It was an interesting year for movies, frequently more so for what happened outside the theaters than in them, from the absurd (the ongoing spat between Sony and North Korea) to the tragic (the loss of Robin Williams). However, for those willing to look past the glut of tentpole releases, it was also a year of nearly unlimited riches.
Here are 10 of the best, unranked:
Citizenfour: Laura Poitras’ documentary on Edward Snowden isn’t merely a chilling look at our post-9/11 world, but journalism of the bravest and most necessary sort. “Citizenfour” also doubles as the year’s most nerve-racking thriller.
The Grand Budapest Hotel: This tale of a boy orphaned by war is many things at once: meticulous and chaotic, silly and heartfelt, hilarious and melancholic. A story within a story, about stories, storytellers, and the memories that drive them, it’s the work of a filmmaker in full command of his talents.
The Immigrant: It’s somehow fitting that a movie about a woman cast out by the establishment would itself be shunned by the studio system. “The Immigrant” barely saw the light of day in theaters, and is currently available for viewing only through Netflix Instant. In a just world, it would be in talks Oscar.
Inherent Vice: Comparisons have already been made between this and “The Big Lebowski,” but “Inherent Vice” is utterly singular. Part stoner comedy, part undercover sleuth mystery, it’s a miraculously strange, visually intoxicating film. See it on the big screen with as large an audience as possible.
Love is Strange: In which John Lithgow and Alfred Molina become one of the screen’s great couples. The year’s strongest tearjerker is a delicate tale of love’s rigor in an unjust world, and one that relies on ellipses to profound effect, reminding us that life itself is inevitably incomplete.
Mr. Turner: As the British painter, Timothy Spall gives what may be the performance of the year, portraying a man of great talent and brilliance who nonetheless fails as a father and husband. “Mr. Turner” captures the painstaking nature of creativity, and is one of the great biographical films.
The Naked Room: This modest but harrowing documentary from Mexico puts the audience in the point of view of a group of therapists treating severely depressed children. As a humanitarian statement, it’s an unimpeachable accomplishment, at once unflinching, heartbreaking, and life-affirming.
Only Lovers Left Alive: This allegorical tale of two vampires is less a horror movie than a romance, in which their effective immortality in the digital age allows for an implicit commentary on the extent to which most people fail to fully live their lives. It’s also seriously cool.
Two Days, One Night: Marion Cotillard gave her second great performance of the year (after “The Immigrant”) as a woman recovering from an unstated accident, only to find out her job is on the chopping block. Depression and bravery have rarely been more truly and deeply portrayed as they are here.
Under the Skin: Scarlett Johannson stars as an extraterrestrial femme fatale, although this astonishing, challenging film isn’t science fiction in any traditional sense. Abstract, hypnotic, and frequently horrifying, it’s a penetrating examination of what it means not just to be human, but to be.
Honorable Mentions: Blue Ruin, Boyhood, Closed Curtain, Dear White People, Force Majeure, Godzilla, Goodbye to Language, Ida, Interstellar, Jimmy P., Jodorowsky’s Dune, John Wick, Land Ho!, The Last of the Unjust, Life Itself, Listen Up Philip, Lucy, Manakamana, The Missing Picture, National Gallery, Night Moves, Snowpiercer, A Summer’s Tale, The Unknown Known, Venus in Fur, We Are the Best!, and X-Men: Days of Future Past
Robert Humanick is a contributing writer for slantmagazine.com Follow Rob on Twitter @rhumanick
