Best Overlooked Film Revisited: 2007
By Tom Houseman
March 11, 2010
BoxOfficeProphets.com
The same cannot be said about many of the best films of 2007, which is why I started writing this series of articles. I think that having an award for great films that got ignored by most audiences is a great idea, but by awarding films that most of the readers of this site have already seen, BOP is doing the Calvin Award for Best Overlooked Film a disservice. The 2008 award was actually pretty solid, mentioning six films that meet my tough criteria (maximum domestic box office of $5 million and no Academy Awards except for Best Documentary or Best Foreign Film), and even mentioned on their list Quiet City, a film that barely broke $15,000. Way to go, BOP staff.
So I'm not going to criticize the BOP staff for their choices or demonize them (although word on the street is that David Mumpower is an actual demon). Instead, I'm just going to explain what I would have voted for at the 2008 Calvin Awards and explain why I'm right and everybody else is wrong for not having seen these wonderful films. Four of these movies would be on my Best Picture Oscar ballot if the Academy ever thought to send me one, and all of them are great.
Number ten on my list is a film that the BOP staff also thought worth recognizing: Kasi Lemmons' delightful and moving Talk to Me. A fairly standard biopic, it tells the story of Petey Greene, a radio DJ who became an activist in the 1960s and fought to support the civil rights movement. Talk to Me is so charming and funny, and it has a message without ever being didactic. Of course, much of the credit has to go to the superb Don Cheadle, who gives what might be his best performance in a role that really lets him show his range. Cheadle is over the top and outrageous without ever being unbelievable, and the moments where we see his weakness and humanity are so powerful. Chiwetel Ejiofor superbly plays the straight man to Cheadle's crazy character, and the two actors have excellent chemistry onscreen.
Things get much less conventional at number nine, with one of the most unique biopics ever made, I'm Not There. Considering that Todd Haynes' first film was a biopic of Karen Carpenter with every character played by Barbie and Ken dolls, nobody would expect his exploration of the life of Bob Dylan to be a conventional film ala Ray and Walk the Line. Six actors play Bob Dylan, representing different aspects of his life and personality, and Haynes did a fantastic job of showing the complexities of the public's perception of Dylan and how that affected his life and his legacy. Cate Blanchett was the scene stealer, giving the best performance of her career, and great performances by Heath Ledger, Marcus Carl Fraklin and Ben Whishaw give this film an incredible amount of depth and power.
At number eight is another true story told in a unique way, Marjane Satrapi's Persepolis. This outstanding animated film is based on Satrapi's two-part graphic memoir, telling the story of her childhood in Iran during the Islamic revolution. Satrapi's story is deeply moving, and the simple animated style that the film borrows from the memoir gives the film added depth and dimension. Satrapi is not afraid to show the humor in both the events that were going on around her and her own youthful interpretations of them, which makes it a lot of fun to watch. But she also does not pull any punches in depicting the brutal conditions that she and her parents had to overcome.
Remember that amazing Russian fantasy I told you about last week and how you absolutely have to see it because it will blow your mind? Did you see it? Wasn't it amazing? Well, now it's time to see the sequel. Perhaps the only reason why I didn't love Timur Bekmambetov's Day Watch as much as Night Watch is because I knew what to expect, but that doesn't change the fact that the number seven film on this list will blow your mind. Day Watch picks up where Night Watch ended, with the world in turmoil and Konstantin having to do something to save it. The biggest hit in the history of post-communist Russia, it is a crime that this film got ignored by American audiences. I don't want to give anything away for people who haven't seen the first film, but I will just say that Avatar looks like a piece of garbage compared to Day Watch.
Noah Baumbach's follow-up to The Squid and the Whale is the number six film on my list, as I may be the only person in the world who preferred Baumbach's Margot at the Wedding to its predecessor. Nicole Kidman stars as Margot, a successful writer with an extremely dysfunctional relationship with her sister, whose wedding she is at. An incredibly complex exploration of family dynamics, Margot is the kind of movie I love: really smart people being horribly mean to each other. Kidman gives a shockingly unglamorous performance, and her battles with Jennifer Jason Leigh put what you saw in 300 to shame. Jack Black is also fantastic as the groom, a bitter failed musician. This kind of movie isn't for everyone, but if you're a Baumbach fan then you will love this movie.
I have to give credit to 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days, not just because it is a great movie, but because watching it was one of the most brutal experiences of my life. This fairly straightforward, understated film is set in Romania when it was still under Communist rule, and tells the story of a young woman helping her friend obtain an illegal abortion. Composed of mostly long shots, with no music and very little action, writer/director Cristian Mungiu does a superb job of torturing by building the tension to an almost unbearable level. Anamaria Marinca gives a superb performance, never showing what she is feeling but always making her emotional struggle clear. The 2007 Palm D'Or winner is an example of masterful filmmaking that you rarely see in America.
Significantly lightening things up at number four is Rocket Science, one of the sweetest, funniest, most charming movies I have ever seen. When people tell me that they loved Juno, I tell them that they're wrong, they just haven't seen Rocket Science. Jeffrey Blitz's debut narrative feature tells the story of Hal Heffner, a high school student with a bad stutter who joins his school's debate team to impress Ginny, the girl he is in love with. This delightful film gives an honest look at how high school students think, act and speak (honest to blog it does), and features a number of fantastic performances and some hilarious dialogue. Reece Thompson steals the show as the nerdy Hal, but it's Anna Kendrick who shows her potential as Ginny, the supremely confident debate team captain.
Shane Meadows' powerful film, This is England, is number three on my list. Based on his childhood, Meadows' film is about a young boy named Shaun who finds acceptance among a group of skinheads. The group gets their kicks drinking, partying and causing mayhem around town, but when the group's former leader, Combo, gets out of prison, his anger and racist ideas change things. This is England deals honestly with the realities of working class England in the 1980s, showing the bitterness and violence that arose out of the skinhead movement. It is also an exploration of families, a commentary on modern ideas of masculinity, and a beautiful story about a lonely child just looking for love. Stephen Graham is outstanding as Combo, never playing the role as a caricature and always finding the humanity in his anger.
The NC-17 rating rears its ugly head again at number two, as these scarlet letters destroyed any chance Ang Lee's Lust, Caution might have had at getting nationwide attention. Ang Lee's historical epic, set in Shanghai during World War II, is a fascinating story of love, sex, trust and betrayal. Wei Tang stars as Wong Chia Chi, an actress who is recruited by a terrorist organization to seduce Mr. Yee, a high-ranking Chinese government official who has collaborated closely with the Japanese. Wong is supposed to earn Yee's trust so that the group can assassinate, but as she gets close to Yee her job becomes more complicated. Lust, Caution might be Lee's best film, beautifully shot, superbly written, and featuring Tony Leung in the single best performance of the year as the brutal but strangely sympathetic Mr. Yee.
And what was the best overlooked film of 2007? Better question: what was the best film of 2007? I can answer both of those with one word: Sunshine. Danny Boyle's masterpiece is a beautiful science-fiction film set aboard a spaceship traveling towards the sun. Cillian Murphy stars as Capa, a member of the ship's crew; they have the task of generating a supernova to reignite the sun and save earth. But Sunshine is not your average sci-fi flick; there are no laser guns and very few epic action sequences. The film is actually a very quiet, meditative experience, a story about what it means to be human, basically the opposite of what Armageddon was. A number of great actors give outstanding performances, especially Chris Evans, whom I have always thought of as being an underrated talent. Evans' volatile personality creates tension aboard the ship, and that tension builds throughout the film until it explodes during an incredible final sequence. Sunshine is a modern sci-fi classic and deserves to be recognized as the best film of 2007 and one of the best films of the decade.
1) Sunshine
2) Lust, Caution
3) This is England
4) Rocket Science
5) 4 Months, 3 Weeks, and 2 Days
6) Margot at the Wedding
7) Day Watch
8) Persepolis
9) I'm Not There
10) Talk to Me