| My choices for the best of the year... |
| BEST PICTURE |
| THE DEPARTED |
| Martin Scorsese does cops-and-robbers like nobody else, and although his latest is a remake of the Asian action flick Infernal Affairs, he puts an undeniable East Coast stamp on the plot that can't be mistaken for anyone else's work. The director culls expert performances from the large, sprawling cast, and keeps you guessing until the end. A class act all the way. |
| BEST DIRECTOR |
| MARTIN SCORSESE, The Departed |
| Yes, he's a master. We can roll through his classic canon -- Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, The Last Temptation of Christ, Goodfellas, The Aviator -- with ease. But he's still got the touch. Decades after making his explosive debut behind the camera, Scorsese remains peerless in his ability to wind through the criminal underworld and keep up riveted until the final frame. |
| BEST ACTOR |
| SACHA BARON COHEN, Borat |
| RUNNERS-UP: Clive Owen, Children of Men; Greg Kinnear, Little Miss Sunshine; Will Smith, The Pursuit of Happyness |
| BEST ACTRESS |
| MAGGIE GYLLENHAAL, Sherrybaby |
| If Maggie Gyllenhaal could get an Oscar nod every year for one of her performances, I'd be all on board. She's simultaneously frail, sexually charged, weathered, fiery, and unstable as just-out-of-prison Sherry, and every time she tries to climb out of a hole to reclaim her daughter, she slides two steps back. It's almost painful to watch how bare (and barren) her soul is. |
| RUNNERS-UP: Judi Dench, Notes on a Scandal; Helen Mirren, The Queen; Kate Winslet, Little Children |
| BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR |
| JACKIE EARLE HALEY, Little Children |
| Hollywood loves discovering its old faces anew, and I do, too. Former child star Jackie Earle Haley rises from the grave and joins Dylan Baker (Happiness) and Kevin Bacon (The Woodsman) in a short list of memorably powerful portrayals of pedophiles. It's probably the least engaging topic you want to see at the movie theater, but Haley plumbs the depths of hell to create his character. |
| RUNNERS-UP: Martin Sheen, The Departed; Michael Sheen, The Queen; Alec Baldwin, The Departed |
| BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS |
| RINKO KIKUCHI, Babel |
| RUNNERS-UP: Sharon Stone, Bobby; Frances McDormand, Friends With Money, Lily Tomlin, A Prairie Home Companion |
| BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY |
| MICHAEL ARNDT, Little Miss Sunshine |
| Arndt's script has it all -- touching family moments, one-liners, tragedy, life lessons, and an unexpectedly funny and moving climax. Almost all of the film's characters learn something about themselves by the time the yellow VW bus rolls into California, and the audience is rewarded with that rare cinematic treat: an ensemble piece with richly developed roles. |
| BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY |
| PATRICK MARBER, Notes on a Scandal |
| The one-liners that come out of Judi Dench's mouth as diary entries are too uncomfortably hilarious to be anything but the year's best adaptation. Is she insane? Delusional? A lesbian? Just really lonely? You haven't seen obsession like this in a long time, and as the story of a spinster and her younger "friend" unfolds onscreen, you simply keep your eyes glued. |
| He's the best actor of the year? Of course. While others may have contributed more dramatic or emotionally stirring performances to the silver screen, Cohen actually contributed to the national political debate. His take on a fake Kazakh reporter dispatched to America to "learn" about our culture showed how racist, sexist, homophobic, and anti-Semetic too many people still are. |
| LETTERS FROM IWO JIMA Clint's latest took a few days to sink in, but it is unquestionably one of his greatest directorial achievements. His presentation of "the enemy" was eloquent, lyrical, and unforgettable. |
| Kikuchi is the best part of Babel's large, international cast. She's so good, in fact, that her story was the one I wanted to keep coming back to even as the other plot threads were spiraling off in their own unexpected directions. She plays a sexually confused (and deaf) teenager in Tokyo stricken with the grief of her mother's recent death -- and she's spellbinding. |
| BORAT It isn't easy doing slapstick, but Sacha Baron Cohen aimed for the fences and hit this one out of the park. With his brilliant HBO series as a blueprint, Borat goes above and beyond all other 2006 screen comedies. |
| BABEL Some critics found Babel plodding and pretentious. I found it full of vibrant performances and a timely message about the dangers of miscommunication. Clearly that was the point, but it was movingly executed. |
| LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE Hollywood doesn't make this kind of movie anymore -- offbeat, charming, and fulfilling. That's why, independently, directors Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris got it done with their gentle touch. Thank God. |
| CLINT EASTWOOD, Letters From Iwo Jima I didn't get a chance to see Flags of Our Fathers, but Letters had a distinctly mournful tone that was almost un-Eastwood-like in its subtlety and grace. He made a true anti-war classic. |
| ALEJANDRO INARRITU, Babel In the final chapter of his trilogy of films about tragic, interlocking fates, Inarritu painted on his widest canvass. From the Middle East to Japan to Southern California, the man just knows global angst. |
| JONATHAN DAYTON & VALERIE FARIS, Little Miss Sunshine It was a laborious process for this married directorial duo to get their baby on the screen, but it paid off handsomely: They guided the sweetest and most organic acting ensemble of the year. |
| GUILLERMO DEL TORO, Pan's Labyrinth Part fairy tale, part horror, part historical nightmare -- Del Toro threw it all up on the screen in this allegory about the cruel nature of war. You'll be surprised how deep the tension cuts. |
| LEONARDO DiCAPRIO, The Departed DiCaprio's performance in Gangs of New York was a bit too stilted, and while he was effective in The Aviator, he didn't really look the part. But here -- finally a performance to equal his masterful turn in Gilbert Grape. |
| FOREST WHITAKER, The Last King of Scotland I had some problems with the film itself (mainly that we never got to see much of Idi Amin's evil for ourselves), but when Whitaker was on the screen, you never took your eyes off. He's simply a scary, commanding presence. |
| CHRISTIAN BALE, The Prestige Bale really is turning into one of the best actors of his generation, a title that Edward Norton once held and is only now gradually beginning to earn back. Bale's tortured performance here is simply one of his fiercest. |
| RYAN GOSLING, Half Nelson Gosling hasn't taken the Hollywood route in becoming a star...and in fact, he's not even a household name yet. But a couple more Half Nelsons under his belt, and he will be. |
| ELLEN PAGE, Hard Candy Months after I had seen Hard Candy, I was surprised at how strong of an impression it had left on me. While it's definitely not a film I'd recommend to everyone, there's no denying Page's strong and frightful turn here. |
| PENELOPE CRUZ, Volver The press was right for once: Cruz redeems herself nobly in Pedro Almodovar's latest Spanish melodrama. She's anguished in all the right ways. (One complaint: Why did she have to lip-synch?) |
| CHARLOTTE GAINSBOURG, The Science of Sleep Like Page's performance, this was another one that stuck with me long after I left the theater. Gainsbourg is just the right amount of tender to Gael Garcia Bernal's fantastical immaturity. |
| NATALIE PORTMAN, V for Vendetta I think a lot of critics were wrong on this one: They called Vendetta underdeveloped and Portman's portrayal simplistic. I though she was great in her defiant and revolutionary way. |
| JACK NICHOLSON, The Departed Many said that Jack was acting hammy again. I thought he was the best supporting character in a movie rife with terrific ones (Baldwin, Sheen, Wahlberg). He was evil but comedic in all the right ways. |
| STEVE CARELL, Little Miss Sunshine Hot off his Office irony, Carell proves his drama chops are just as strong as one of the standouts in a stellar cast. He plays a gay, suicidal professor who has one of his family's strongest hearts. |
| ALAN ARKIN, Little Miss Sunshine His character is probably the exact opposite of Carell's, but he nails his part, too: foul-mouthed, drug-addicted grandpa. In encouraging his granddaughter Olive to pursue her dreams, his heart opens up, too. |
| DAVID BOWIE, The Prestige He's only in a few scenes, but he was so convincingly disturbing as inventor Nikola Tesla that I didn't even know it was Bowie until the credits rolled. He's great in roles like this. |
| TONI COLETTE, Little Miss Sunshine In The Sixth Sense, Colette played the mother of a morbid, sullen clairvoyant. Here, she's just mom -- and the glue that holds her touchingly dysfunctional family together. |
| MIA KIRSHNER, The Black Dahlia We only get to see her in black-and-white screen-test footage that is uncovered after her murder, but in this Brian DePalma mish-mash, that's the best part of the film: We see the tragedy of shattered Hollywood dreams. |
| MARIBEL VERDU, Pan's Labyrinth Without giving too much away, Verdu (of Y Tu Mama Tambien fame) plays the mole to end all moles: protective, trustworthy, quick-thinking, and great with a knife. |
| ABIGAIL BRESLIN, Little Miss Sunshine As the title character in this family road comedy, Breslin proves she's at (or perhaps even slightly above) the Dakota Fanning level of talent. After all, which one has an Oscar nomination to her name? |
| BRIAN NELSON, Hard Candy Of all the year's screenplays, Hard Candy was the one that kept me guessing the most. Where was it going next? Is what we're seeing real? Who is playing who? A tense, disturbing wonder. |
| GUILLERMO DEL TORO, Pan's Labyrinth Critics and audiences alike seem to have different theories about what it all means, but Del Toro's triumph is never dry when it comes to imagination or inspiration. |
| PEDRO ALMODOVAR, Volver The Spanish auteur's latest isn't as flashy as some of its predecessors, but he gives his sterling roster of actresses a lot to chew on. After All About My Mother, Talk to Her, and Bad Education, Almodovar is definitely on a roll. |
| MICHEL GONDRY, The Science of Sleep The film's odd plot (and even odder protagonist) somehow all make sense in this sweet fantasy-romance that bears all the positive trademarks of Gondry's prior music-video and Eternal Sunshine work. |
| WILLIAM MONAHAN, The Departed No one seemed better at writing wisecracks (and plain ol' wiseguy talk) in 2006 than Monahan. The twists and turns are perfectly rendered in this Boston update of Infernal Affairs. |
| SACHA B. COHEN, ANTHONY HINES, DAN MAZER, & PETER BAYNHAM, Borat Sure, the script is "adapted" from a character and not necessarily an existing piece of written work -- and there's certainly a lot of improvisation going on -- but this stuff takes planning. Curb Your Enthusiasm is just as hard to make. |
| ALFONSO CUARON & TIMOTHY SEXTON, Children of Men The harrowing near-future dystopia that is the Britain of Children of Men is startling in its specificity. As many have noted, this was one of the year's most overlooked gems. |
| LARRY & ANDY WACHOWSKI, V for Vendetta Speaking of political allegories, the dystopic Britain of V for Vendetta is even more alarming -- and, in some ways, more realistic -- than that of Children of Men. It was a scary year in the news and at the box office. |