The year 2015 certainly seemed long enough that it might never arrive, but the time has indeed come to talk about it in the past tense. Let the record show that it was a better year for mainstream film than mainstream music, though not as exciting as the last couple. It’s also the year the whole world just seemed to go crazy: Donald Trump in the lead for month after month in the polls despite all the inflammatory and outright ignorant things he says. And the Democratic Party base is angry enough at the establishment that a 74 year old self-described socialist only capable of speaking in a Larry David shout seems to many to be the great hope. The weather is getting warmer and crazy. The cops, despite all the attention placed on them by the new civil rights activists, killed even more people than in the year prior. From the Charlie Hebdo massacre to the numerous terror attacks from Nigeria to Beirut, Paris, and San Bernardino the sense of danger has seldom been this high. The effect on our national politics will likely not be healthy.
That’s where movies are supposed to come in and occasionally it seemed like the only things being churned out by Hollywood were big unimaginative superhero pics. One thing that definitely suffered was the quality and abundance of male acting. In 2014 there were three or four performances by actors-maybe more-that gave me that excited “legend in the making” feeling. This year there weren’t really any on that level, though fortunately female acting fared better and many of the most acclaimed movies (Tangerine, Carol, Mad Max: Fury Road) are bolstered by female characters. Paul Dano would be my choice for Best Actor (Love & Mercy) and Charlotte Rampling for Best Actress (45 Years). Jason Mitchell’s performance as Eazy-E has been looked over but really should be in serious contention for Best Supporting Actor. I haven’t yet seen The Revenant, but Leo will no doubt finally win this time, it seems abundantly clear (hard to imagine Matt Damon or Michael Fassbender standing in the way of his inevitability). In fairness, I still haven’t caught The Danish Girl either.
As always there were some genuine surprises and even more soul-crushing letdowns. I didn’t have much anticipation for the The Force Awakens (I like the original trilogy fine and will never forget the awful feeling of seeing The Phantom Menace in seventh grade when it hit theaters) but it turned out to be solidly rousing, nothing life-changing or even as exciting as J.J. Abrams Star Trek reboot. To be honest, its star dims a little each time I think about it. The much acclaimed Hungarian Holocaust drama Son of Saul is a contemptible exploitation that I couldn’t wait to be over. Trainwreck was enjoyable to me mainly for the dynamic between Bill Hader (so good) and Lebron James. I couldn’t have been more excited to watch Sam Mendes direct another James Bond movie after Skyfall but Spectre is decisively the worst 007 in years. I was also stoked for The Hateful Eight, which was a disappointment despite the best score and cinematography of the year along with some memorable performances. I’m a big fan of virtually everything the director’s done to date but this was ugly. Steve Jobs is a pointless embarrassment. Me and Earl and the Dying Girl was well-made but I didn’t believe a second of it. I absolutely adore Francis Ha so I was looking forward to both While We’re Young and Mistress America but I wish that Noah Baumbach had just made one great film this year instead of two passable ones. I loved most of Anomalisa but am still scratching my head over the last fifteen minutes or so.
On the other hand, I never knew how much I needed an addition to the Mad Max franchise or another Rocky movie. I similarly had no expectations for an N.W.A. biopic and it turned out to be much better than a summer biopic has any right to be. I didn’t predict that one of the most informative and searing movies to date about the financial crash would be directed by Adam McKay of Anchorman and The Other Guys, but then The Big Short happened. Sometimes it felt like a dismal year, but it ultimately wasn’t and the cream of the crop is roughly as good as any. The films that made my list all had that element of surprise that worthwhile theatergoing can still offer. That said, let’s face it: the jaw dropping second season of Fargo was tv-art at its highest level and offered thrills nobody else could match in any other medium (even if the last episode was a letdown). Happy New Year everybody, now let’s get to the 10 Best Films of 2015!