Nicolas Winding Refn – Drive
Refn's stylistic
exercise rests completely on his direction—his control over tone,
his ability to guide his actors through what is not exactly the most
verbose of pieces. He rises to the occasion admirably. Other
directors tackling action, whether it's a first-time foray or a
return to the genre should take note.Lars von Trier – Melancholia
Puts his misanthropy and angry fatalism to good use, making an effective, lush and beautiful mood piece that operates as an actorly showcase and displays his unmatched talent with powerful, visual storytelling. Few of his films fail to say "Only Lars could make this." A true auteur working at peak form.
Steve McQueen –
Shame
McQueen's sophomore
effort flirts dangerously between being an actor's exercise and a
truly narrative experience, but his touch is so deft here, drawing
the most out of his actors, his location and his subject matter to
craft an incredibly arresting and haunting piece of cinema.Terrence Malick – The Tree of Life
A tone poem, like
Malick's previous four films. Yes it's problematic (the most
problematic of all of Malick's films to date), but crafted so
lovingly and so specifically that one cannot deny its power. He
tackles the birth and death of the universe, as well as the fecund
period in between with his signature eye for location and ear for
tone. Ethereal, wistful and beautiful through and through.
Lynne Ramsay – We
Need to Talk About Kevin
It's hard to watch We Need to Talk
About Kevin and not imagine The
Lovely Bones that could have
been (Ramsay was originally slated to direct the film before the
project was wrested away from her). Here, she does what few
filmmakers can accomplish—taking a novel, adapting it recognizably
yet still giving it her artistic, personal stamp. Let's just hope we
don't have to wait nine years for the next Ramsay film. (her previous
film was 2002's excellent Morvern Callar)
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