Top Five Films of 2013

Unlike previous years, I'm afraid (or should that be glad) that there won't be a “Worst Five” films of 2013, simply because, I haven't seen that many bad ones! This is partly due to my absence over the summer when I was gallivanting around the world and partly due to the fact that 2013 has been a stunning year for cinema. Testament to this are the films which didn't make it into my list: Les Misérables, Star Trek: Into Darkness, Saving Mr Banks and The Hunger Games: Catching Fire. It has been difficult to pick my Top Five but I have done it. Disagreements on the back of a postcard please...

5) Philomena

“Fantastic”, “affecting”, “poignant” and “potent” were some of the words I used to describe Philomena, the true story of Irish seventy-something Philomena Lee (Judi Dench) who, with the help of journalist Martin Sixsmith (Coogan), sets out to find her child who was put up for adoption by Catholic nuns in 1950's Ireland. The film balances wit with emotion and has two superb performances from Dench and Coogan (who is at his very best in this film). Some suggested that the film was an attack on the Catholic church: something which is patently untrue. But Philomena wasn't reluctant to address hard-hitting issues. A gem of a film which will pull at the heart strings.

 

4) Prisoners

If a film can be judged on levels of tension, then Prisoners is a sure-fire hit. Starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Hugh Jackman, Prisoners starts out with a fairly standard kidnap narrative but soon becomes dark, suffocating and very, very intense. Despite its 153 minute running time, the level of tension is sustained throughout and Gyllenhaal and Jackman give very assured performances. A word of warning though: you might just need to watch something with fluffy bunnies in it after seeing Prisoners.

3) The Place Beyond the Pines

In many ways, this film would make an interesting double-bill with Prisoners. Hollywood heartthrob Ryan Gosling plays a bike stunt rider who is constantly moving from one town to the next. He discovers he is father to a son and is determined to provide for both the child and its mother, Romina (Eva Mendes). The way in which he does this has fateful and far-reaching consequences for both him, his son and for Avery, an ambitious cop played by Bradley Cooper. Directed by Derek Cianfrance, The Place Beyond the Pines is epic, in all meanings of the word. Its frenetic changes in tone may jar with some viewers and its ending is a little too neat, but it is a film which speaks with dramatic lyricism and uninhibited ambition. It is unnerving, emotive and reassuringly human: all things which you want from a trip to the cinema.

2) Zero Dark Thirty

Creating more controversy than Miley Cyrus popping down to the local supermarket, Zero Dark Thirty surprised many in taking subject matter which we all thought we knew (the killing of Osama Bin Laden) and making it exciting and unsettling in equal measure. Jessica Chastain, as a CIA operative determined to track down Bin Laden, is fantastic and Katherine Bigelow's direction mixes espionage, action and drama together to create an intelligent film about intelligence gathering. Fantastic.

1) Gravity

And here it is: the Number One film of the year is Gravity – the only film that I think has to be seen in 3D. Its B-movie feel, short running time and immersive visual effects create a film which will have you gripping the edge of the seat from the very beginning. Sandra Bullock is at the top of her game and, despite the high-tech, wondrous special effects (which are ground-breaking), Gravity feels like a very personal, intimate film which will mean different things to each individual. It will make you fall in love with cinema all over again. 

Happy New Year from Clapperboard Film Reviews!