2011's Top 20

Here's my full Top 20 Feature Films of 2011 list. It seems like the natural reaction of everyone to say, after each film-year has concluded, that it was a weak one. Sometimes they're right, but in the case of 2011, they would be incorrect. Last year had a lot to offer, especially in the way of unique and expert storytelling, but unfortunately many of these films were overlooked by major awards in favor of the mundane and popularly-resonant. There were quite a few films that didn't make my top-ten that I thought were still pretty darn good, so I wanted to recognize (briefly) them here.

1. Drive

I love Drive from opening to close, everything from the performances to the music to the pink titles and Gosling's scorpion coat. Not only the year's best, but now one of my all-time favorites.

2. Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

A spy film that asks the viewer to engage and pick up on the clues instead of feeding everything via exposition. It captures the 70's with style and features the best ensemble cast of 2011. 

3. Shame 

Though a bit gratuitous on occasion, Shame is expertly acted and features some of the most powerful scenes of the year. Like Tinker, this film also relies on the viewer to pick up on the story's depth and the extent of the protagonist's struggle.

4. The Artist

Pulling off a silent, b/w film in 2011 is no small feat, but The Artist, in no way, relies on gimmick or charm to get by. The story, which is oftentimes downright heartbreaking, is especially poignant to film history buffs, but on a lesser level to anyone with a heart. 

5. Take Shelter

Maybe my pick for the most-unappreciated film of 2011. Here, Nichols has created a modern psychological drama classic featuring one the year's best performances. 

6. Attack the Block

The film starts out strong but only gets better from there. An impressive debut from writer/director Joe Cornish, who has created something both current and nostalgic in this youth-centered adventure/horror.
 

7. Martha Marcy May Marlene

MMMM features some very strong performances and unique non-linear editing that slowly builds the creepiness of the realistic cult environment. More unsettling of a viewing than any horror I saw all year.

8. Meek’s Cutoff

Kelly Reichardt is on her game here. Meek's is stunningly realized and wholly unsatisfying to the conventional film viewer, which is part of what makes it great. 

9. Harry Potter 7 pt.2

A more fitting end to the series than its literary counterpart provided. Highly emotional and genuinely stirring, this film gave the closer I'd been needing since finishing the books.

10. The Tree of Life

Frustrating at times, but beautiful to behold, The Tree of Life is a film that benefits from repeated viewing to unearth its intentions.

11. The Skin I Live In

A peculiar and highly entertaining film from Almodovar that has a lot to say about gender and human sexuality without beating the audience over the head with it. 

12. Midnight In Paris

 Midnight In Paris is intensely likable, featuring Owen Wilson as an effective Woody-surrogate and supported by a cast of well-realized historical figures.

13. The Guard

In a less competitive year, Brendan Gleeson would have certainly nabbed a Best Actor nomination or two. He carries this outrageous dark comedy throughout, but also benefits from the odd-couple chemistry with Don Cheadle. 

14. Super

Super did not look at all good to me on paper, but after catching the incredibly violent conclusion one day, I was compelled to watch the whole thing. It's a brutal film that plants the superhero in more realistic surroundings than we've ever seen. I was skeptical, but both Rainn Wilson and Ellen Page deliver. Kevin Bacon was also pretty entertaining as the Crimson Bolt's nemesis.

15. X-Men: First Class

Bolder and more stylish than your average comic-book adaptation, First Class benefits from its strong leads (so much so that we can forget the weak supporting mutants) and fitting period setting.

16. The City of Life and Death

Easily one of the best war films made in recent years. A depressing look at the horror of combat and the struggle of the occupiers and occupied.

 
17. 50/50

Not a straight comedy in tone, but effective in delivering a lot of laughs while dealing with serious subject matter. Joseph Gordon-Levitt is outstanding and much like Gleeson in The Guard he unfortunately fell victim to a strong year for leading actors.

18. Hanna

There are a lot of reasons to like Hanna, but the main ones are its great score, strong female lead, and dynamic action. There's a tracking shot that follows Eric Bana's character into a subway (and a fight) that stands out in particular. 

19. Contagion

I thought Contagion was solid epidemic-thriller with a great cast. Some of its sections are more captivating than others, but it makes the top-20 based on those strong points.

20. Beginners 

A nice, mostly un-cliched love story that is effective in showing how people develop their approaches to and feelings on serious romantic relationships.

And just because I feel like being a jerk, here are my picks for the 5 Most Overrated Films of 2011 (not that I hated them, just that they received un-due praise)


1. A Dangerous Method - If it wasn't Cronenberg, it would have been panned. 
2. A Separation - Decent, but praise is amplified because it's from Iran.
3. Melancholia - Overlong, featuring a less-than-stellar lead in Dunst. 
4. Tyrannosaur - A nice debut from Considine, but also cliched and often weak. Mullen and Colman were okay, but not as good as people are saying. (Just because a role is challenging doesn't mean the performer was great in it, see: Knightley in Dangerous Method too)
5. Super 8 - It had a lot of promise, but didn't deliver, featuring a lame and wholly unsatisfying conclusion.