50. GOOD NIGHT, AND GOOD LUCK. (2006)
Directed by George Clooney
Clooney’s second directorial effort (of three) this decade is his best film to date. A film about the McCarthy witchhunt, and the newsman, Edward R Murrow, who challenged him, at great personal risk, is a crisply shot, in black-and-white, drama with a sensational performance from David Strathairn as Murrow. The film’s real power comes from the similarities between the politics of fear espoused by McCarthy in his battle against communism and at the film’s release by the neocons to push their agenda in the aftermath of 9/11. The point is never hammered home, but the film never leaves you in any doubt as to Clooney’s belief that the press’s responsibility is to directly challenge authority.
49. ENRON: THE SMARTEST GUYS IN THE ROOM. (2005)
Directed by Alex Gibney
One of a handful of truly great documentaries this decade, ENRON: THE SMARTEST GUYS IN THE ROOM is a remarkable story, told with immense skill. The story of Enron is scarcely believable, but Alex Gibney (who made two other tremendous films in GONZO: THE LIFE AND WORK OF DR. HUNTER S. THOMPSON and TAXI TO THE DARK SIDE) does a brilliant job of deciphering the fraud and lies that the company was built on, eviscerating the two top executives: Ken Lay and Jeffrey Skilling in the process. The links to George W. Bush are telling, and the condemnation of his neo-conservative ideals that helped to build Enron’s house of cards complete. It’s a piece of work that further proves that Michael Moore is a hack masquerading as a filmmaker.
48. THE NEW WORLD. (2006)
Directed by Terrence Malick
Two Terrence Malick films within 8 years?! Wow, we really are lucky. THE NEW WORLD is a retelling of the story of Pocahontas (played here by Q’Orianka Kilcher), way before James Cameron did the same thing with giant blue goat-aliens. Malick’s film is vastly different from Cameron’s, of course. This is a meditative film, as focused with the pastoral as any other Malick film. The sense of wonder that Captain John Smith (Colin Farrell) gleans from his new surroundings is palpable. Both Farrell and Kilcher are terrific, as is Christian Bale in an extended cameo. The film is romantic, gorgeous to look at, and, traditionally, sounds fantastic. Malick’s next film, TREE OF LIFE is being shot in 3D. I can’t wait for that.
47. AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH. (2006)
Directed by Davis Guggenheim
I think I said, years, and many personas ago, that AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH may be the most important film of our age. Since then, the environmental documentary has become big business, but none has managed the eloquence or dynamism of AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH. It’s a film that relies on the charisma and intellect of Al Gore, a man who if he had shown this level of connective empathy with the US electorate in 2000, he might have beaten George W. Bush (by enough of a margin that he couldn’t have the election stolen from him). While it’s a depressing thought that the world would look so different in that situation, maybe it was destined, Gore can arguably save the world by continuing to present, with such clarity, the effects of climate change on our planet. This is the highest placed documentary in this list.
46. LONDON TO BRIGHTON. (2006)
Directed by Paul Andrew Williams
Williams seemed like another bright new British filmmaking talent in the aftermath of LONDON TO BRIGHTON (along with Pawel Pawlikowsky, Andrea Arnold and Shane Meadows). His reputation was somewhat tarnished by his follow up: THE COTTAGE, but this remains a magnificent thriller, shot on a very low-budget, set amongst the criminal underclass. It’s tightly paced and very well acted, throughout, horrifying and exciting by turn, and never less than compelling.
45. MUNICH. (2006)
Directed by Steven Spielberg
Spielberg’s best film (b y far), this decade, MUNICH is a masterpiece, the sort of film that he’d never really made before. A much better film than SCHINDLER’S LIST, this is a thriller about the Israeli hit squad sent around the world to find and kill those responsible for the kidnapping and murder of Israeli athletes at the Munich Olympics. Eric Bana gives a career-best performance as the leader of the squad, a man encouraged by his family to do what his country needs, but becomes haunted by the endless cycle of violence. This is the message Spielberg is espousing – violence begets violence. Of course, this being Spielberg, the usual motifs apply – there’s a missing father and the film’s too long, but this is still his best film in nearly twenty years. If he’d left out the sex scene, this might have been top 20.
44. MASTER AND COMMANDER: THE FAR SIDE OF THE WORLD. (2003)
Directed by Peter Weir
Peter Weir doesn’t make enough movies. This was his only film of the decade, and it’s an absolute cracker. In fact, you could argue that this was the best film of its type in the zeroes. It’s a terrifically composed action adventure movie, in which an era and tone are effortlessly created. Crucially, the action sequences, nautical battles, no less, are thrilling and immaculately rendered, in such a way that it’s impossible to see the seams between CGI and model work. There are also assured performances from Russell Crowe and Paul Bettany, who have great chemistry together. MASTER AND COMMANDER: THE FAR SIDE OF THE WORLD is the sort of film that annoying people tell you that they don’t make any more. Show them this, and prove them wrong.
43. THE CLASS. (2009)
Directed by Laurent Cantet
Laurent Cantet’s best film; THE CLASS came out on top of my 2009’s Best Films List, although I can now reveal that it is not the highest 2009 film in this poll. It’s a brilliantly insightful and perceptive film about one teacher’s year with a solitary class in an inner-city Paris school. Francois Begaudeau stars in an adaptation of his own ‘memoir-novel’, and gives a performance that reeks of emotional authenticity. Equally impressive are the students, and the film is funny and moving, as well as insightful into the process of teaching and being a teenager. Hugely impressive.
42. JUNEBUG. (2006)
Directed by Phil Morrison
And, so, a star was born. Amy Adams gives one of the best performances of the decade here. The film follows Embeth Davidtz and Alessandro Nivola, a newly married couple from Chicago who travel to meet her new in-laws, while she attempts to woo a local, rural artist (played by Will Oldham).The storyline is hardly inspiring, it’s the basis of about a thousand sub-par romantic comedies – the big city cynic won over by countryside naifs. But, if the path is well-trodden, the characters here are not. We could make the same mistake as Davidtz, and judge the characters she meets, or share Nivola’s shame at his family. We don’t though, we see, straight away that behind Adams’ demeanour is a real person, with fears and dreams and real heart. It’s an incredible, dominating performance, from a woman who has become one of America’s greatest working actresses.
41. L’ENFER. (2006)
Directed by Danis Tanovic
Tanovic’s follow-up to NO MAN’S LAND is an even better film than his auspicious debut. A family drama written (and originally intended to be directed by) Krzystof Kieslowski, L’ENFER is a Bergman-esque film, filled with emotional repression, familial resentment and some glorious performances, from a terrific female cast, including Karin Viard, Emmanuelle Beart and Marie Gillain, who play three sisters living with a shared guilty family secret. Tanovic does a terrific job of handling the cast, tone and mood, and creates a film that is the equal of Kieslowski’s best work. The second part in a planned trilogy by Kieslowski, L’ENFER is a better film than Tom Twyker’s HEAVEN.
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