The Tree of Life (2011) --95/100--
Terrence Malick has always been a very iconoclastic director, never more so than with his latest, the gorgeous Tree of Life, perhaps my favorite film of the year. It’s a challenging film to watch, there is no real “story,” mostly a patchwork of small vignettes of a middle-class family in Texas in the 1950s, a few flashes forward in time, and at one point we leave the family altogether to witness an astonishing 20-minute 2001-esque “history of the universe.” The cinematography is unparalleled, and if allowed to become completely immersed in the tide of sounds and images it is a breathtaking experience. It is the first “big” film in a while to qualify as a true, by god cinematic Work of Art. (There. I think I managed to use just about every superlative I know.)
Hugo (2011) --90/100--
One of the best examples I’ve seen where 3D has been use to enhance the storytelling experience rather than just add an element of spectacle. With Hugo, Marty Scorsese concocts one of the greatest love letters to moving pictures since Cinema Paradiso. Despite some pacing problems and what I thought were rather stiff performances by the lead child actors, it tugged just the right strings in my cinephilic little heart. A no-brainer Best Picture Oscar nominee.
The Help (2011) --77/100--
Emma Stone caps off a pretty solid little year, firmly establishing herself as quirky darling with the ability to play with a little more dramatic heft, though The Help has enough sassy/catty comedy to level out the weighty moments and deliver a balanced, expressive film. It’s a little straightforward in that, for a film about black/white experience, only the secondary characters exhibit any real complex shades of gray. Kudos to Bryce Dallas Howard, Jessica Chastain, and Sissy Spacek, but mostly to Viola Davis and Octavia Spencer for providing the real heart of the piece.
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