Johnny Simmons

Good God, this is late...even for me. In March, while recapping 2009 I listed my favourite beginnings, my favourite scenes and was supposed to list my favourite endings...well never too late - here they are.
                    
The last few minutes of a film can completely change our feelings of it. A fair film can be changed by a surprise ending and a good film can be destroyed by a poor one. Surprise endings have a better chance to be remembered, but sometimes an ending can be equally satisfying without being a shock. In 2008 there was an embarrassment of richest when it came to endings. There were the subtly surprising like Revolutionary Road and Burn After Reading. Both took secondary characters and made them the focal point for arresting and startling conclusions. There were the tense like Doubt and even In Bruges to an extent. As much as I am reiticent about Streep’s work in the former, she excels in the end. And In Bruges endings is not the copout many claim it to be. There were important closing shots of our protagonists like in The Wrestler and Changeling but my favourite was the sweetness that was The Curious Case of Benjamin Button – episodic, I know, but a lovely ending.

              

Now, on to 2009…Here are the ten closings that were memorable, the top 5 in particular made their films all the better for it. Ummm, spoilers ahead. Obviously. (Couldn't find pictures for the exact scenes in all, apologies), click on the links for my reviews.

Runners Up: A Single Man, Three Blind Mice, Bright Star, Avatar, The Road

I liked 500 Days of Summer, even if I was a bit disappointed. Nevertheless, the ending with all the pithiness that I love was just the right amount of tongue-in-cheek. After Tom finally reaches the 500th day of Summer he meets a girl at a job interview. She doesn’t seem interested, but eventually she acquiesces. Her name? Autumn.You have to love that sort of self awareness in comedies...

       

I know some weren’t too fond of Brothers, but I was. Tobey MaGuire did make my list of favourite actors and though his breakdown scenes are what many remember it is this confession to Portman that sticks with me (not pictured above). Sheridan knows when to tone it down, and it’s the moment we’ve been waiting for. As Sam tells Grace about his role in the death of his friends and as the tears roll down his eyes while U2’s 'Winter' plays in the background, I couldn’t help but be impressed.

      

As Rockwell launches himself to earth amidst the voices of news reporters speaking of his appearance on earth I realised that Duncan Jones had done something brilliant with Moon. It wasn’t my favourite film of the year or anything but it sure was a formidable debut and the way that a clichéd theme like cloning could seem so original impressed me.

          

I’m mixed about the ending of Inglourious Basterds. On one hand it lends an irreverence to the piece that’s notably good, but for some reason it doesn’t make my praise turn into anything particularly voluble – it’s probably the school boyish insolence of that final line. Still, as Landa is outmanoeuvred by the unassuming (or at least boorish) Basterds a sense of significance is felt. I won’t say it’s iconic, but it sure is memorable.

           

Drag Me To Hell is one of the better films of its genre and that depends – to a large extent – on the brilliance of Alison Lohman. As Justin Long takes out that envelope I already get that foreboding sense – though I know I can’t stop what’s coming. It’s a brilliant script decision and it’s so perfectly executed. What came before was good, but it’s the ending of this film that makes it worth it.

                     

The Fantastic Mr. Fox is so much fun, it should be illegal. When Fox carries his family, and best friend, up to the supermarket he’s found there’s a sense of ease that I love. Sure, George Clooney is voicing him, but on rare occasion he doesn’t annoy me – and this is one of them. With the imminent baby and the ensuing speech it only gets better, but what really cinches the brilliance is when the camera pans out and we see the owner of the supermarket that will soon be raided -  Pure brilliance.

               

In some ways Duplicity depended on having this twisty ending. Gilroy's script (though excellent) sometimes tried to do too much, so the audience expected something ludicrous to be the end-all – and it was. The solution for the mystery was satisfying and irreverent all at once. And our protagonists do end up together, although Julia’s Claire isn’t too thrilled at the prospect.

             

Unlike the others the genius in In The Loop’s ending comes form the incongruity of it all, as the credits roll  (not pictured above) and we see the fate of some of our characters. We see Toby leaving the office, Simon after being demoted; and I love Kennedy’s lines to the young (and voracious) up and coming politician as they sit and play Facebook chess.

            

When people say that Rob Marshall’s unoriginality in Nine was obvious I often wonder if they saw the ending. Sure, he wasn’t as inventive as he was in Chicago but as the melody from "Be Italian" and "Folies Bergeres" play and as I watch Guido’s imaginary world merge with his reality it’s easy to see where Marshall was heading, and I can’t help but respect the guy. Seeing Saraghina putting on her makeup next to a priest and watching Claudia and Stephanie having a conversation all combine and we watch him he actually sit down to make the movie we’ve just seen. It’s an ingenious idea and Marshall doesn’t always succeed, but it works here and concocts a truly memorable ending.

             

Bright Star wasn’t the only period piece unfairly ignored last season; at least it got an Oscar nomination. Pfeiffer’s face in the mirror has become an important shot but what makes Chéri work so brilliantly is the cold narration of Stephen Frears as he tells us of the suicide of the eponymous Chéri It throws the audience, but it’s not just for show. It’s an excellent bit of filmmaking and my favourite ending of the year.

                    

Films on war have been a norm every year – from historical All Quiet on the Western Front, to The Deer Hunter to Saving Private Ryan. This year was a bit of different spin, we had films on war but instead of the highlights being the Vietnam War or World War II we had contemporary war films on America’s plight in the Middle East. The Hurt Locker was an early gem that impressed me. It was a riveting piece cast excellently from Renner’s leading man to Ralph Fiennes’ cameo. Fellow summer film Inglourious Basterds was more in line with the traditional war epic, kind of. We’ve been to World War II before, but never like this. I was reticent about appreciation of the film as you know, as I’ve said before the target audience would eat this up – and they did. I just was not part of the audience. Still even I could not ignore the scintillating performances of Christoph Waltz and especially Diane Kruger – certainly, neither would be my pick for a multitude of laurels but they’re performances were the highlight of the film for me with that intelligent Chapter Four standing out as the best of the lot – strangely, the one that was Christoph Waltz free. Still, Diane Kruger’s uninhibited turn as Helen Von Bismarck was the most significant part (acting wise) in Tarantino’s Basterds.

                       

The Messenger came out of nowhere turning into one of the more significant examinations of war. It was actually free of any scenes in or around combat, but the tale of a soldier recently come home whose job is to now inform the families of victims of soldiers’ death was one of the more harrowing pieces of the last few years. It’s obvious to see what the film’s selling point is though. It doesn’t show us so much the horrors of the war as it shows the trauma of war for the families of soldiers. Woody Harrelson’s Tony makes an astute point to the hypocrisy of it all. Families all wave and host parties to celebrate deployments and then are shocked when soldiers turn up dead. Of course, not all families are turning a blind eye to the potential misfortune ahead. Samantha Morton’s widow doesn’t, and neither does the entire cast of Brothers, I film I enjoyed much. The first half of Brothers, in fact, rests on this. One of my favourite scenes occurs as the soldiers turn up to tell Portman’s Grace of her husband’s (nonexistent) death. I wonder if Ben Foster’s Will would have taken to her too… There is not overt sadness here, Grace knew this moment was a possibility and she simply covers her mouth and the tears well in her eyes.                              

Next to these portrayals, I suppose In the Loop does look a bit irreverent, and it is – in some ways. Still, the entire point of this intelligent comedy is that the divide between actual combat and the promulgating politics is so different. The very document bemoaning the realities of war is after all amended simply to carry out a political agenda, it’s a bit frightening if we think too hard – but we’re too busy laughing to notice. Even those against war are not cuddly, teddy bear types. There’s nothing cuddly about Mimi Kennedy’s dirty mouthed (literal and figurative) Assistant Secretary of State. Three Blind Mice exists on the same level as In the Loop seeming to gloss over the traumatic incidents with humour, but it goes deeper. Of course, this deals with the Navy which is not the army – but it’s not far off. When Toby Schmitz makes his confession at the dinner table it definitively changes the tone of the film. His mother-in-law gasps, “That’s torture.” – I can’t help thinking in response, that’s the army. It’s not that the film isn’t funny after that; in fact the subsequent drunk scene is the funniest in the film. But the laughter has become less pure, more nervous.

                          

Two films I’m anticipating this year (The Way Back, The King’s Speech) both have war as secondary factors in it. King George struggles to be a better king in the latter and a group of convicts escape imprisonment during apparent guerrilla warfare in the former. If it’s good for nothing else, war is always a good starting point for film. Which was your favourite this year?

In this age if star power it’s always good to see films succeed with relative unknowns at the head. Two of the bigger films of the last year – The Hurt Locker and Avatar both thrived without any notable stars in the lead roles and British comedy In the Loop continues that trend. Explaining the plot of In the Loop would prove quite a dilemma for me. It’s enough to say that it juxtaposes the opposing Brits and Americans as both sides of Ocean debate on their immanent involvement in war. However with a summation like that In the Loop sounds more pedantic than it is. Despite the seemingly studious overtone In the Loop is a thoroughly comedic ensemble piece.

                                

In the Loop has garnered laurels for its writing which is good, but the beacon of its film is the acting – Mimi Kennedy gives an excellent performance as a Deputy Secretary of State, Tom Hollander plays to his strengths as a Minister and he’s quite good as is James Gandolfini in a role that could have become nondescript. It’s an interesting film that doesn’t really have villains or heroes as it does normal people caught on different sides of the track. In the Loop is a good film, though I’m uncertain if enough people have seen it. It’s a hilarious but intelligent comedy that encompasses all the qualities I love in the British.