BEFORE THEY STARTED EATING THE DOGS….AND THE CATS.
I recently watched an excellent Channel 4 documentary from the UK called Trump’s Heist-The President Who Wouldn’t Lose. It shows how, against all the counsel of his advisors, The Donald insisted on claiming that his loss of Presidency of the United States to Joe Biden in 2020 was fraudulent, despite all evidence to the contrary, and a great deal of that evidence coming from his fellow Republicans.
In The Apprentice, director Ali Abbasi charts the rise of Donald J Trump, here played brilliantly by Sebastian Stan, and dramatises his coming out and coming up party; out of the shadow of his father and up to becoming the real estate magnate. We see his relationship with famous New York right-wing lawyer and political fixer, Roy Cohn, who teaches his new acolyte how to amass wealth and power through deception, intimidation and media manipulation. Cohn urges Trump to deny deny deny and even if you lose, claim victory. He teaches him his 3 rules for success:
Rule 1. Attack. Attack. Attack. Rule 2. Admit nothing. Deny everything. Rule 3. Claim victory and never admit defeat.
All that matters is winning or the appearance of it and here are the origins of the current state of American (and world) politics that has turned law, rule and constitution into a pantomime where the loudest voice is the one that is heard.
Nowadays, truth is trumped by bombast and volume.
Jeremy Strong as Roy Cohn and Sebastian Stan as Donald Trump in The Apprentice
Having a director who is not from America enables access to a point of view that has a more balanced, nuanced and deeper perspective than a home-grown American film maker. Take a look at Veep, run by Brit, Armando Iannucci or similarly Succession, created by Brit, Jesse Armstrong, both political shows about America filled with biting satire and pointed observation. And so, with the Iranian/Danish director Ali Abbasi, who recently directed 2 episodes of HBO’s brilliant first season of The Last of Us and the excellent serial killer film Holy Spider, it makes sense that the film feels like the view is from the balcony and works much better for it.
Abbasi took Barry Lyndon’s journey as principal reference for Trump’s early odyssey. Executive producer Amy Baer said: “I thought that was a brilliant and unexpected comparison for this movie—a social climber who absorbs the affectations of the people and cultures around him because he himself stands for nothing, that, in many ways, is Trump.”
Gabriel Sherman, author of the best-selling biography The Loudest Voice in the Room about Fox News founder Roger Ailes, crafts a tight script that allows the actors to fully bring these real-life characters to life and cinematographer Kasper Tuxen,gives New York City a grainy edge that presents an authentic look ofthe city in the 1970s.
Maria Bakalova as Ivanka and Sebastian Stan as Donald Trump in The Apprentice
Sebastian Stan imbues the young Donald with humanity who, here is not portrayed as a ‘killer’ but a flawed human being who is desperately seeking power, wealth and acceptance. The mighty Jeremy Strong delivers another fantastic character performance as the lawyer Roy Cohn, who has a journey of his own that is both tragic and again, given dimensionality by the talented Mr Strong. Maria Bakalova portrays Ivana, Trump’s first wife, and through her performance, we come to understand and believe how she was drawn to a man like him.
This is a ‘chapter in the life of’ story, not a full biography, specifically focussing on that time of New York in the 1970s and the relationship between Trump and Cohn; the passing of information in the dark art of gaining power. It is about a young man trying to carve out his place in the cut-throat world, a man not without sympathy, searching for validation from his father (the brilliant Martin Donovan) and peers to becoming the bully that he is today.
Abbasi takes us on journey that shows us how the path was forged for the Donald to become the TV star turned ex President of the U. S. of A. we now know today.
2023 was a mixed bag. I saw 186 films during the year. There were a lot of old films, the oldest being made in 1931 (Frankenstein). I finally got round to watching for the first time: Tobe Hooper’s The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974), Fellini’s La Dolce Vita (1960), De Sica’s Bicycle Thieves (1948), Brook’s The Producers (1968), Levinson’s Diner (1982) and Kurosawa’s Ran (1985) and I loved them all (except for parts of Diner).
I saw Raging Bull in 4K at the cinema and there were a tonne of rewatches, highlights being Cape Fear (1991), J.S.A. Joint Security Area (2000), Once Upon a Time in the West (1968), Wages of Fear (1953), Angel Heart (1987), The Consequences of Love (2004), Memories of Murder (2003), 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), To Live and Die in L.A. (1985), State of Grace (1990), Kundun (1997) and I saw The Wicker Man-The Final Cut (1973) in December. All in all a top film watching year.
This year my top 17 came from South Korea, Japan, Denmark, France, Finland, Ireland and the U.K., Australia and America.
The list below is in no hierarchical order of quality or preference. They are merely in the order that I saw them throughout the year. Each of the films I loved for different reasons and this list reflects that.
So, here goes……..
JOHN WICK 4 In March 2023 I saw John Wick 4 at a screening on a huge screen at Event Cinemas, George St in Sydney that I had been kindly invited to by Studio Canal, the Australian distributors of the film and I had SO much fun. So much so, that when it was released proper a few weeks later I went to the cinema again to revisit the ride. And at 10 minutes shy of a 3 hour running time, that’s impressive. So good, I saw it twice. Check my review out HERE.
MONSTER The latest film from Japanese director, Kore-eda Hirozaku is a film about the information we receive and how we fill in the blanks to end up with a conclusion that is wrong more than it is right. I saw it at the Sydney Film Festival and loved it. I was a big fan of the director’s previous work, Shoplifters and this one was thought provoking and moving. Monster is beautiful, tender and unfolds with skill and depth.
REALITY Sydney Sweeney is a top actor. As Cassie in the excellent Euphoria she manages to display an insecurity and vulnerability that we rarely see so well played and in The White Lotus Season 1 she imbues Olivia, an entitled girl, a humanity that we would not have gotten from a lesser performer. She was nominated for both of these roles at the Emmys in 2022. In 2023, she became the brand ambassador for everyone, made this indie film (Reality) based on a play, based on the transcript of the F.B.I. interrogation of the American Intelligence Agent, Reality Leigh Winner and a Christmas rom com that is doing well at the box office. Here, she brings a layered take in a brilliant film about truth, deception and national security. This is a tense thriller that runs in at 82 minutes and takes you on a journey that unearths the feelings many have about national security and what the public should be aware of. Well worth a watch. So good I saw it twice.
COBWEB This was a joyous farce. A film about the making of a film within the film. One of my favourite actors Song Sang-ho stars as the director Kim who dreams that his recently finished film will become a masterpiece if only he can film the ending again to make it perfect. Comic absurdity follows as he tries to navigate 1970s South Korean Government Film censors, need and emotional actors, the studio head who hasn’t given him permission to film the extra days and his own (maybe justified) insecurities. So good I saw it twice. Read my review HERE.
TALK TO ME The best, most original and entertaining horror film of 2023. Made by a couple of Australian brothers, Michael and Danny Philippou AKA YouTubers, Rakka Rakka. This film about grief and the ‘other side’ was scary, well acted and became the horror film of the year. Check my review out HERE.
SISU Visceral, satisfying and violent. An absolute romp. The killing of Nazis has never been so enjoyable.
SPIDER-MAN: ACROSS THE SPIDER-VERSE The sequel to the excellent Into the Spider-Verse brings us more, much more. So. Many. Spider-Mens. And Women’s. Smart, beautifully realised and maybe the best animated action film of the year.
BARBIE I didn’t do a review of this because everyone has said EVERYTHING about it already. Brief thoughts; this film was so much more important than it seemed. A Barbie movie that very smartly and succinctly commented on feminism, the patriarchy and the status quo in a way that was never preachy, mean or lacking a massive sense of humour. Absolutely brilliant. Maybe my favourite film of the year. So good I saw it twice.
BOTTOMS So much anarchic merriment. Two high school loser lesbians start a fight club to meet girls. The teen romp that we didn’t know we needed. Starring Rachel Sennott (who also co-wrote it) and Ayo Edibiri (so so good in The Bear, one of my favourite tv shows of the year), this film isn’t afraid to have heart and stupidity playing at the same time. Brilliant.
PAST LIVES Greta Lee is wonderful. Here, she gets to play the lead in the best romantic film of the year directed by first timer, Celine Song, a film that bypasses all of the usual tropes and delivers an emotionally intelligent, honest take on a ‘could they’, ‘would they’, ‘should they’ romance. So good I saw it twice.
TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES: MUTANT MAYHEM I think I may have enjoyed this more than the Spider outing. But only just. I definitely laughed out loud a lot by myself in the cinema. The first Turtles film I have ever seen and the only one I need to. The voice cast has heaps of fun with the teen toitles this time actually played by teens and having actual chemistry that brings a massive heart to the film. Jackie Chan has a blast as Splinter, Ayo Edibiri gives humour, comic timing and dimension to April O’ Neil and Ice Cube probably has the time of his life playing the villain, Superfly. Hands down, the best needle drops of the year with M.O.P.’s Ante Up, De La Soul’s Eye Know, O.D.B.’s Shimmy Shimmy Ya and A Tribe Called Quest’s Can I Kick It? Absolute quality.
ANATOMY OF A FALL The best courtroom film we have seen for many years. This drama about the death of a father and husband at a chalet at the foot of the French alps that leads to the mother being accused of his murder is a masterclass in acting especially from Sandra Hüller, who is magnificent.
THE BOY AND THE HERON When this was announced 5 years or so ago I bought the book, How Do You Live by Genzaburo Yoshino that it was going to be based on. The book is lovely and when I read that the film would be VERY loosely based on it, I was a touch disappointed but when I finally saw the film, I rejoiced. It is pure Miyazaki, his greatest hits and if it really is his final bow, it’s an incredible one. Strange, beautiful, touching and magical.
POOR THINGS There are very few, if any, film-makers like Yorgos Lanthimos. He evokes Terry Gilliam’s set design and strangeness in this Emma Stone-athon. She is utterly fabulous and free in this strange Frankenstein-like tale of a young woman discovering the world and all its joys and despairs. Who else out there would commit like Stone did? Willem Dafoe is an acting God, Facts!!!! and Mark Ruffallo gives the best man-child performance of many a year. Surreal and sublime.
GODZILLA MINUS ONE The Zilla film I have been waiting for. Finally, they understood that the sight of Kaiju mashing up the town, city or world is nothing without the human, the acting and the heart elements. Here, we get the Godzilla film we deserve.
LEAVE THEM ALL BEHIND This was a late contender as I only watched it on the 28th December and really wished that I had gone to the cinema to see it. Netflix only gave us a week to see int on the big screen, I think. Hey Netflix. Not good enough!!! The film that brings ALL the conspiracy theories together and chills you to the bone. Written and directed by Mr Robot’s Sam Esmail this film is helped along by a great script, top actors; Julia Roberts, Ethan Hawke, Mahershala Ali, Myha’la and Kevin Bacon, and a wonderfully ominous and eerie musical score by Mac Quayle. Tension at its finest. Quality apocalyptic fare.
HOLY SPIDER A serial killer film that is brutal, gritty, tense and has something to say about society. Set in Mashhad, a holy city in Iran and based on an actual killer from the early 2000s, this takes you on an ugly journey directed by Ali Abbas, who directed the last two episodes of the excellent video game HBO adaptation of The Last of Us earlier in the year. Maybe a Holy Spider/Barbie double bill?????? Holy Barber, Batman.
And that’s the list. 2023 in a bag. I missed a few, I saw a few. Let me know your favourites in the comments. It’d be lovely to hear from you other movie lovers.
Happy 2024. May it be filled with the best of movies, joy, happiness and creative satisfaction.
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