Kevin Jagernauth's Favorite Films Of 2012

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by Kevin Jagernauth
January 14, 2013 12:01 PM
7 Comments

2012 is so two weeks ago, right? Well, forgive my tardiness, but I was doing my best to catch up with as much as possible before putting this list together, but even then some films missed out. "Once Upon A Time In Anatolia," "Compliance," "Sleepwalk With Me," "Nobody Walks," "No" and a handful more...I wish I could have seen them, but it just didn't happen.

And to be honest, I wish I had another month or two or three to reflect before writing this up. Not just to catch up on movies, but to simply allow a bit more time to digest the ones I've already seen. I know that when I look back on this list a year from now, my feelings on every movie will have adjusted, shifted and changed. Time plays a tremendously important role in one's relationship to a movie, and so many factors affect how a film will resonate with a viewer. Personal experienes, life changes and more can draw a movie closer to your heart, while in other cases, the in-the-moment enjoyment or even the positive feelings that linger a month or two later can dissipate.

So, it's tricky (and a bit silly) to rank movies, and the distinction that these are my "favorite" films of 2012 rather than the "best" is important. While these are numbered, it's not to say that one is particularly "better" than another, but they just feel right in this order. And after you read my list, be sure to check out the rist of The Playlist Best Movie Of 2012 lists. So with that preamble out of the way, let's get to it....

10. "Silver Linings Playbook" (dir. David O. Russell)
To be certain, I backflipped for this one when I saw it at TIFF. But for whatever reason, as the awards season heated up, my attention went elsewhere, and David O. Russell's film seemed to become an underdog. But earning eight Oscar nominations last week has reminded me just how well-crafted this movie really is. On a surface level, it can deceptively look like an your standard rom-com, with a helping of indie movie quirk on the side. But the material isn't easy. How do you take the story of a mentally unstable man and an emotionally damanged woman, and not only make it relatable, but a crowd-pleaser? Leave it in the hands of Russell, who with "The Fighter" and this film has really shown a deft ability to confront the hard difficulties that life can sometimes throw in your path, and make the journey to overcome them not just entertaining, but honest too. And never does he show himself contemptuous or above his characters, allowing both Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence to wholly embrace every rough, raw and real part of their roles, and deliver some great performances that rely on a highwire blend of pathos, humor and humanism.

9. "Killing Them Softly" (dir. Andrew Dominik)
Following the lyrical and pastoral "The Assassination Of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford," director Andrew Dominik and star Brad Pitt did a complete one-eighty for "Killing Them Softly." Nothing short of a cinematic polemic, the pair turned the source material -- George V. Higgins' novel -- into a furious, cynical critique of a morally degraded America. The story of a hitman tracking down the two thugs who knock off a mob protected poker game is merely the framework around which Dominik uses the 2008 election and financial crisis to paint a picture of a nation that has lost its sense of community. From the filthy, desperate criminals at the bottom of the food chain (with Ben Mendelsohn at his scuzzy finest) to the pragmatic middle man played by Richard Jenkins to the unseen forces at the top calling the shots, "Killing Them Softly" drives a knife right to the bone of everyone who has failed this country....and then twists it.

8. "Laurence Anyways" (dir. Xavier Dolan)
The conversation around filmmaker Xavier Dolan has mostly centered on his age (he turns 24 in March), the fact that his first three features have all been honored with premieres in Cannes and his boldy stylized approach. And living in Montreal as I do (where "Laurence Anyways" was released in 2012), there is an extra layer of media attention to the homegrown filmmaker that adds to the noise and hype, and making it easy for many to shrug off his work. And for all those who scoff at Dolan for his age and confidence, I suggest they move along and stick to the oats and vegetables cinema the rest of the industry provides. For me, this is nothing more exciting than a young director who takes a big swing for the fences. Can you tell me another other contemporary filmmaker who has put together a nearly three hour long, decade spanning movie about a transgender relationship? And not only that, but one as deeply moving and gorgeously realized as this? It's mind boggling to me that it took as long as it did for "Laurence Anyways" to land U.S. distribution, and even then, with the tiny indie Breaking Glass (and kudos to them for rolling the dice on this one). But I hope people put aside pre-conceived notions and go experience the film for themselves when it arrives next year, because since seeing it at the Cannes Film Festival the movie has continued percolate and stick with me in the way that few have.

7. "Zero Dark Thirty" (dir. Kathryn Bigelow)
The best procedurals in recent years -- including David Fincher's "Zodiac" and "The Social Network" -- have been tales of obsession, and that's no different with Kathryn Bigelow's "Zero Dark Thirty." But of course, her picture takes on a greater weight because it's bookmarked by two of the most significant historical moments of the last decade: the attacks of 9/11 and killing of Osama Bin Laden. It's a whirlwind journey from CIA black sites to the halls of the White House, that condenses ten years of intelligence gathering into a breathless manhunt, that is as captivating and mesmerizing as any mystery, even though for every second of the movie, you know the outcome. While some have dogged the movie being a bit cold -- we never really get to know Jessica Chastain's Maya -- that is also half the point, as her determination coupled with the around-the-clock, classified nature of her work, forces her into a surreal, isolated existence. Bigelow and screenwriter Mark Boal deliver unflinching dramatic reportage, one that forces viewers to confront the nation's uneasy relationship with torture -- oh sorry, "enchanced interrogration." The cries that the film is "pro-torture" are silly, and perhaps a result of those disappointed that "Zero Dark Thirty" isn't a flag waving act of patriotism, but a mature drama about the constant and complex moral and personal compromise that come with the kind of job that anyone on the sidelines can barely imagine undertaking.

6. "The Master" (dir. Paul Thomas Anderson)
A movie that doesn't necessarily unpack easily, and certainly doesn't play by any conventions, Paul Thomas Anderson's "The Master" is at its core, an odd couple story. There's Freddie Quell, who's all animal, lunging at life, never ignoring the call of instinct, hunger or desire, and yet always coming up emotionally damaged or unsatisfied. And then there's Lancaster Dodd, who has taken all those cravings that make us human, and tries to contain them in The Cause, a way of life that becomes his own search for meaning. Essentially we're looking at what happens when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object, and the union between Freddie and Lancaster will heartbreakingly leave them as alone and empty as they were when they first met. Anderson is asking more questions than providing answers, which may have left many unsatisified, but watching Philip Seymour Hoffman and Joaquin Phoenix put each other through the paces (the auditing session is probably one of the best acting scenes of the year), you wonder how the rest of us manage to make it through each day so easily.

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More: 2012: The Year In Review, Best Of 2012, Silver Linings Playbook, Laurence Anyways, Tabu, Anna Karenina, Rust And Bone, Take This Waltz, Stories We Tell, Beasts Of The Southern Wild, The Master, Zero Dark Thirty, Killing Them Softly

7 Comments

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Trevor | March 16, 2013 12:47 PMReply

Good list. Although I can't understand the ZDT love. Marketing campaign maybe. Jingoism... It really isn't a good movie, at all. It's sloppy, we know the ending (I get that's the point), Jessica Chastain is one-noted and obviously written. Silver Linings is far more human and moving and all around better. And The Master is great. Should def be above Beasts of Southern Wild, which forces audience to side with Hushpuppy way too much. All around pretty good list though.
Daniel Delago | January 14, 2013 10:20 PMReply

Lets compare notes. We have some similar top picks. My Top Ten Movies of 2012. examiner.com/article/top-ten-movies-of-2012
fred | January 17, 2013 12:46 AM

I don't like either of your best films lists, but it's truly a matter of opinion.
oogle monster | January 14, 2013 8:26 PMReply

THANK YOU for including Anna Karenina. How has this film not caught the Oscar bug? It's so damn good. And leaps better than Les Miz and Silver Linings Playbook. The Master and Anna Karenina were 2 stand outs this year. Bravo for including both.
AGW | January 14, 2013 2:06 PMReply

Love seeing Rust and Bone ranked so highly here. Great, tight analysis of my favorite film of the year.
Christopher Bell | January 14, 2013 12:08 PMReply

Finally! & love the love 4 tabu
Eamon | January 14, 2013 12:06 PMReply

YES! Love this list and so happy almost all you fine folks at Indiewire Put Killing them Softly in their top 10. Way underrated and excellent little movie