TOP TEN: DON SIMPSON'S FILMS OF 2010

Dean (Ryan Gosling) and Cindy (Michelle Williams) in Blue Valentine.

Top picks of the year

By Don Simpson

The year 2010 will go down in my memory as the year that audiences and critics began demanding more transparency in non-fiction cinema. I’m Still Here and Catfish rode on an early wave of pre-release hype, but both films drowned in an onslaught of negative publicity concerning allegations of their deceitful tactics; yet somehow Exit Through the Gift Shop slid under the radar of most negative publicity and has been garnering Best Documentary nods all across the universe.

Also, 2010 was clearly a year that was ruled by the ladies of the silver screen, with a plethora of commanding leading roles for women and girls alike: Blanca Engström (The Girl), Lena Dunham (Tiny Furniture), Katie Jarvis (Fish Tank), Heather Kafka (Lovers of Hate), Zoe Kazan (The Exploding Girl), Jennifer Lawrence (Winter’s Bone), Robin McLeavy (The Loved Ones), Birgit Minichmayr (Everyone Else), Chloë Grace Moretz (Let Me In / Kick-Ass), Natalie Portman (Black Swan), Stella Schnabel (You Wont Miss Me), Hailee Steinfeld (True Grit), Tilda Swinton (I Am Love), Marzieh Vafamehr (My Tehran for Sale), Lotte Verbeek (Nothing Personal), and Michelle Williams (Blue Valentine). I could go on...but you get the picture.

I saw a heck of a lot of films in 2010 (I lost count shortly after I broke the 300 mark), so the torture of narrowing this year-end list down to just 10 films was just shy of waterboarding for me. With the helpful guidance of “eeny, meeny, miny, moe” and some keen insight from my always-faithful Ouija Board, the following is an alphabetical listing of my favorite films of 2010.

Black Swan -- I think I am the only film critic who picked up on the strange attraction to Nina’s crotch throughout Black Swan. I am not sure what that says about me, but I just wanted to throw that out there. Black Swan has received a fairly rough reception by some film critics, and as a long-time hater of Darren Aronofsky’s films I can definitely understand their perspectives. From my perspective, Black Swan is the least pretentious and most playful of Aronofsky’s oeuvre. I read Black Swan as an over-the-top horror flick that is not supposed to be taken seriously at all. Above all, Black Swan made my favorites list this year because of its unrivaled ability to enrapture and transport me into the fantastical black and white and red world which Aronofsky created with cinematographer Matthew Libatique.

Blue Valentine -- The emotionally tumultuous Blue Valentine is guaranteed to rip the insides out of even the most romantically ambivalent. So why see it? First of all, because it features two of the best acting performances of 2010: Michelle Williams and Ryan Gosling. Secondly, because writer-director Derek Cianfrance is able to portray the relationship of Cindy (Williams) and Dean (Gosling) so frankly that it hurts to watch.

Exit Through the Gift Shop -- More so than any other film of 2010, Banksy’s Exit Through the Gift Shop has stuck with me ever since my initial viewing. It also seems quite appropriate to dedicate my #1 position to one of the “documentaries” from 2010 that really got audiences contemplating the reality of the images, as well as the amount of disclosure that “documentary” filmmakers should be required to offer. I would be very surprised if Banksy reveals the truth behind Exit Through the Gift Shop any time soon, so you will just have to make that judgment on your own.

Fish Tank -- As an heir apparent to the British social realist tradition of Ken Loach’s working class dramas, director Andrea Arnold’s Fish Tank is a painfully bleak portrait of modern life on an Essex estate. First-timer Katie Jarvis gives a bitterly honest lead performance as Mia, one that is schizophrenic mix of tenacity, meanness and fragility.

The Girl (Flickan) -- The naturalness of Blanca Engström’s acting debut — a primarily facial one at that — is what really makes The Girl a fantastic film. Her interpretation of the purity, freedom and solitude of childhood is a transcending experience to say the least. Engström is a transfixing presence, and we the audience are left as helpless observers, stuck on the other side of the screen wanting to extend a kind and caring hand to assist her.

Lovers of Hate -- I have an infinite amount of love (and absolutely no hate) for Bryan Poyser’s Lovers of Hate. Lovers of Hate is an exquisitely written and acted film. The plot itself seems relatively simple (three characters, two locations), yet Poyser’s directorial vision is complex and even somewhat unconventional. Lovers of Hate is ridiculously funny but also a thrillingly emotional roller coaster ride – a cinematic achievement that few directors and actors have pulled off as successfully as Poyser, Chris Doubek, Heather Kafka, Alex Karpovsky have here.

The Milk of Sorrow (La Teta Asustada) -- Based on Kimberly Theidon’s book Entre Prójimos, Peruvian director Claudia Llosa’s allegorical film details the long-lasting effects from the Sendero Luminoso’s shameless raping of Peruvian women. Llosa’s magic realism sensibilities allow her to walk the fine line between the grim natures of the content and visually lyrical yet absurdly comedic moments.

Scott Pilgrim vs. the World -- Functioning as a hypertextualized mash-up of pop culture references from the 1990s and 2000s (thus lending the film a certain timeless quality), Scott Pilgrim vs. the World does well to push the boundaries of reality in all kinds of directions -- as long as your good senses are not insulted by some shameless stereotypes and a splattering of hyper-violence (though very little blood is shed), Scott Pilgrim vs. the World is an entertaining flick with a fantastic soundtrack.

A Town Called Panic (Panique au village) -- Neither sense nor logic exists in the world of A Town Called Panic; this is essentially a cinematic representation of the playtime fantasies of a dangerously imaginative and hyperactive five-year old child (it makes the Toy Story films seem like snooze-fests written by stodgy and stuffy Hollywood studio hacks). The sets are constructed with papier-mâché and cardboard; the characters are plastic toy figurines — most of which stand upright with the aid of a flat base to which their feet are attached — of mismatching dimensions, as if the aforementioned child was let loose in a vintage toy shop for 10 minutes and given enough funds to buy a bucketful of toys. Coherency and cohesion be damned, A Town Called Panic is pure unadulterated anarchy en Francais!

The Yes Men Fix the World -- Directed by Andy Bichlbaum and Mike Bonanno (a.k.a. the Yes Men), and co-directed by Kurt Engfehr (editor-producer Bowling for Columbine; Fahrenheit 9/11), this humor-injected political documentary makes Michael Moore’s most recent effort (Capitalism: A Love Story) seem grossly uninspired. Posing as high-ranking representatives of evil corporations, the Yes Men con their way into business conferences and television interviews in order to wake up their audiences to the dangers of passively allowing greed to rule the world. The results are more than just silly activist pranks; the actions of the Yes Men are thoughtfully conceived acts of protest designed to reach the largest possible audiences, inciting discussion, debate and action — this is exactly what all great political documentaries should do.

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FILM REVIEW: BLUE VALENTINE

Cindy (Michelle Williams) in Blue Valentine.

Love, rage and blood beneath the surface

By John Esther

Once upon a time in Super 16mm, 25mm lense, handheld camera land, Dean (Ryan Gosling) and Cindy (Michelle Williams) were sort of happy. Compelled by his unwavering belief that Cindy was the one, Dean courted her in quite the charming manner, took a beating because of her (if he only had a cell phone), assumed co-responsibility in raising a child not his own and married her. For her part, Cindy gave up her current boyfriend, Bobby (Mike Vogel), and any potential or real ambition she had because of Dean. While they had their moments of despair they each made each other so happy. How could Dean and Cindy ever go on without each other?

Six years later, housepainter Dean and nurse Cindy dwell in a dinghy Scranton, Pennsylvania house miles away from the happy times of The Office. Shot on HD with two cameras at a time, Cindy's love for Dean has all but burned out, yet he still loves her madly and their daughter, Frankie (Faith Wladyka), too. In response to their demise, Dean tries a few things to save their marriage, which includes staying at a hotel for the night.

This hotel stay is but a mere reprieve. The relationship is pretty much doomed, but Dean never gives up. On the surface Dean deserves our sympathies for the most part, especially when you consider what transpired earlier in their relationship, yet by the time he appears at Cindy's work the suspicion that Dean has been given a few chances, out of the film's time and space, seems solidified.

Expanding and contracting in space while moving back and forth in time over the six years, Blue Valentine offers a refreshing and raw look at holy matrimony coming undone a la Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf (1966), Revolutionary Road (2008) and this year's Rabbit Hole. Except Dean and Cindy are relatively poorer than those other clashing couples and co-writer and director Derek Cianfrance's film was made on a much tighter budget.

(In preparation for their roles, Gosling and Williams reportedly "lived" on housepainter and nurse budgets, respectively, for two weeks.)

Seven years in the making, Cianfrance (Brother Tied; Cagefighter) went through many trials and tribulations to get this film made. And if it were not for Williams and Rosling's dedication to their craft it probably would have never made. Not only did they support Cianfrance over many years – Williams was on board with the project since 2003, Gosling came on in 2005 -- they willingly accepted the physical changes required for the roles, including purposely gaining as much weight as they could in one month. Notably, Williams gained 15 pounds before they would shoot her nude scenes. Now how many actors would intentionally gain flesh before exposing her or his flesh?

Fortunately their hard work paid off. Blue Valentine oozes with so much honesty it might be hard for insecure couples to endure while garnering sympathy from those few couples out there who are lucky to stay happy for many years. Perhaps more amusingly, parents with adolescent or young adult children believing they have already found the love of their live may want to take to their idealistic offspring to see Blue Valentine -- especially if you do not care for the object of your child's affections.

For their dedications, Williams and Gosling give two of the better performances of the year and they are gaining nominations – although, I like her performance more. Dean's accent sounds more Bostonian than Brooklyn, where he lived when they met, or from Florida, where he claims to hail from during a job interview.

Beyond elocution of Gosling's character, the only other significant shortcoming is the pretty lame soundtrack to supplement the driving narrative. An underused and abused art form in film, Blue Valentine is no exception to the rule of sappy songs and mawkish melodies. However, Gosling/Dean's numbers are pretty amusing, including one very memorable scene where he plays the ukulele and Williams/Cindy does a tap dance.

(While shooting the film, Williams did not know Gosling was going to play the ukulele and Gosling did not know Williams was going to dance to his song until their cue: "Do you have any special talents?" Then they had to improvise the song and dance.)

Quality direction, excellent cinematography by Andrij Parekh (Half Nelson; Cold Souls) and featuring two very dedicated star actors, Blue Valentine offers an honest alternative to the fairy tale, love stories Hollywood offers throughout the year. A pyrotechnic display may go off at the end of a love story, but it is not at night, it is not romantic and it is not in anybody's head. That happens only in the movies (and in an episode of the Brady Bunch).

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