The Best of 2016

By Michael Dalton

In what was unquestionably the worst year in cinema’s history, the few gems of the year shone more brightly than ever.

1. Eye In The Sky: If Oscar has eyes wide open next year, Megan Gill, the editor of this exceptional thriller, will reign. Directed by Gavin Hood, Eye In The Sky, which concerns a carefully planned drone strike bought to a grinding halt by the presence of an innocent child, is the best war film in years. Its terrifying, tight as a drum, and brilliantly written by Guy Hibbert. Skip the criminally over-praised Hacksaw Ridge, that other war movie everyone’s crowing about.  Stripped back and with no frills, this is how its done. Unforgettable.
2. The Witch:  Written and directed by Robert Eggers, The Witch, set in New England in 1630 when supernatural presence was a given, follows the adventures of a family who move to a farm by a large, forbidding forest after being expelled from their village for religious treason. Mood is the key here and of course the possibility of dark forces at work. Subtle and tense, it also features the best final shot of the year.
3. 45 Years: Charlotte Rampling was finally nominated for an Academy Award this year for her towering work as Kate, a wife who, on the eve of her wedding anniversary, makes a shattering discovery about her husband. Director Andrew Haigh, at the top of his game here, placed the movie on her shoulders and she carried it like a champion.
4. Elle: Showgirlsand Starship Troopers be damned, Paul Verhoeven deserved all those ovations this year for directing Isabelle Huppert in this bracing thriller about a woman who is raped and then plays a game of cat and mouse with her attacker. Huppert is of course excellent. Daring and dark, Verhoeven never overplays his hand.
5. Nocturnal Animals: As typically Tom Ford as it is, that in itself may be the reason Nocturnal Animalsis such a treat. He sets the mood with an eye-catching overture that features naked, obese women dressed as majorettes and dancing ecstatically and the thriller that followed didn’t disappoint. Its compelling, glamorous, nasty, and tense, and just look at the lineup. Amy Adams, Jake Gyllenhaal, Michael Shannon, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, and Laura Linney! This is the one I can’t wait to see again.
6. Ouija: Origin Of Evil: Honestly, who would’ve expected the prequel to one of the worst horror movies of the century to be anything more than, well, more? Origin Of Evilwas one of the year’s best surprises. Set in the 1960s and starring the wonderful Elizabeth Reaser, director Mike Flanagan and his cinematographer Michael Fimognari gave this deliciously scary movie’s period details extra attention and it shows. Great fun and fear not, you don’t need to suffer the first one to appreciate it.
7.  Julieta: It was a huge relief, after the appalling I’m So Excited!, that Pedro Almodovar returned to the terrain he’s long declared his own. Drama and romance were remixed just enough to create yet another intoxicating thriller that kept us guessing, and how wonderful to see him finally bring the striking Rossy De Palma back into the fold.
8. .Deepwater Horizon: The last time director Peter Berg set an adventure on water wasBattleship, one of the funniest disaster movies of all time. We were all expecting more of the same in this true story about a shocking environmental disaster but instead we were treated to one of the best adventures of the year. Despite it starring Mark Wahlberg, Kurt Russell, and a devious John Malkovich, Berg wisely made the tragic story the star of the piece.
9.  Arrival: Amy Adams had a great year, her best yet, and this beautifully conceived science fiction tale about extra-terrestrial visitors and her burgeoning relationship with them was a knockout. Denis Villeneuve directed, Johann Johannsson scored, and Bradford Young filmed it. Everyone bought their best to this one.