Welcome back to Rhode Island Movie Corner’s big end-of-the-year list, in which I’m counting down my Top 12 Favorite Films from 2016. This is Part 3 of 4 and today, we begin to get into the second half of the list. Today, I’ll be covering the films that landed in the #6-4 spots. For my previous 6 picks, as well as my multiple Honorable Mentions, be sure to click the following links to be directed over to Part 1 and Part 2 of this series. But, for now, it’s time to get back to the list…
There were plenty of great films that I saw at SXSW this past March. Only one, though, made it onto this list…
6. DEMOLITION
Now, I’ll be the first to admit that this is kind of a hard sell because it is a rather unique take on a ‘dramedy’. It tells the story of an investment banker named Davis (Jake Gyllenhaal) whose life is turned upside down when he tragically loses his wife in a car accident. Now, I know what some of you may be thinking; how can there possibly be any sort of humor that comes out of a story about a guy who loses his wife? Well, thankfully, the part about him losing his wife is not where this film’s humor comes in. If it did, then I assure you that this film wouldn’t have been on this list at all. Instead, it stems from the strange methods in which Davis copes with his loss. Literally, a lot of what happens in this film occurs as the result of an incident in which Davis gets angry at a vending machine for not working properly. He then writes multiple letters to the manufacturers of the vending machines in which he ends up venting over various things in life, which do end up getting read by the company’s customer service representative, Karen, whom Davis befriends. He also befriends her delinquent son Chris and the two get into a whole bunch of crazy shenanigans, from going out into the woods to fire a gun (even having Davis be a ‘target board’ at one point) to what is easily one of the biggest scenes in the film in which Chris helps Davis demolish his house. For the record, it’s not like the film is implying that Davis’ methods are a good way of coping with the loss of a loved one. It does very well establish that everyone else in this film generally views his actions as being totally weird. However, that’s kind of what makes the humor in this film work so well; the humor comes from the absurdity of Davis’ shenanigans. There’s a bit of a ‘black comedy’ edge to it all and Jake Gyllenhaal does a fantastic job in the role of Davis thanks to his strong charisma and excellent comic-timing.
Thankfully, though, this film is not just all comedy. Once the third act rolls around, the film wisely goes back into dramatic territory as the main plot reaches its pinnacle and Davis’ recent actions truly start to affect his life and those around him. And it is in this moment where Davis finally finds closure in regards to how his wife’s death affected him. At first, when the accident happened, he admitted that he wasn’t exactly sure how to feel about it because he felt that he didn’t really know his wife. But, after making amends with the driver who caused the accident, Davis finally realizes that he did love his wife. And while most of the film prior to this point was more humorous in tone by showing us all the strange ways in which he coped with it all, by this point Davis has earned our full sympathy, making his epiphany particularly cathartic. Once again, a lot of it comes from Gyllenhaal’s excellent performance and he’s backed by an excellent supporting cast that includes Naomi Watts as Davis’ new friend Karen and Chris Cooper, who gives one of the most emotionally-charged performances in the film as Davis’ boss/father-in-law Phil. I’ll admit that when it comes to ‘dramedies’, I find that it’s hard for a film to achieve a true balance between drama and comedy. Sometimes, a film like this can be more of a drama than a comedy (e.g. American Hustle) and vice-versa. But this film does manage to find that balance and that’s why it ended up being my favorite film out of SXSW. Though, to be honest, I almost didn’t end up seeing this film while I was down there. But, after going to a panel where Gyllenhaal talked about the film, I decided to go see it and I’m glad that I did because I ended up loving it. And, clearly, the same can be said for a lot of other people at the event because it ended up winning the Audience Award for Best Headliner. However, outside of SXSW, critical reception was a bit more mixed. It currently stands at a 52% on Rotten Tomatoes, which I’m surprised at but, like I said before, admittedly this film isn’t for everyone. But as for me, Demolition was one of my favorite films from 2016, hence why it takes the Number 6 spot on this list. (*proceeds to put on ‘Crazy on You’ by Heart*)
While Moana is a terrific entry in the Disney animated canon, the studio’s first release of the year ended up landing just a bit higher on this list. Specifically, it kicks off the Top 5 at the Number 5 spot…
5. ZOOTOPIA
Zootopia truly is one of the best films that Disney Animation has ever produced. Seriously, it’s up there with the classics. I mean, it’s great enough that, on its own merits, the film has almost everything that you want from a great Disney animated film. The story is a fun buddy cop adventure set within a world fully inhabited by animals. This world is a greatly detailed environment highlighted by the titular city of Zootopia, which itself is separated into different zones for each major species of animal. This includes a town full of mice, Little Rodentia (where the mice are appropriately scaled compared to every other animal in the city), the frozen ‘Tundratown’, and so on. The buddy cop story is based around a lovable lead duo in the form of Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde. Judy (Ginnifer Goodwin) is the optimistic rabbit police officer while Nick (Jason Bateman) is the charismatic con-man fox. And while Nick does start out as an antagonistic character to Judy, he gradually becomes a more sympathetic character as time goes on. This is especially thanks to the big scene in which he reveals why he turned to the con-man lifestyle. When he was younger, he was subjected to ridicule by the members of the Junior Ranger Scout troop that he was trying to join for being a fox, who are generally seen as untrustworthy. They even put a muzzle on him. Because of this, he decided that if the world wouldn’t see him as anything more than a deceitful fox, why bother to try and be anything else? I won’t lie, this is the most emotional moment in the entire film. And, of course, the animation is terrific; it’s bright, colorful, and, as noted earlier, creates a vast world full of unique environments and characters. With all this in mind, Zootopia would already be considered a great entry in the Disney animated canon on those merits alone.
But then this film takes one further step that truly establishes it as one of Disney Animation’s all-time greatest efforts. Amidst all the fun animal antics, including the slow-moving DMV’s run by sloths (I think many of us can agree that this will go down as one of the most iconic moments in the film) and the parody of The Godfather in the form of arctic shrew crime boss Mr. Big, this ‘buddy cop’ story also takes on big themes like racism and prejudice. All throughout the film, we see signs of the symbolic conflict between predators and prey, despite the implication that Zootopia is a city where both sides live together in harmony. This conflict is heightened once the main plot begins to unfold, as we learn that some animals have gone missing and, on an even more concerning note, are found to have become savage creatures. At first, it’s assumed that because predators are generally seen as being ‘savage’ by nature, they’re beginning to revert to their primitive ways. However, this idea was only established because Judy was overwhelmed by paparazzi while at her first press conference and all it does is make the growing tensions between prey and predators in the city even worse. It even affects Judy’s relationship with Nick, due in large part to the general mistrust that rabbits like Judy have towards foxes. This is something that’s been effectively built up the entire film, ever since Judy was bullied as a kid by another fox named Gideon Grey. It shows that even someone like Judy can have their own bigoted beliefs. Thus, it’s quite impressive how her parents, who sort of played a major part in developing her distrust of foxes, end up being the first rabbits shown to truly befriend a supposedly ‘untrustworthy’ fox.
But, as it turns out, this whole ‘disappearing animals gone savage’ scandal was all a plot orchestrated by Assistant Mayor Dawn Bellwether, the often-undervalued assistant to Zootopia mayor Leodore Lionheart. Instead of it being a case of predatorial animals reverting to their primitive nature, she’s been using a serum made from toxic flowers known as ‘night howlers’ to turn the animals savage. Just like the ‘rabbit-fox’ conflict between Judy and Nick, Bellwether was excellently built up as the antagonist, being the undervalued assistant who is constantly being bossed around by Lionheart, who was initially assumed to be the main villain when it was found that he had the animals who were turning savage locked up in a facility outside the city limits so that doctors could figure out a cure. All throughout the film, she is constantly being shown to be someone who sticks up ‘for the little guys’. But, as it turns out, while she really was looking out ‘for the little guys’, it’s just that, to accomplish that, she was trying to make the entire community of Zootopia shun all predatorial creatures. Simply put, it’s just another one of the many excellent facets of this well-written plot. And thus, this charming buddy cop adventure ends up becoming a powerful form of social commentary; one that, simply put, society can really take note from given the rough 2016 that many of us had and, let’s be honest, potentially rough 2017 that we might have. That is why Zootopia ends up being one of Walt Disney Animation’s greatest efforts. It’s so effective in appealing to both kids and adults that it almost feels like a story that Walt Disney himself would do back in his day.
You take the director of Whiplash, add in a dynamic and charismatic lead duo, and what do you get? My Number 4 pick…
4. LA LA LAND
La La Land is something that you don’t see very often in the world of film; an original musical. But, that’s exactly what director Damien Chazelle, fresh off his 2014 critically-acclaimed effort Whiplash, did with this film and the results are quite astounding. At its core, La La Land is a love letter to old Hollywood. There are plenty of references and Easter eggs to old films peppered throughout the entire film. Now, I’ll admit that being someone who admittedly isn’t an expert when it comes to classic films, I’m sure that I missed quite a few of these references the first time around but I bet that I’ll notice them upon re-watch. But, what I can say about this film is that it is an incredibly charming story about an aspiring actress named Mia (Emma Stone) and a jazz musician named Sebastian (Ryan Gosling) who fall in love against the backdrop of the Hollywood scene. Stone and Gosling are both fantastic in their respective roles and, as evident from the fact that this is their third film together in which they play a couple, have fantastic chemistry. The film itself is also a technical masterpiece. It’s well-shot, well-edited, and the musical numbers are excellently choreographed. One of the major things that makes this film stand out is its frequent use of long takes. Case in point, the whole opening number, ‘Another Day of Sun’, is a six-minute long take set on a crowded LA highway. There are plenty other long takes throughout the film as well, showcasing the finely tuned editing job by Tom Cross, who previously worked with Chazelle on Whiplash. But of course, it wouldn’t be a musical without the music and, simply put, the music in this film is excellent with its collection of jazz-based songs. Yep, this is a jazz musical and even if you’re not a fan of jazz, I think it’s safe to say that you’ll love this soundtrack. Right now, the track that’s getting the most attention during this year’s award circuit is ‘City of Stars’, first sung by Sebastian and then later done as a duet between him and Mia. It is a good song but I’ll admit that it isn’t my favorite. If I had to pick a favorite, it’d probably Mia’s big solo ‘(Audition) The Fools Who Dream’, which played over the film’s second trailer.
But what really makes this film is the ending. All throughout this film, we’ve seen Mia and Sebastian fall in love while both try to achieve their dreams. In Mia’s case, it’s to become an actress while Sebastian looks to open his own jazz club so that he can play ‘real jazz’. However, as they find out, it proves to be a challenge for both to achieve their dreams while they’re together. Sebastian joins a band led by an old classmate, Keith (John Legend), but is forced to play jazz music that’s more pop-oriented. Meanwhile, Mia writes a one-woman play but it ends up being a major flop. Eventually, Mia does end up having her most successful audition yet and afterwards, Sebastian encourages her to commit fully to the role if she’s cast, even though it means that he won’t be coming with her to Paris where it’s being filmed. We then cut to five years later and see that Mia is now a successful actress… but married to someone else. She and her husband end up going to a jazz club which is revealed to be Sebastian’s, and after he recognizes her, we cut to a montage recapping the entire film but changed around so that the two of them truly end up together. But, it’s only a dream and as Mia leaves with her husband, she looks back and shares one final heartfelt scene with Sebastian from afar. With this ending, Chazelle achieved his goal of doing a musical that feels ‘real’; one where the fabled ‘happy ending’ doesn’t necessarily happen. And yet, at the same time, Chazelle did give us a happy ending for Mia and Sebastian. It’s just that this was in regards to them achieving their dreams and not in terms of their relationship. And while the montage in which they do end up together was only a fantasy and not reality, it results in an ending that satisfies both those who wanted to see these two together and those who wished to see something different. Thus, it could be argued that La La Land is one of the most universally-appealing films to come out in recent years. Even if you don’t like musicals, you’re sure to be charmed by this original story and the excellent lead performances.
And that’s the end of Part 3. Thanks for following along and be sure to check back tomorrow for the final part of this list, in which I’ll be naming my Top 3 favorite films from this past year.
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