Top 5 Films of 2016
SPOTLIGHT
The investigative journalists who exposed widespread child abuse in the Catholic Church come under the spotlight in what is our film of the year by a country mile. Not since All The President’s Men has the rough and tumble of a busy newsroom been so accurately captured, with the highs of hitting a deadline, the lows of missing a tip and the horrors of being scooped all touched on as the hacks pursued the story of their lives. Meanwhile, the effects of wholesale abuse are covered in thorough, harrowing detail.
EVERYBODY WANTS SOME!!
After rewriting the coming-ofage drama rulebook with Boyhood, Richard Linklater redrew the boundaries of the frathouse comedy with a film that’s sweet, honest and, most of all, richly enjoyable. There’s a lot of smut and unusually horny gals, which prompted some lemon-faced naysayers to accuse the movie of sexism. But, for better or worse, this is what the early 80s looked like – there’s no on-point revisionism here. It’s a two-hour smile, punctuated by plenty of chuckles and the odd guffaw. Everybody will love it.
THE EDGE OF SEVENTEEN
In a role that can only be described as breakout, Hailee Steinfeld played the selfobsessed Nadine. Like many 17 year olds, she hates people, constantly threatens suicide to get attention and sees the world as a grey, hopeless place. But it turns out Nadine had every reason to feel the world is against her. A movie not just for teenagers but for anyone with a funny bone.
I, DANIEL BLAKE
Precisely 50 years after Cathy Come Home, Ken Loach launched a devastating critique of Broken Britain in a movie as powerful as anything he’s ever given us. Daniel Blake, played by Dave Johns, was an unemployed Geordie widower who befriended single mum Katie (Hayley Squires) who’d been relocated from London to Newcastle. I, Daniel Blake deserves to reframe the debate about social inequality and the plight of the have-nots, and maybe, just maybe, make us care a little more about each other.
ANOMALISA
A puppet movie whose film board classification warned of “strong sex” saw David Thewlis voice an author who beds a starstruck fan, Lisa, nicknamed Anomalisa (Jennifer Jason Leigh), in a comedically brief encounter of white flesh, wobbling bellies and awkward pillow talk. Charlie Kaufman, author of such quirky offerings as Being John Malkovich, Adaptation and Confessions Of A Dangerous Mind, dispensed with the offbeat to deliver his most mainstream film yet – albeit one aimed at people of a certain age.