Top Ten Films of 2007 by Rishi Agrawal

by RISHI AGRAWAL

Let’s talk about 1997. Bear with me here. I eventually have a relevant point here. (I think I’ve somewhat earned the right to ramble considering that I have not been writing anything for a while!) That was the year of Titanic along with critical favorite L.A. Confidential and audience favorite Good Will Hunting. I did not make Top Ten lists at that time, but none of these films would have been on my Top Ten films of that year. I thought it would be an interesting experiment to actually go back ten years and look at which films I would have placed on my Top Ten list.

There were many films in 1997 that I loved. I think that films I would have strongly considered for the top few spots on my list included Boogie Nights, Jackie Brown, Deconstructing Harry, Chasing Amy, Eve’s Bayou, Wag the Dog, As Good As It Gets and In the Company of Men. I also would have included somewhere among those eight films The Ice Storm and The Sweet Hereafter. Those latter two films are significant because, if you asked me today what the best films from 1997 were, it would be The Ice Storm and The Sweet Hereafter and then a bunch of other films.

My point is not that making a Top Ten list is a futile endeavor, because I have long since embraced my inner geek and so ranking films is a natural instinct for me. But, my point is that films need time to settle. In ten years, I will probably still like all the films on this list, but which films will I consider among the very best? I have no idea at this point. I even look at last year’s Top Ten and wonder how Pan’s Labyrinth was all the way down at #9 and Brick, a film I still really like, was up at #3? So, you might quibble with some of the individual rankings here, but I would take the list holistically.

I have watched a lot of films this year, probably more than any other year. There were a lot of good films and even a lot of great ones. But here are the ten that stand out most to me.

1. Once

After watching this movie, I bought the soundtrack and listened to it every day for a month. There is no film that touched me on such a visceral level. Sure, there are many films that I appreciate for their artistry and for purely intellectual reasons. But, I love this film. I can’t get over that. Call me sentimental, but this is my favorite film of the year.

2. No Country for Old Men

Okay, I’m not going out on a limb here. A lot of people also love this film, but that’s because it’s just really, really good. One thing that I like when I go to the movies is to see something that I have never seen before, and this movie fits the bill. It is scary and funny at the same time. And while it pulls in a lot of familiar tropes, it also throws us for a few surprises that we never quite know where the film is going. And, most importantly, this is a film that you can think and talk about. This is the essence of why people who love movies tend to come together and one of the reasons you’re probably reading this website. Sure, there might be minor quibbles here and there about what worked and didn’t work, but this is the most stimulating film I’ve seen this year.

3. Atonement

I have heard other critics say that this film is considerably diminished on subsequent viewings. Knowing all the twists and turns in the plot makes the film less enjoyable and the emotional impact of the film is lessened. I’ll admit I’ve only seen the film once, but I’m not sure how that’s possible. Throw together some great acting along with a brilliant recreation of the time period and this is definitely a film that has enough merits to stand on its own. And the tracking shot on Dunkirk beach has been compared to some of the greatest in all of cinema.

4. The Savages

I don’t know if I would call this film overlooked because other people seemed to enjoy it, but I’m surprised this did not get more attention. This film reminds me of Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups. “Hey, you got comedy in my drama about death and dying!” “No, you got drama in my comedy about family dysfunction!” This film is extremely brutal to watch, and yet is so entertaining at the same time.

5. The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

There is one scene in this film, when two men come to install a speakerphone in Jean-Dominique Bauby’s hospital room. They try and engage him, but, of course, he is paralyzed except for one eyelid, though he is fully cognizant of what is going on. One of the men wonders why a paralyzed man would need a speakerphone, and jokes that perhaps he is a really heavy breather. Bauby’s therapist is mortified by this comment and tells the men to have some respect. Meanwhile, we hear Bauby’s inner monologue where he is laughing hysterically at the joke. That is the dichotomy that inhabits this film. It is so tragic and yet so inspiring at the same time.

6. Grindhouse

This is for the entire film, not just Tarantino’s portion. I like this film as a cultural object. There is something about this film that says a lot about the way that we watch films and why we watch them. What I love about the film are all the throwback references to another era of cinema, and the little metafictional techniques sprinkled throughout the film. It is a film that is acutely aware that it is being watched and I love the film with the fake trailers and missing scenes. Sure, Tarantino’s “Death Proof” is a superior film, but Rodriguez’s “Planet Terror,” despite its popcorn excesses, is still a fun ride.

7. There Will Be Blood

I definitely have issues with this film. It is not a perfect film, by any means. If I were to write a review, I would still give it a four-star rating, though. I think I have to look at the film holistically to do this, and what is good about this film is so absolutely amazing that I’m willing to forgive its problems. And I have to admit, that I don’t think this is a film where I fully understand the nuances. But I don’t care. The best parts of this film make it worth including on this list.

8. Ratatouille

Okay, this is a big Hollywood movie aimed at a family crowd, which is not normally the sort of fare that I would be championing. But this is a good movie with interesting characters that even makes surprising insights into the nature of individualism. And I have to admit, that, as an amateur film critic, I get a chill when I listen to Anton Ego (voiced by Peter O’Toole) wax philosophical towards the end of the film about the nature of criticism.

9. 3:10 to Yuma

I don’t know if I have anything intelligent to say about this film, but it is just a good western. Both Russell Crowe and Christian Bale deliver two of my favorite male performances of the year and I especially love Ben Foster in a supporting role. This is just a thrilling romp which has the characterizations to back it up.

10. Knocked Up

Perhaps one of the funniest movies of the year, this movie has a surprising amount of heart. I wouldn’t feel comfortable recommending this movie to everyone, but for the right crowd, I think it hits exactly the right nerve.

Though there are plenty of films that I liked this year for their artistry, it seems appropriate to begin and end this list with films that I just outright enjoyed. I’m going to do something a little different to close this list. Generally, my instinct would be to list my “near misses” or films that just fell outside of my Top Ten. Instead, I want to mention five films as honorable mentions because they are not necessarily films that received a lot of critical attention this year. If I ranked films beyond the Top Ten, these probably would not be my 11th through 15th films of the year, but enough critics have hailed the praises of other films that I really liked that I don’t feel the need to point out what great films they were. So here are my five overlooked films from this year (in no particular order): This Is England, Bridge to Terabithia, The Namesake, Offside and The Lookout.