The Top 10 Films of 2018

Back in early November I attended the wonderful Indie Memphis, a nearby film festival in Memphis, TN, for those of you who don't know. I knew I wasn't going to be able to see as many films as I would like, but was going to do my best and make a day of it. I was going to start my day with a film called "Sepulveda" and end it with Barry Jenkins's "If Beale Street Could Talk."

Before "Beale Street" I decided that I would squeeze in "Suspiria" since it was showing in the same theater as the festival. I have been a fan of Argento's 1977 "Suspiria" for a couple of decades and last year Luca Guadagnino (who directed the newest version) directed my favorite film, "Call Me By Your Name."

Sitting in the theater, I had very little expectations for what I was going to see. Most critics weren't exactly kind to the film, and although I had seen some positive comments on Twitter and a few positive notices from critics (David Ehrlich at Indiewire and Joshua Rothkopf at TimeOut, in particular), I simply wanted to have an entertaining 2+ hours.

30 or so minutes in, I realized something incredible. The film was absolutely working for me and very much so. Everything from the cinematography, to the acting, to the direction. As the credits rolled I believed I had seen a masterpiece, made for my exact sensibilities.

Hard to believe it's been less than two months since seeing "Suspiria" for the first time, but in that time I've seen many, many films, several of which could have taken the top spot on this list. The top 6 films you see below at one point or another were in that top spot. But having seen "Suspiria" again, I have little doubt that it is my favorite of the year.

At one point I was considering over 30 films for my Top 10, and it wasn't easy leaving some of them off. I couldn't even put everything I wanted on the Honorable Mentions list, as I promised myself -10 films, 5 honorable mentions and that's that.

You will probably notice several major players missing and some films you may have never even heard of. If that's the case, I hope that you will seek them out and with an open mind.

Top 10s are challenging for me, as I believe they are for anyone who cares about the art form of film, but somehow, after much consideration, they simply fell into place. Some of these films have been discounted by others, which makes me even happier to present them to you as the best of the year.

1. Suspiria
"Suspiria," like it's 1977 predecessor is centered in a world renowned dance studio, but director Luca Guadagnino has set the film in 70s Berlin, with more focus on Josef Klemperer (Dr. Mandel in the original), a Holocaust survivor who was separated from his wife during WWII. The film begins with him attempting to help one of the studio's dancers, Patricia, played by Chloe Grace Moretz.

Patricia disappears, just in time for a new student, Susie Bannion (played by Dakota Johnson) to arrive. Patricia couldn't handle the "pressures" that being the lead in Artistic Director Madame Blanc (Tilda Swinton)'s dance requires, but Susie is more than up to the task. The Suzy of Argento's film is ambitious, but nothing compared to the Susie of 2018.

I was completely riveted by this film, honed into every frame, every scene and every performance. It is not a horror film, necessarily, but could very well be a companion piece to Aranofsky's "Black Swan," which topped this list back in 2010.

The RAF hijack negotiations, bombings, and other historical backdrops, including that of Klemperer and his long lost wife (played by the original Suzy, Jessica Harper) are the perfect setting for Susie Bannion's rebirth.

There are many horrific moments in the film, but none more so than Olga's (another dancer in the troupe) demise...After a disagreement with Blanc over the disappearance of Patricia, Olga decides to leave the Academy, but before she can leave, she gets trapped in a nearby rehearsal room. As Susie takes her spot and dances the protagonist in Volk for the first time, each of Susie's aggressions strike Olga, breaking her, bending her beyond belief. Susie finishes the dance and Olga is finished. Of course, upon discovery of poor Olga, the witches must hook her, one at a time, to drag her out of the studio. It's all so ghastly, in a beautiful sort of way. Same with the scenes in which Blanc attempts to enter Susie's dreams. Almost every visual elicits awe but with a teeny dose of the giggles before evolving into shock. This is how I love my horror.

Unlike Argento's film, we learn immediately that the Academy is run by witches, and that they need one of the girls to act as a vessel to save their leader, Mother Markos. This early reveal makes sense considering almost everyone going into the Guadagnino's film will more than likely have seen the first "Suspiria" and already know this plot point. By letting the audience in on it from the start Guadagnino has the opportunity for more exploration of these characters - and what a fun cast of characters these witches are. In this version of events, you find yourself siding with Madame Blanc who seems to genuinely care for the girls...even though there is little she can do about Markos's plan.

These following paragraphs contain spoilers!
Eventually, it becomes clear that Susie is the one. Klemperer tries to seek help from Sara, another dancer (the wonderful Mia Goth) to find Patricia and possibly uncover the truth she was telling him after discounting it as delusion. Of course the witches can't have that.

They kidnap Klemperer and tell him that he failed not only his wife, but the women he attempts to help. It is all a bit heartbreaking because - although they are right we know he is trying to make things right by poor Patricia. The fact that Klemperer is played by a woman (Tilda Swinton, in one of three roles!)...well that makes it all the more fantastic.

As we enter the climax of the film, only a director like Guadagnino could pull off the naked cacophony what we are seeing. We watch as poor Klemperer pleads innocence, Sara is disemboweled and Patricia, stands there rotting away...all for Markos to achieve her everlasting life as Mother. And then, Suspiriorum is revealed. On the first viewing I found the use of slow motion and Thom Yorke's "Unmade" a bit kitschy and jarring, wishing for more of the realism we had seen throughout the rest of the film, but who was I kidding. In full context on the second viewing, it is the perfect handling of an insane witchy fantasy. With a little Goblin thrown in for good measure. After all is cleaned up, and there is a lot to clean up, Susie pays one last visit to poor Klemperer and all is forgotten.

2. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
I think the most excited I have been in the theater this year has been the two times I watched the fantastic "Spider-Man: Into the Spider verse." This is the first time an Animated film has made it to my Top 10 since 2009, when two made the list ("The Secret of Kells" and "Princess and the Frog"), and this one came very, very close to being number 1.

The buzz for "Spider-Man: Into the Spider verse" was last minute, sudden and loud. If you still haven't seen this film, I would suggest going into this "Spider-Man" knowing absolutely nothing, because the biggest surprise for me was that the people behind the film were willing to take their safe bet protagonist and give us something completely new and much needed. The voice actors are all phenomenal, the animation is top notch (every frame is stunning), and the story is very, very compelling. I left the theater with my heart racing both times that I saw it. The themes - that we are not alone, a diverse whole being greater than the sum of its parts, and most importantly, that everyone can wear the mask, make this one of the best films of the year.

3. 1985

Writer/director Yen Tan has created a remarkable film with "1985.". It is written, staged and shot in a way that makes you feel as if you are not only watching it on an old black and white box television, but actually inhabiting that space with the characters.

Cory Michael Smith plays Adrian, who has come back to his rural home from NYC for the first time in 3 years, for Christmas. Adrian lives an out life in NYC, but closeted at home. There are so many elements of this story that hit home for me - from the opening of Christmas presents (Dad gives Adrian a Bible....I have at least 3 of these) to veiled conversations about "roommates," to Adrian taking his younger brother to see the very queer "Nightmare 2" at the local theater when they can't get in to see "A Chorus Line."

The film is shot in semi grainy black and white, which gives it a sense of nostalgia, almost like the cassette tapes they listen to in the film. It is absolutely beautiful work by cinematographer Hutch, who also contributed the story of the film.

Each actor shines in the film, and every scene is fantastic. There are too many to highlight, but the most touching moments are between Virginia Madsen, who in a perfect world would have Oscar buzz for this, and Cory Michael Smith.

They have a scene near the end of the film that will rip your heart our with a few, simple loving words said from a Mother who wants to be ready, to a son who won't have time to wait.

4. Burning

The complexities of Lee Chang-dong's "Burning" must be witnessed rather than read. In the film Jong-soo (the fantastic Ah-in Yoo) runs into Hae-mi, a girl who once lived in his neighborhood. After they have a night out she asks him to watch her cat while she's out of town. When she returns, she introduces him to Ben (Steven Yeun), a man she met on the trip. It's clear something is going on between Hae-mi and Ben, but instead of stepping aside, Jong-soo leans into the awkwardness of it all, while Ben, like a cat with a mouse, teases and pokes, stirring Jons-soo's resentment, mistrust and anger. Something happens I won't go into here, but Jong-soo becomes obsessed with Ben and Ben's odd professed hobby. What makes the story all the more tragic, is that Ben's story is very possibly a polar opposite of what he leads Jong-soo to believe about him.

5. Roma
Alfonso Cuaron has made a film that seems of the past. There are long sweeping shots that somehow manage to be vast in their scope, but incredibly intimate in their detail to character and feeling.

"Roma" is a semi-autobiographical tale of Cleo, played by the incredible Yalitza Asparicio, who works as a maid and caretaker for Sra. Sofia, played by the equally fantastic Marina de Tavira, and Sofia's children.

Cleo and Sofia receive little help from the men in their lives, which becomes a catalyst for self discovery of what truly defines motherhood - all set against extreme external obstacles - earthquakes, fires, uprising. It is a photographic masterpiece.

Everything I thought Cleo was, the employer Sofia was going to be, the outcome we were headed toward...Cuaron takes us elsewhere. He doesn't shy away from showing us much that we need to see in terms of class, civil discourse, and being a woman in that world (and in turn this one) - with or without a man/children. But in the end we are left with hope, a family of choice and love.

6. A Star is Born
You know a film is a success when Outrage Twitter (Film Twitter...if you prefer) begins their revisionist history before November. "A Star is Born" is a beautiful film, managing to do something few films are able to achieve. A critical darling that speaks to the masses. "Get Out," "Black Panther," these films did it as well. Writer, director (star, songwriter, etc.) Bradley Cooper, along with screenwriter Eric Roth and cinematographer Matthew Libatique have managed to tell a story as old as time (or at least 1937) and manage to make it fresh. How did they do this? By making Jackson Maine an actual, fully fleshed out person. If you haven't read my friend Amy's piece about the film, and why it speaks to her, check it out:
Addict with a Pen: A personal look at A Star is Born

7. Can You Ever Forgive Me
Director Marielle Heller has directed a a wonderfully constructed film in "Can You Ever Forgive Me," full of so many backdrops - New York City, the Aids crisis, the struggling artist, homelessness, alcoholism, bookstores! All backdrops to serve one of the most delightful (platonic) Queer couples in quite some time, Lee Israel and Jack Hock. As I said in my Best Performances piece, Melissa McCarthy is no stranger to buddy pictures, but with Richard E. Grant as Jack to her Lee, speaking the fantastic words of of screenwriters Nicole Holofcener and Jeff Whitty, not to mention Israel herself, we get one dynamic duo indeed. They are, of course, hilariously dry and full of wit, but it's the heart, albeit an often cold and dark one, at the center that makes these characters and their unlikely friendship work.

8. Beautiful Boy

I had almost no expectations for this film by the time I sat down in the theater to watch it for the first time. When I interviewed Timothee Chalamet last year I came very close to disclosing my own addiction/recovery to him, out of pure excitement for him playing a role so similar to my own life.

"Beautiful Boy," begins with David discovering that Nic has been using, sending him to his first treatment. The film is not necessarily relentless in its storytelling of Nic's multiple relapses, but it is incredibly truthful. The women in Nic and David's lives are pushed to the side as David himself becomes immersed in the grappling of his love/codependency for his son. They - Marua Tierney and Amy Ryan - are both incredible, but this is a story about David and Nic.

The way the film uses time and flashback to enhance the story being told in the present is incredibly effective. This is not repetitive storytelling, this is how addiction plays out in millions of lives every day.

As the film progresses, so does Nic's disease. There are small nuances in both the script and Timothee's performance (the best of the year....The Best Performances of 2018) that portray addiction, recovery, codependency and healing in the most authentic way I have ever seen on film. Steve Carrell's performance worked better for me the second time around. His grief, anger and confusion is wide open, and it is difficult to watch.

9. Final Portrait
"Final Portrait" takes place in 1964, when American writer James Lord (Armie Hammer) is asked to sit for a portrait by artist Alberto Giacometti (Geoffrey Rush), which begins their off-beat friendship and gives Lord an insight into the profundity and chaos of the artistic process.

Watching this film, one feels as if they are truly observing an artist at work. Both Geoffrey Rush and the character he portrays.

The film is a beautifully small character study - vignettes told amongst kaleidoscopes. It is a singular piece of filmmaking and unlike anything else I saw in 2018 written (with the real James Lord) and directed by Stanley Tucci and lensed by Danny Cohen (Oscar nominated for "The King's Speech). "Final Portrait" plays like a lovely piece of theater, a chamber piece of sorts that still manages the intimacy of cinema. Watching Hammer watch Rush drink dual espressos, a glass of wine and boiled eggs is equally as fascinating as Hammer watching Rush burn his art and us watching the whole thing. The film is full of little moments like this. The days continue to add up as Giacometti continues to paint, repaint, drink, cheat, repeat, but the added days simply aren't enough. Until they are.

10. Lean on Pete
Andrew Haigh ("Weekend," "45 Years") has an impeccable ability to show us life, simply unfolding. He has found the perfect partnerships with both Cinematographer Magnus Nordenhof Jønck and actor Charlie Plummer in "Lean on Pete." Plummer plays Charlie, a teen living with his single father, who seeks out work, trying to help out his family. He ends up working for Del (Steve Buscemi) and caring for a horse named Pete. What happens to Charlie, happens quickly and is very hard to watch, but the payoffs of this story are absolutely worth it.

Honorable Mention
Alex Strangelove

Annihilation

Free Solo

BlacKkKlansman

Black Panther