From: Sam Hallgren
To: Adam Kempenaar, Eric Baker
Subject: The countdown continues...
I know that we spent some time several months ago talking about the various methods we used to determine our top ten lists. As Adam writes, the process is arbitrary -- not to mention, like any movie-related experience, completely subjective -- and a little silly; but it does give you a chance to really think about what you like and why. As I compiled my list -- particularly as I got closer to the top of my list -- I started to notice a kind of trend. More often than not, it was a performance, or a set of performances -- and not the movie itself (or the script or the cinematography or the soundtrack) -- that set a movie apart for me. And a great performance combined with a unique directorial vision is more than enough to win me over (as you will see shortly in my top five movies). And speaking of great performances, Eric asks how much a good screenplay has to do with the performance. He could be asking the same thing about a good director or a good editor. I’m sure that some great performances have been created in the editing room. I don’t claim to be an expert on the process of movie-making, or what it takes to bring a screenplay to the screen. I can only judge what I see, and unfairly or not, I lay the burden of the performance -- good or bad -- with the actor.
7. About a Boy (Chris Weitz and Paul Weitz) - I saw this movie last March, and for a while, it was the only 2002 film I had any affection for at all. It’s difficult to recall my exact impression, but I remember really loving the kid (Nicholas Hoult) they got to play Hugh Grant’s “ward.” I don’t know where they found this kid, but he is perfect for the part. Not a Hollywood “weird kid.” An honest-to-god weirdo. The movie succeeds largely due to the fun dynamic between Grant and Hoult. Also good is Toni Collette -- who, to be honest, is incapable of turning in a bad performance. You could pretty much put Toni Collette and Cate Blanchett in every movie and it would be watchable because of them. Anyway. About a Boy. Good times. Funny. Well-written and directed. A little forced at the beginning as I recall.
6. The Bourne Identity (Doug Liman) - Maybe I just didn’t expect anything from this movie, but I loved it. We’ll see how it holds up under re-examination. The movie is helped tremendously by Franke Potente in the love-interest/sidekick role. Her presence adds a dimension of reality and honesty to the film that is impossible to overstate. Matt Damon acquits himself nicely as Bourne. When I saw it this summer, I was so pleasantly surprised at its lack of jokiness, its grainy realism, and its uncluttered plotting. At the end of the day, it’s just a simple summer action movie. But while I was watching it, I managed to forget that.
5. Heaven (Tom Tykwer) - It was 10 pm on a Monday evening in November. I was at an art house theatre in downtown Chicago. I had already sat through a movie (Tully) that had left me unfulfilled and sleepy. I had work the next day, but I decided to sneak into Tom Tykwer's’s “Heaven” with the faint hope that it would revitalize me. It did. After sitting through Tully’s lackadaisical plotting and uninspired direction, Heaven was a powerful antidote. Based on the late (some would say great) Krzysztof Kieslowski’s un-produced script, Tom Tykwer's uses brilliant and beautiful cinematography and applies a technician’s discipline to bring Kieslowski’s heavily philosophical story to life. If the story becomes occasionally burdened with the moral dilemma that lies at the heart of the film, the performances by Cate Blanchett and Giovanni Ribisi more than make up for it. I’m not sure this film should be so high on my list, but it’s effect on me -- with its potent visuals and committed performances -- has lingered with me longer than many other 2002 movies.
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