Film Feature: The 10 Best Films of 2015, By Patrick McDonald

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5. “45 Years”

45 Years
Photo credit: Sundance Selects

Each of the lead actors in “45 Years” have been performing for that long, and longer. Charlotte Rampling and Tom Courtenay portray a couple on the cusp of their 45th anniversary, when a revealed secret – previously buried – unravels their careful celebration. These are two ultra-actor players who make precisely the right decisions in bringing the delicate situation to life. The film was adapted from a short story and directed by Andrew Haigh, who paces the narrative with an eye toward maximum emotion and empathy. It is also a lesson in honesty within coupling, that the cover-up of a secret can be more damaging than the secret itself. This is a classic character-based film.

HIGHLIGHT: Charlotte Rampling makes a gesture towards the end that is achingly heart breaking.

NOTE: “45 Years” will open in most markets next month.

4. “Carol”

Carol
Photo credit: The Weinstein Company

This is less melodramatic than the previous 1950s incarnation from director Todd Haynes (“Far From Heaven”), but it was no less sumptuous. The film is an adaptation of a notorious 1950s novel (Patricia Highsmith’s “The Price of Salt,”), and involves two women, the titular Carol (Cate Blanchett) and shopgirl Therese (Rooney Mara). They become intertwined in a lesbian affair, but the story is much more than that, because the deep emotional well of Carol influences the actions and reactions of all her other fellow travelers, including her estranged husband Harge (portrayed with in-depth feeling by Kyle Chandler). The centerpiece of this wondrous human study is the radiant Cate Blanchett, who is definitely at the peak of her marvelous powers as an actor. I couldn’t take my eyes off this film, and I never wanted to.

HIGHLIGHT: The final tracking shot as Carol looks up.

Click here for an interview with director Todd Haynes of “Carol.”

3. “Ex Machina”

Ex Machina
Photo credit: A24

What will happen when our soulless technology somehow gains a soul? This has been explored many times in science fiction, both literarily and cinematically, but rarely has it been given the type of food-for-thought as “Ex Machina.” The story pits a coder nerd (Dohmnall Gleeson) with a megalomaniacal Steve Jobs-like inventor (Oscar Isaac) in a game of seduction, using sentient female robots. It may be set on the edge of an evolution, when machines will gain the knowledge of their own being. Writer/director Alex Garland thoughtfully and profoundly tackles the weight of the issue, and makes a case for human blundering when it comes to the potential Frankenstein monsters they create. Alicia Vikander, who has shaped characters in “The Danish Girl” and “Testament of Youth” in this film year, scores huge as the robot Ava, who seeks the understanding.

HIGHLIGHT: Ava’s wonder of the outside world, and her place in it.

Click here for the full review of “Ex Machina.”
Click here for an interview with writer/director Alex Garland of “Ex Machina.”

2. “Love & Mercy”

Love & Mercy
Photo credit: Roadside Attractions

Trying to isolate what makes an artist tick can be elusive as grabbing sunshine. Brian Wilson of The Beach Boys was as elusive as they come, and suffered from a mental condition that both fueled and destroyed his creativity. This circumstance is intensely brought to light in the momentous biography film “Love & Mercy.” Wilson is portrayed in two phases of his life – during the creation of The Beach Boy masterpiece album “Pet Sounds” (portrayed by Paul Dano) and later in life, while struggling with a psychologist caregiver and his misdiagnosis (crucially brought to bear by John Cusack). Both performances of Brian are far-reaching and brilliant, and created a merciful perception of the pop star’s trials. Done with the cooperation of Wilson, it explored vistas that other music biographies refuse to contemplate, and it may actually help others to deal with their struggles as well.

HIGHLIGHT: “Wouldn’t it Be Nice”

Click here for the full review of “Love & Mercy.”
Click here for an interview with John Cusack of “Love & Mercy,” and here for an interview with the music icon Brian Wilson.

Number One. “Room”

Room
Photo credit: A24

The subtlety of “Room” lies not in its sensational aspects – a woman is captured and kept inside a closet-like shed for seven years, while raising a son birthed through her captor – but in the mechanics of life in and out of the confinement. Brie Larson has a breakthrough performance as the woman, and Jacob Tremblay is virtually truthful as the child – the guidance from director Lenny Abrahamson must have struck a target in Tremblay’s young psyche. But the true strength of the film lies within its symbolism about life in general, how we’re all confined to a series of “rooms” in our own consequence. The real world is unreal, and truth of life is all relative to its experience. There is never anything expected in this film, especially in the post-room world. We think we will be free if we can just get to the next room, and then the next, and the next…

HIGHLIGHT: The TV interview on a perky, “Dateline NBC”-type show, and how phony it all is.

CLICK HERE for the 10 of 2015’s Worst Films by Patrick McDonald and Spike Walters of HollywoodChicago.com.

By PATRICK McDONALD Writer, Editorial Coordinator HollywoodChicago.com pat@hollywoodchicago.com