Vicky Cristina Barcelona, a solid choice at #8. I enjoyed the latest offering from Woody Allen as well, but not as much as Hans. Woody’s best film since 2005′s Match Point (a vastly superior film), VCB (as I affectionately call it) is making the rounds and on numerous top 10 lists, and of all the wonderful actors and actresses on display, Penelope Cruz is getting all the attention. Like a good sheep (baa), and finally, no longer a Woody Allen virgin (shocking!), Hans followed suit. For me though, the real scene stealer was relative new comer Rebecca Hall, in a star making performance.
As for Revolutionary Road, well, I liked that much better when it was called American Beauty. Watch it for the performances, but as for comparing the two, I begrudgingly agree with your choice. Now, my turn…
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Ne Le Dis A Personne (Tell No One)
I am a huge fan of foreign cinema. However, 2008 was a bit of a disappointment for me and my love of non-english films. Universally acclaimed films like Let The Right One In and Gomorrah left very bitter tastes in my mouth, and my faith in critics’ choices in the cinema of Europe wavering. However, there was one stand out European film for me, and that was Ne Le Dis A Personne. A French thriller based on an American novel, this little spur of the moment “I’m bored, let’s go to the arthouse theatre and see what’s playing” turned out to be one of my favorite films of the year.
8 years after the brutal murder of his beautiful and loving wife, Dr. Alex Beck (played skillfully by Francois Cluzet) receives an email from (guess who!) his wife. This email sets off a long chain of events that lead the usually docile pediatrician on a path to be reunited with his love (if she is in fact alive), which includes a thrilling run from the police through traffic, and fights with gang members, through a web of lies and conspiracies, with murder, adultery, and general tomfoolery thrown in for good measure.
Run, French boy, run
While an imperfect film (especially having to resort to the two men in a room talking about what happened for a finale), I thoroughly enjoyed the ride. Cluzet makes a great protagonist that we can all sympathize with; the questions and self doubt surrounding his predicamant can easily be read on his face in his, at times, subdued and subtle performance. However, when the time for action comes, Cluzet shows that he can hang with the big boys. The rest of the cast merits mention as well, especially the always wonderful Kristin Scott Thomas as his sister’s lover. Guillaume Canet is a young director on the rise, and I will make sure to look out for his next film.
[...] the watered-down and more socially acceptable “thriller” genre – see Sulsnobby’s #8 of 2008 pick, Tell No One), but the craft of building and balancing suspense with moments of levity and [...]