15. “The Tribe”
We need more bold, purely cinematic films like “The Tribe,” in which a shy boy arrives at a boarding school for the deaf and tries to find his place in the hierarchy of the school’s insular criminal community. Working in the mold of "difficult" Eastern European arthouse cinema, Ukrainian director Myroslav Slaboshpytskiy, in his debut feature, may give in to a certain level of monotone miserablism common in many films of its ilk, but it functions so well as a deeply allegorical, original piece of crime fiction that the overwhelming dread and grisly violence are simply inevitable, not forced or intended only to shock. Nothing can undo the intensely rigorous and stylish filmmaking on display in “The Tribe,” which plays like an even more disturbing combination of “City of God” and “Lord of the Flies.” The potentially gimmicky conceit —all dialogue is spoken through sign language with no subtitles— creates a unique, wholly cinematic world where the viewer’s perception of cinema is radically altered. Nearly all scenes play out in impeccably choreographed long takes, via a camera that rarely stops moving —its style is akin to Michael Haneke’s “Code Unknown” and features a similar foreboding, disquieting sense that things are going to end badly. Although its formalism is rigid, the film rises well above gimmickry to become a truly great, unique piece of cinema (and a very fine crime movie to boot), conjuring its own world, commenting on our own and giving the audience something that's palpably new.
14. “The End Of The Tour”
To be perfectly frank, it sounded like a joke, a sketch on “Portlandia” or something: a movie about beloved '90s literary idol David Foster Wallace, starring Judd Apatow favorite Jason Segel. It’s kind of amazing that it even got financed. And yet “The End Of The Tour” turned out not be a joke: it turned out to be a smart, beautifully acted film that did justice to its subject, even if some believe that its subject would have been horrified that it existed. Based on David Lipsky’s memoirs of his time spent interviewing the writer for a Rolling Stone article, adapted by playwright Donald Marguiles and directed by James Ponsoldt (“The Spectacular Now”), the film works precisely because it never really sets out to be ‘a David Foster Wallace movie.’ You get real insight into the man, his work and his views on life, but Marguiles and Ponsoldt have used the source material (the dialogue is overwhelmingly from Lipsky’s transcripts) to make a great conversation movie, in the mold of Richard Linklater’s ‘Before’ films, that happens to feature the acclaimed novelist. It’s really a movie about jealousy, about male competitiveness and friendship and about the mind of an artist and the loneliness common to such pursuits. And thanks to Ponsoldt’s typically sensitive, finely honed direction and excellent performances from both Segel and Jesse Eisenberg, it works beautifully even if you’ve never heard of “Infinite Jest.
13. “Anomalisa”
In a great interview recently, Charlie Kaufman expressed the problems he experiences getting his stories made. His latest film, co-directed by Duke Johnson, was famously co-funded through Kickstarter, and is the first Kaufman theatrical release in seven years. Once you see how brilliant it is, “Anomalisa” makes that disheartening question of “why can’t we have more Kaufman films!?” sink that much deeper into melancholia. As his first foray into stop motion animation, the film plays in an even more creatively stimulating sandbox than the writer-director’s previous projects; the kind that allows for Tom Noonan’s half-soothing-half-creepy vocal timbre to represent the collective banality that surrounds us. Featuring stellar voice work from David Thewlis, Jennifer Jason Leigh (what a great year for her) and Noonan, the story is an existential crisis by way of puppets, and it’s just as hilarious, depressing, stunning, emotionally intelligent and intellectually emotional as it sounds. Immaculately handcrafted and wholly immersive, the film turns Cincinnati into a vortex of mediocrity that sucks Thewlis’ Michael Stone in, until, in the midst of a rapid succession of crises, a beautiful anomaly emerges in Leigh’s Lisa. Scored with Carter Burwell’s trademark poignant soundtrack and boasting one of the year’s greatest screenplays (where are all the screenplay nods, people?), “Anomalisa” would justify a bottomless well of funds for Kaufman’s next project in a perfect world. But as the film so resonantly explains, this is an imperfect world we live in, one full of trivial shit. At least we can count our lucky stars that these imperfections can at times get the creative cogs turning to produce an unforgettable film.
12. “Steve Jobs”
An inspired, risky and unconventional biopic, "Steve Jobs" finds the unlikely team of author Aaron Sorkin and director Danny Boyle convene on a story of the late Apple impresario, and channeling the best of their abilities in symphonic unison to create dynamic electricity in a three act neo-Shakespearean drama. Through an 1984 ascension, a 1988 falter and a 1998-set reclamation, Boyle and Sorkin chart the imperiousness, arrogance and genius of this tech trailblazer. Arguably the true auteur of the movie, Sorkin’s witty, rapid-fire dialogue crackles and is made human by the herculean acting ofMichael Fassbender —one gets the sense he had to wrestle the script into a chokehold and consume it. The terrific supporting cast of Kate Winslet, Seth Rogen, Jeff Daniels, Michael Stuhlbarg and Katherine Waterston, all working at the top of their game, make the movie radiate that much more. But perhaps the movie’s secret weapon is Boyle, who has spent a lifetime impelling visual propulsion, but instead here expertly channels the kineticism already on the page —an insightful and counter-intuitive move if there ever was one. An exhilarating and orchestrally-pitched drama about the cost of brilliance and an emotionally trenchant look at legacy and parenthood, “Steve Jobs” is an engrossing portrait of a relentlessly determined and dysfunctionally complicated tech titan.
11. “Ex Machina”
“The first great film of 2015,” we wrote in our review of “Ex Machina” back in January, when the film opened in the U.K. and that’s a risky claim. With literally hundreds of films still to open, you can look like a fool if December rolls around and everyone’s pretty much forgotten it. Fortunately, that’s not been the case with “Ex Machina,” the directorial debut of “28 Days Later” and “Sunshine” scribe Alex Garland, as taut, inventive and heady a sci-fi chamber piece as we’ve seen since “Moon.” Following a reclusive computer-genius billionaire (Oscar Isaac) enlisting the help of an employee (Domhnall Gleeson) to see if his new humanoid A.I. (Alicia Vikander) can pass for human, the film finds new life in the often-tired robot/singularity theme, thanks to airtight writing, three terrific performances (Isaac in particular stands out) and direction marked by a craft and confidence that belies Garland’s first-timer status. This film keeps you guessing as to exactly what it’s up to with every scene (no film was more carefully plotted this year), and reveals its true intentions only very late in the game. We can’t wait to see what Garland does for his next trick.
