« December 2007 | Main | February 2008 »

January 01, 2008

Best of 2007

Readers have been picking on Roger Ebert lately for handing out four-star reviews like popcorn, and though I can't agree with all his endorsements (Rendition, really?), I certainly share his enthusiasm for what has surely been one of the strongest years for film I've witnessed in my lifetime. Not since 1999 (the year of Being John Malkovich, Magnolia, Fight Club and a dozen other first-class titles) have I seen so many genuine masterpieces in a single year. I could make a top 40 list this year and still not run out of films to be genuinely excited about. Below, I've somehow managed to whittle it down to the 10 best (out of 209 new releases I saw this year).

Top 10 of 2007

1. Atonement
After reimagining Jane Austen's Pride & Prejudice as a ragged, realistic coming-of-age tale, director Joe Wright does a complete 180 and embraces the sweeping romantic style of classic Hollywood love stories (think Billy Wilder or David Lean), updating it through a series of thoroughly modern innovations. Wright uses all the tools at his disposal in weaving a scorching hot reverie that, in its final minutes, asks us to reexamine everything that came before. I suppose it's unfair to claim that the twist excuses any supposed faults you might see in the film, but Briony is much too hard on herself, and I prefer to believe she adjusts events accordingly. It's a nice Nabokovian concept, entirely consistent with Ian McEwan's novel, which questions the motives and power of literature. That Wright can engage these ideas without using narration is a resounding argument against those who view cinema as a second-class medium.

Continue reading "Best of 2007"

Posted by Peter Debruge at 12:01 AM | Comments (0)