The Best Films of 2010

 

Enter the Void

The story may be somewhat uninteresting, but it’s all in the execution in Gaspar Noe’s ground-up re-invention of cinema, which treated the issue of subjectivity with enough respect not to relegate it to window-dressing.  Don’t confuse it for a “drug film” as some have done – this was the most immersive, creative and above all loving piece of film in 2010 (click here for full review).

Shutter Island

Martin Scorsese’s adaptation of Dennis Lehane’s psycho-thriller positively vomited everything up its sleeves straight into our eyes.  What reveals the precision of the schlock is just how successfully it all holds together while it twists apart, even offering a history of twentieth century trauma alongside its wonderfully overwrought mystery and fucking ugly ties.

Tron: Legacy

Stridently echoing the deep blue 3D steps of Avatar, this unpromising behemoth managed to considerably better James Cameron by allowing itself to be swallowed up by its own contradictions and allegorical baggage.  A committee-designed film if ever there was one, yet invested with the (accidental) smarts to dance a little dance when on top of the world, revealing the hollow uselessness of absolute digital totalitarianism (click here for full review).

The Runners Up

Daybreakers

A curiously well-worked out and fascinating vampire-filled future-world kept this short, jumpy film afloat even when it started to lose focus in the third act.  More narrative refinement could have sharpened the satire of consumer society but may also have polished off the rough edges which kept this particular viewer determinably entertained (click here for hilariously truncated review).

The Ghost

That arch sense of humour director Roman Polanski possesses stopped this perfectly crafted thriller from lapsing into the lefty whining which was in hindsight so very nearby.  Carefully considered architecture may have upstaged the performances for much of the running time, but these were only to be knocked into a cocked hat themselves by the glorious ending.

The Social Network

A very trendy film to like, but unfortunately it was indeed very good.  David Fincher’s subdued direction allowed Aaron Sorkin’s trademark Ivy League prose to shine through, nailing the contemporary moment in all its incompatible, alienated, over-privileged horror.