his remarkably subtle turn in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. Another wonderful performance was that of Brad Pitt in Moneyball; this is the most complete acting job to date. Also high marks for George Clooney in The Descendants, Michael Fassbender in Shame (as well as a fine turn in A Dangerous Method) and Jean Dujardin in The Artist. My final praise for a leading actor is for Antonio Banderas in The Skin I Live In. Banderas is cool and calculating in this role and beautifully underplays this intense character.

As for supporting roles, I loved Jonah Hill in Moneyball - what an engaging, charming performance! Ditto for Ben Kingsley in Hugo as well as Viggo Mortensen for A Dangerous Method. I was also impressed by Jeremy Irons and Kevin Spacey in Margin Call, Niels Arestrup in War Horse, Albert Brooks in Drive and Tom Hardy in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. Finally, kudos to Robert Forster for his brilliant small turn in The Descendants as well as Kenneth Branagh in My Week With Marilyn.

Tilda Swinton in We Need to Talk about Kevin

Actresses

The finest performance I saw turned in by an actress this year was given by Tilda Swinton in We Need to Talk about Kevin. Intense and proudly fierce, she adds tremendous depth to the chilling film - you can't take your eyes off of her! Kirsten Dunst was first-rate in Melancholia; I'm hopeful this leads to more serious roles like this for this actress who is finally starting to receive much overdue praise. 

I also liked Keira Knightley in A Dangerous Method as well as Michelle Williams who was very enchanting in My Week with Marilyn.

As for supporting performances, I loved the work turned in by Jessica Chastain in The Tree of Life, Emily Watson in War Horse as well as Shailene Woodley in The Descendants and Bérénice Bejo in The Artist.

Directors

2011 was a wonderful year for cinema - just look at this list of directors who gave us some of the year's finest films. Let's start with Martin Scorsese for Hugo - who knew that the maker of Raging Bull and Goodfellas had this absolutely charming film in him? I also loved the light touch of Woody Allen in Midnight in Paris, a breezy comedy with several ideal performances. Pedro Almodovar gave us a chilling world of an obsessed doctor in The Skin I Live In that featured arguably the finest visual compositions of any film from 2011.

Lars Von Trier brought us a highly personal vision of the apocalypse with Melancholia, while Terrence Malick gave us creation and its aftermath with The Tree of Life. It was also nice to see David Cronenberg turn in a beautifully executed film such as A Dangerous Method, without resorting to violence, one of his trademarks in the past.

Lesser known directors that were at the top of their game in 2011 included Lynne Ramsey for We Need to Talk about Kevin - what dazzling images! - Bennett Miller for Moneyball, Tomas Alfredson for Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Michel Hazanavicius for The Artist and J.C. Chandor for Margin Call.

Kudos also to Aki Kaurismaki for his delightful and ironic Le Havre, Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne for their sometimes troubling, sometimes enchanting The Kid With a Bike and finally, high praise to Werner Herzog for his brilliant documentary Into The Abyss.

Screenplays

Brilliant job by Steven Zaillian and Aaron Sorkin adapting the script for Moneyball, taking a book based on statistics and finding the human story. Also a marvelous job by Bridget O'Connor and Peter Straughn, putting together a beautifully cohesive and well-structured script for Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, based on the famous John Le Carré novel. Likewise an excellent job of structure for the adaptation of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Steven Zaillian. 

Woody Allen gave us one of his most charming original scripts ever for Midnight in Paris while J.C. Chandor wrote a detailed screenplay that took us inside the inner doings of an investment firm in Margin Call. Michel Hazanavicius contributed a funny and touching original screenplay for The Artist. 

Other excellent adaptations include that of Lee Hall and Richard Curtis for War Horse, Alexander Payne and Nat Faxon for The Descendants and Christopher Hampton for A Dangerous Method.

Cinematography

The outstanding quality of work turned in by cinematographers not only in Hollywood, but also around the world, is amazing. Technology has changed dramatically in this field over the past decade, as many films are now shot digitally - think about it, just 15 years ago, who could imagine a movie not being shot on traditional film stock? Whatever the method selected, the visuals of films today are stunning.

Every year, we see as many as a half-dozen brilliant jobs turned in by cinematographers, but in 2011, the number was much higher. For me the finest cinematography was by Emmanuel Lubeszki for The Tree of Life. Lubeszki, who has been one of the two or three most brilliant cinematographers of the past ten years, always delivers outstanding work, but he topped his previous efforts with this film. Working with a genius of a visual storyteller such as Terrence Malick helped as the compositions are brillliantly composed and lit; an especially memorable image is a wide-angle shot of a field of sunflowers. This shot, just before the end of the film, is simply breathtaking.

Another superb job of cinematography was supplied this year by Janusz Kaminski for War Horse. Kaminski, who has been Steven Spielberg's regular cinematographer since Schindler's List in 1993, paints a lovely portrait of the English countryside during the First World War; the images are deeply saturated, as though he were recreating Technicolor from the films of 50 and 60 years ago. The final images of a burnt orange sky and a golden sunset are straight out of Gone With the Wind.

Jeff Cronenweth set a cool tone for The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, capturing the gloomy blues and grays of a Swedish winter. Given the depravities of the film's characters, Cronenweth's work instantly gives the viewer the perfect visual feel, helping us understand the behavior of everyone in the film. 

Robert Richardson simply dazzled the eye with his work for Hugo. The opening scene in the train station is marvelous and I love the saturated golds of the clocks at the station as well as the deep blues of the costumes. 

Manuel Alberto Claro had to present a visual tone for a marriage ceremony in a darkly lit country club as well as that of a mysterious planet in Melancholia and he was up to the challenge. I loved the lighting of the wedding scenes outside at night as well as the bluish tones of the planet. 

Of course, only one individual can win the Academy Award for cinematography, but I think all five of these craftsmen deserve an award this year!

Other very impressive work was turned in by Jose Luis Alcaine for The Skin I Live In; Wally Pfister for Moneyball; Hoyte van Hoytema for Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy; Seamus McGarvey for We Need to Talk about Kevin (the bright colors of the house are especially ironic, a nice touch); Peter Suschitzky for A Dangerous Method; Newton Thomas Sigel for Drive and Sean Bobbitt for his cool look of corporate Manhattan in Shame.

Original Score

I will write a separate post on this very soon- 2011 marked a return to the symphonic score. While I have nothing against electronic scores, it is the composer who writes for a full symphony that generally writes the loveliest themes.

Briefly then, two scores stood head and shoulders above the competition this past year. The first was Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2, composed by Alexandre Desplat. While Desplat did incorporate some of John Williams' previous themes for the Harry Potter franchise into his work, he did compose two lovely original themes and gave this film a regal and accomplished musical setting. This is an outstanding score!

The second score that reached the top in 2011 was that of Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy by Alberto Iglesias. This is a subdued score that perfectly suits the moodiness of this Cold War spy drama. The music picks up on the emotions of the characters in a most subtle fashion; the score never announces itself. This is a marvelously complex work from Iglesias.

Other excellent scores were written by John Williams for War Horse (bless him, at 79 years of age he is still able to turn out such a lyrical piece of work), Howard Shore with a charming, lilting score for Hugo;  Mychael Danna for Moneyball and Ludovic Bource who beautifully captured the feel of the silent film scores of the 1920s with his work for The Artist.

Other scores that had some effective moments were composed by Clint Eastwood for J. Edgar, Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross for The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo and Johnny Greenwood for We Need to Talk about Kevin.

And finally... a few of my favorite movie quotes from 2011

"You have your mother's eyes." - Severus Snape (Alan Rickman) to Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe)- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2

"Speak as you might to a young child or a golden retriever. It wasn't brains that got me here, I can assure you of that." - John Tuld (Jeremy Irons) to Peter Sullivan (Zachary Quinto) - Margin Call

"Sometimes you have to do something terrible just to go on living." - Carl Jung (Michael Fassbender) to Sabina Spielrein (Keira Knightley) - A Dangerous Method

"Nothing is genuine anymore." - Control (John Hurt) to George Smiley (Gary Oldman) - Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

"How can you not be romantic about baseball?" - Billy Beane (Brad Pitt) to Peter Brand (Jonah Hill) - Moneyball

A Spy Thriller Extraordinaire

I admit that I was a bit apprehensive about what my reaction would be to Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. After all, I've seen too many spy thrillers that shift focus from one exotic location to the next while introducing a bewildering group of characters; all of this can make for a confusing and frustrating film experience. Happily, this film shows us what can be done with this genre when everyone - from the screenwriters to the actors, the director and all the technicians - have their batteries charged and work in unison to craft a superb thriller.

TTSS is based upon the classic novel of the same name from John Le Carré. Set in the midst of the Cold War in 1974, the story revolves around the fact that a Russian mole has infiltrated the British intelligence agency MI-6. A British Undersecretary recruits spy George Smiley (Gary Oldman) to investigate this issue; Smiley in turn persuades his assistant Peter Guillam (Benedict Cumberbatch) to do whatever it takes to find the individual who is passing secrets along to the Russians.

The screenplay, adapted by Peter Straughan and Bridget O'Connor (she died late in 2010), is a model in how to economize a complex story that has several plot lines. The film opens in Hungary with a botched assignment and then takes us straight into the "Circus", the nickname for the MI-6 group. We meet this small gathering of spies and see how their inner circle works; their meeting room with its soundproof walls a testament to their secrecy.

We also follow Smiley and Guillam, working from outside the Circus and meet a young British spy named Ricki Tarr who reveals some key secrets from his recent encounters with a Russian spy and his lover. Each character from Smiley and Tarr to Control (John Hurt), Smiley's former boss as well as Percy Alleline (Toby Jones) and Bill Haydon (Colin Firth), two members of the MI-6 inner circle are written with a beautiful clarity and preciseness.

Director Tomas Alfredson takes this labyrinth plot and weaves it into an absorbing thriller. By necessity, there are numerous scenes of spies sitting around talking about what their next move will be; these are not the most exciting cinematic situations imaginable, but Alfredson does an excellent job bringing out all the drama in these moments. His pacing is superb and I can only imagine that he was at least partially influenced by Alfred Hitchcock, especially in the way that he draws out suspense. Watch the scene in the opening moments that takes place in the café in Hungary and note how the director slows things down as he cuts back and forth between all the individuals - key characters as well as bystanders - that are present at this locale.

Alfredson's attention to detail - something necessary in a complicated story such as this - is impressive. A drop of sweat that lands on a table, the Undersecretary buttering his toast, a half-empty pack of cigarettes are all momentary images that help define the complexities of this story. This is a movie that demands your attention during its entire length, so every small piece of information that is presented could be a major clue in the ultimate revelation. How nice to see a film that respects its audience for its intelligence and then rewards them on so many levels.

Along with his cinematographer Hoyte van Hoytema, Alfredson gives us a world of dark images; moody grays, browns and blues are the primary colors here and it's the sensation of gloom that hangs over the lives of the characters in this film. We do see a few scenes of the spies at Christmas parties and such where they let their hair down for a while, but these are fleeting moments of frivolity in their existence. The everyday happenings of these characters is generally mundane, with only a few encounters among outsiders providing a bit of relief. The production design, from the meeting rooms to the research rooms to Smiley's drab dwellings enhances the solemnity and loneliness these men face and place us squarely in a time and locale that capture a sense of gloom among both these individuals and their respective governments.

Another important contribution is the film's original score, composed by Alberto Iglesias. His cue for the sequence near the beginning of the film, where we first meet the members of the Circus and see the environment in which they labor, is marvelous. Haunting and sad, this theme, written in a minor key, features a mournful passage for oboe and muted trumpet. It's subtle, complex and quite memorable - you may not realize it at the time, but it grabs you and stays within your soul. The music as a whole gives you a beautiful sense of the loneliness of the spies and Iglesias writes with the necessary subtleties needed; this is a score that never announces itself, yet it fits the film like a well-tailored suit. This is among the top two or three scores of the year and it has all the beauty and resonance of a Jerry Goldsmith score from his glory days of the 1970s. This is about as high a praise as I can give to an original musical film score!

The entire ensemble delivers an amazing array of performances, especially from Jones, Hurt and Firth, as well as Mark Strong as world-weary spy Jim Prideaux. But there are two actors whose work in this film must be singled out. As Smiley, Gary Oldman delivers a performance of uncommon discipline and subtlety. His character is a decent man, but one who is deeply flawed; adding to his mistrust of his fellow man is the fact that his wife cheated on him with a former colleague. Smiley is reluctant to let anyone into his world, the one exception being Guillam; in a remarkable scene in Smiley's living quarters, he bares his soul in a somber monologue about a flight he took years ago and what he learned during that situation. Oldman delivers much of this speech directly to the camera and it's a moment of quiet grace for his character.

Viewing the world through his oversized horn-rimmed glasses, Smiley seeks the truth, but makes for the realization that the majority of the individuals he meets are dishonest. He says what he has to say quietly, raising his voice only once in the film, always keeping his guard up. Oldman has been known for his quirky roles in the past (Sid Vicious in Sid and Nancy, Lee Harvey Oswald in JFK to name only two); here he gives us a solemn, proud man who quietly and gracefully lights up the screen. It's an outstanding performance, the finest I have seen all year.

The other remarkable performance here is given by Tom Hardy as Ricki Tarr. The brief episode of his character, who elicits dangerous secrets from a beautiful Russian woman, is one of the most engaging in the film and Hardy relishes this time on screen. We see the self-doubt in his face and hear the fear in his voice, as he knows that everyone is out to learn about his secrets. There's a seductive charm to Hardy's performance and the film's tone changes ever so slightly during his time on screen; Hardy has great charisma and his moments with Oldman are riveting.

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy is a superb return to the spy film genre. Both a marvelously crafted thriller as well as a commentary on the mistrust and selfishness of individuals who indirectly affect the policies of their governments, the film is an absorbing, highly intelligent drama that is among the best of 2011.