2015 has been a fascinating year for film. We’ve seen three of the highest grossing opening weekends of all time and the release of a fair share of sequels and reboots, but the artistry behind said “blockbusters” has ratcheted up beyond a simple cash-grab (although yes, there are still plenty of those too). Films likeCreedandMad Max: Fury Roadprove that you’re able to reboot an existing property while still treating the film as a unique piece of art, and movies likeMission: Impossible – Rogue Nationoffer compelling twists to the sequel formula, maintaining a freshness that refuses to devalue the feature film to the equivalent of an episode in a long-running TV series. And that’s to say nothing of the many tremendous comedies, dramas, and independent films that hit theaters over the past 12 months. In short, it’s been a great year to be a fan of movies.
Which made putting together a Top 10 list kinda difficult. This was maybe the most I’ve ever tinkered with a year-end list, swapping this film for that, changing my mind, moving this film up or down the list a few notches—as I looked back over the landscape of 2015, indecisiveness took hold. But don’t worry you guys, I got it together. With this herculean task in front of me, I rolled my sleeves up and committed to a Top 10 list that I am quite happy with, and one that I’m sure I’ll want to tinker with even further tomorrow. I loved a lot of movies this year, and I could’ve easily expanded this to a Top 20 or a Top 25, but as is the nature of the game, this list caps off at 10. So without further ado, I present to you my Top 10 films of 2015.
10. Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation
TheMission: Impossibleseries stands out from other franchises in that it essentially gives filmmakers carte blanche for each installment, allowing them to craft the kind ofMission: Impossiblemovietheywould like to see. It’s proven successful more often than not, and it hits its apex with this year’sMission: Impossible – Rogue Nation, co-written and directed byChristopher McQuarrie. He imbues the spy thriller with aCasablancaflavor to delightful results—next toMad Max: Fury Road, this was the most fun I had in a theater all year—and it’s the refreshing blockbuster thatdoesn’tend in a storm of explosions, destruction, or the world on the brink of being destroyed. It’s complex, exciting, and oftentimes funny, butRogue Nation’s greatest asset isRebecca Ferguson, whose Ilsa Faust is one of the most interesting action heroines to come our way in a long, long time.
9. Love & Mercy
This year saw not one but two refreshingly unique twists on the biopic formula, and theBrian WilsondramaLove & Mercycertainly stands as one of the most interesting ways to chronicle someone’s life. The creation ofPet Sounds—one of the greatest albums ever made—and the onset of Wilson’s mental health issues could have made for a compelling film all its own, but in order to capture the high and low points of Brian Wilson’s life simultaneously,Bill Pohlad’s impressive directorial debut switches back and forth between thePet Sounds-era Wilson, played with sensitivity and grace byPaul Dano, and an abused, sheltered early 1990s Brian Wilson, withJohn Cusackdoing his best work in years as the latter. It’s a dichotomy that is incredibly tricky to pull off, but Pohlad does so wonderfully, resulting in a film that is just as much a sobering, honest chronicle of mental illness as it is the story of Brian Wilson.
8. Steve Jobs
Steve Jobswas my most anticipated film of 2015. I could maybe possibly reasonably be referred to as an “Aaron SorkinSuperfan”;The West Wingis my favorite TV series of all time, I thinkThe Social Networkis a masterpiece, and yes, I watched all ofThe Newsroom. So while I wasn’t exactly “in the bag” forSteve Jobs, I was certainly looking forward to the filmvery intensely. Luckily, the movie delivered. WithJobs, Sorkin has crafted the anti-biopic—the encapsulation of a man’s life without actually showing the highlights of his life; a film that treats the man as a character in a fictional piece of work, not a to-the-nose accurate portrayal of a real-life human being. Through each real-time act ofSteve Jobs, we learn a little more about the person behind the iEverything, but the character of Steve Jobs blossoms organically out of other seemingly trivial matters at hand, such as trying to get a computer to say “Hello.”
The heart ofSteve Jobsis the Apple innovator’s relationship with his daughter, andMichael Fassbendershines with one of the best performances of the year as he effortlessly spews Sorkin’s rat-a-tat dialogue, juggling a multitude of topics at once—sometimes all in the same sentence.Danny Boyledirects with a deferential attitude towards Sorkin’s script while staging the entire film almost like a play, which makes for a viewing experience that is wholly unique and wonderfully thrilling.
7. The Big Short
FilmmakerAdam McKaywas born to makeThe Big Short. While one might not immediately equate the director behindAnchormanandStep Brothersas the ideal choice to helm a complex drama about the 2008 financial collapse, the truth is McKay has been lacing his outrageous comedies with subversive material for years—now he’s just pulling that up to the surface. The result is an incisive, sometimes hilarious, always heartbreaking chronicle of a few outsiders who saw the housing bubble coming years in advance. The entire cast delivers impressively complicated performances, but the real standout isSteve Carell, who proves thatFoxcatcherwas no fluke—he is just as skilled at drama as he is at comedy.
McKay’s vision is nothing short of brilliant, as he takes a topic that is intrinsically difficult to understand and literally lays it out for the audience, breaking the fourth wall with explanations viaMargot Robbiein a bubble bath orSelena Gomezplaying blackjack. The entire film drips with vigor and electricity, never turning its subjects into mustache-twirling villains but also never losing sight of the impact—and repetitive nature—of these decisions that nearly collapsed the entire world economy.The Big Shortis essential viewing.
6. Brooklyn
I’m not sure I’ve had a stronger emotional reaction to a film all year than withBrooklyn, which I actually caught for the very first time all the way back at Sundance in January. DirectorJohn Crowley’s delicate immigrant tale stuck with me all this time, and when I caught the movie again upon release this fall, the flood of tears opened up anew.
What’s special aboutBrooklynis it’s never manipulative. There are no “And here’s where I turn the audience into a puddle” moments—the emotions are an organic reaction to an impeccably told story, fully realized characters, and stellar performances—especially from starSaoirse Ronanand a terrificEmory Cohen.Nick Hornby’s exceptionally sweet and funny script serves as the bedrock off of which this 1950s-set drama is built , and from the production design to the score to the cinematography, every single aspect of this film is absolutely top notch, resulting in a complete (and completely heart-wrenching) story of love, family, and making a new life in a new world.
5. Ex Machina
Like most people, I’d been familiar with the work ofAlex Garlandas a screenwriter on films likeNever Let Me Go,28 Days Later, andSunshine, but withEx Machinathe guy delivers one of the best directorial debuts in recent memory. Equal parts morality play and brainy sci-fi,Ex Machinais one of the most deeply engrossing films of the year, made all the more impressive by the fact that it features only four characters over the course of its runtime. Each scene drips with a mix of anticipation and dread asDomhnall Gleeson’s awshucks programmer Caleb wins a one-week visit to the secluded home of billionaire CEO Nathan (Oscar Isaac), whose true desire is to use Caleb as a Turing Test for his A.I. robot Ava (Alicia Vikander).
Gleeson, Isaac, and Vikander are all phenomenal, and what I’ve found on subsequent viewings is that you can choose to watch the film from different points of view, all of which could feasibly be seen as valid, and that it in turn changes how you perceive the events to unfold. Ultimately, though, Garland has crafted a film that says as much about how men treat women as it does the nature of what it means to be “human”. Caleb and Nathan each approach Avaverydifferently, but both attitudes underestimate her potential. The movie culminates in a finale that is devastating, thrilling, and triumphant all at once.
When I first sawCarol, I was moved by its beauty and liked the film quite a bit. However, in the days and weeks that ensued, something aboutTodd Haynes’ gorgeous love story refused to leave me. I couldn’t stop thinking about the defiant elegance ofCate Blanchett’s performance, orEdward Lachman’s lush cinematography, orCarter Burwell’s haunting, dreamlike score. Indeed, my fondness forCarolonly grew more intense as time worn on, and it’s a testament to Haynes’ filmmaking that the picture leaves such a lasting impact.
There are two very different waysCarolcould have gone, and we are darn lucky to have had a filmmaker like Haynes at the helm of the picture, giving us the confident, nuanced version of this story of love between two women at very different stages of their lives: Blanchett’s Carol an unhappily married woman with years of experience behind her, andRooney Mara’s Therese as a young woman only just coming to terms with her sexuality. Mara’s measured performance is positively terrific as she conveys the wild mix of emotions Therese experiences through her relationship with Carol, and Blanchett is transcendent in a performance that toes the line between doting and predatory. And that final shot? That, folks, is what we call a mic drop.
In an era that is dominated by the sequel/reboot/rebootquel, 70-year-old filmmakerGeorge Millercomes in and shows everyone how it’s done. The versatile director turns what could have easily been a cash-grabby franchise redo into an out-and-out masterpiece of action filmmaking.Mad Max: Fury Roadis an untamed beast, a wild animal onto which you latch and never look back. This thing moves with the speed and explosiveness of an ambitious directorial debut or an experimental art film, which makes the fact that it is wholly the vision of the filmmaker responsible for the first movie in the franchise all the more impressive.
WhileFury Roadwould still be an incredible film had it simply relied on the action to propel the story forward, what truly elevates the movie to iconic status is its willingness to shake up the action film format from a character perspective, swapping traditional gender roles and commenting on where men and women stand in society as a whole. The indication is that men turned the world into the wasteland that it is, andTom Hardyis more than game to take his titular character and serve as thesupportin the story, aiding in the escape and ultimate reclamation of the Citadel byCharlize Theron’s Furiosa and the wives, a group of characters who are refreshingly individualized. That it made some people uncomfortable means Miller did something right, and that it was pulled off within a blockbuster-budget franchise reboot makes it a stroke of genius. All hail George Miller.
2. Spotlight
Spotlightis a deceptively straightforward film. At first glance, the filmmaking itself may seem unremarkable. But in truth, co-writer/directorTom McCarthy’s spectacular grasp of pacing, structure, and performance throughout is the key to what makesSpotlightso incredible. It’s a process-driven movie, a film about good people doing a good thing, and in a filmgoing world full of shiny blockbusters and oh-so-brooding character dramas,Spotlightis a breath of fresh air. The movie is at once a love letter to journalism and a love letter to people who do their jobs well, and it’s all the more impressive given McCarthy’s deft touch in dealing with what in less measured hands could have been salacious and exploitative material.
McCarthy understands the delicate nature of the subject at hand—the mass coverup of systemic sexual abuse in the Catholic Church—and treats it respectably without gloating or basking in holier-than-thou hindsight. It’s truly one of the best-directed films of the year, and it’s a testament to McCarthy’s vision that there’s not one bad performance in the entire film—it’s an embarrassment of riches when it comes to this true ensemble, with every player on the team hitting a home run. The film earns every single emotional beat and its impact lands hard—the word “impeccable” doesn’t come close to doing this film justice. Put simply,Spotlightis one of 2015’s finest.
1. Sicario
As a big fan of filmmakerDenis Villeneuve’s twisted psychological thrillerEnemybut less so of his studio debutPrisoners, I wasn’t sure what to expect fromSicario—aside from sure-to-be-spectacular cinematography from DPRoger Deakins, of course. However, ever since I first came out of seeing the film in September, I’ve been unable to dislodge it from my brain. It’s an immensely haunting, unsettling film with thematic resonance for days, but even taken solely at surface value it’s a spectacularly crafted thriller. Villeneuve plays his audience like a fiddle, alternatively stretching and relaxing his rubber band of tension throughout the film, pushing the intensity to its breaking point multiple times but never allowing the audience a reprieve from the edge-of-your-seat tautness.
Deakins’ cinematography is ghastly and cold,Jóhann Jóhannsson’s score is deeply unnerving and chilling,Emily Blunt,Benicio Del Toro, andJosh Brolin’s performances are delightfully complicated, and Villeneuve’s control of tension is masterful. But what makesSicariotruly special is its unflinching devotion to theme. It’s a sobering chronicle of America’s war on the Mexican drug cartels, an upsetting account of the U.S.’s foreign policy when it comes to combating violence with violence, and an exploration of traditional gender roles and casual misogyny all rolled into one. You can take or leave any of these metaphors without losing the pitch perfect effectiveness of the film itself, and that’s what makes it such a marvel. Immensely impactful, tremendously affecting, and wholly unforgettable,Sicariois my favorite film of 2015.
Honorable Mentions (in alphabetical order):45 Years,Amy,Beasts of NoNation,Bridge of Spies,Cartel Land,The End of the Tour,The Hateful Eight
For more of Collider’s Best of 2015 content, peruse the links below:
