10 Girlhood [15]
An edgy and effective film about girl gang culture in working class France, this owes a lot to Mathieu Kassovitz's
La Haine, but shifts the story to a female perspective. It tells the tale of Vic, a young woman from a Paris council estate who joins a girl gang; contrary to popular belief, it's not all doom and gloom, as the gang gives its members a sense of solidarity and sisterhood. But there's a lot of misery and gritty drama in here as well.
9
Julianne Moore picked up a long overdue Academy Award for her performance as a New York Columbia University lecturer suffering from early onset Alzheimer's. Moore had previously been nominated for
Boogie Nights and The Hours among others, but failed to convince the academy of her skill. Alec Baldwin is also remarkably good as her husband.
8 Amy [15]
Meticulously constructed from hours of interviews and archive footage, this is a gripping and modern biopic. Director Asif Kapadia draws an engrossing story out of gloomy fact, and the early stages in particular – showing Winehouse's gutsy spirit and independent character before both got sucked out of her – are a pleasure to watch.
7 Inherent Vice [15]
Paul Thomas Anderson's best film since
Magnolia sees him firmly back in his native LA with this sprawling tale of a laid back pot addled private investigator played by Joaquin Phoenix, who becomes involved with the criminal underworld while investigating three cases linked together by the disappearance of his ex-girlfriend. Anderson exerts a masterly control over this material, capturing the weirdness of his city with a feel that only a lifelong Angelino can have.
6 Love Is Strange [15]
A sad, quirky little film about love in our autumn years, this tells the story of a two ageing New Yorkers, both teachers, who marry and through circumstance and bad luck, end up having to live apart with relatives, which brings all the expected strain on both their relationship and their individual relationships with their families. Alfred Molina and John Lithgow play the pair and they are totally convincing as a long time couple.
5 Pasolini [15]
A beautiful film about the last hours in the life of Italian filmmaker Pier Paolo Pasolini, and an exploration of the edgy, dangerous Rome of the mid 70's. Willem Dafoe is remarkably good as Pasolini, cutting a dark, leather-clad figure through the streets at night, and it's an insightful and gripping examination of both the director and his town.
4 99 Homes [15]
Andrew Garfield makes a great leading man in this lightning paced thriller about the housing crisis of the modern world. Garfield plays a young labourer who – like many in 2008 – loses his home after inevitably falling behind on the payments on his subprime mortgage. Through weird coincidence, he ends up working for the local realtor who snatched his house, and becomes solvent again by turning into exactly the sort of person who ruined him in the first place. Laura Dern and Michael Shannon are both great as his mother and boss respectively.
3 Mia Madre [15]
Perhaps director Nanni Moretti's finest film; a quintessentially Roman tragicomedy about coping with the death of a parent. As ever with Moretti, there's a certain amount of self-reference in this story of a film director struggling to complete her latest project, juggling the demands of a high maintenance actor and her own sick mother. Moretti himself plays her brother.
2 Samba [15]
Actor comedian Omar Sy follows up his successful appearance in
Untouchable with this gripping thriller about immigration in France. Charlotte Gainsbourg gives one of her best performances as an immigration officer trying to help Sy stay in France as he faces deportation back to West Africa. Grey, cynical but at times hugely funny, this is the best kind of European cinema, at once arty and immensely accessible.
1 Mommy [15]
Young Quebecois director Xavier Dolan, 26 years old and already with five films to his name, here delivers his most startling and accomplished effort to date. Relentlessly gripping throughout its relatively lengthy running time, and appropriately shot in claustrophobic, box like academy aspect ratio, it tells the tragic story of a single mum and her volatile, almost uncontrollable teenage son, who unexpectedly receive a helping hand when a new neighbour wanders into their lives. A devastatingly honest, beautifully made film about the emotional violence of family life, with a killer soundtrack and flawless performances.