2016 has been one of the strangest, darkest, and tested of times in recent memory. A year filled with chaos, violence, disparity, and division. However, in a year filled with so much grief and negativity, there has been a chance to escape in the landscape of 2016 cinema, and this has been one of the best years for independent and original cinema, with films that provide full fantasy to films that are necessary to the thematical elements corresponding to the year of 2016. Without further ado, here are the best of the best with the top ten films of 2016.
#10 : Manchester by the Sea
Sometimes there are disasters and traumas in life that we can bouce back from and become stronger. But sometimes, there are tragedies that we can never come back from and the most we can do is just wake up for a new day and try to make it by the end of the night. There are some things that will haunt us forever until there is absolutely nothing left but dispair. In Kenneth Lonergan’s screenplay, the powerhouse performances elevate the sad material to new heights in a story of grief, loss, and family. Casey Affleck is perfect as Lee in his somber and subtle performance as a man dealing with a past tragedy and a current situation that forces him to confront that past. Michelle Williams in her limited screen time as Lee’s ex-wife is powerful and her scenes with Affleck, particularly their final one together will be studied for its excellent acting elevation. The screenplay and editing is tight and simple, but its the performances that make it even deeper and complex.
#9 : Hell or Highwater
A heist film with deeper levels of motivation that comments on poverty, corporate greed, and racial tension in society. Chris Pine, Ben Foster, and Jeff Bridges are excellent in this unique heist picture. It’s not in the actual robberies where we find ourselves invested in the film, but its with these characters involved and how we connect with them and see what makes them who they are and we find ourselves rooting for both sides. It’s a richly powerful film with great performances and exquisite cinematography transcending into the plains of Texas poverty and crime.
#8 : Lion
Dev Patel’s performance channels the emotional punch of Lion, a film based on the true story of Sheru, a man who obssesively searches for his long lost family from a small village in India, after being seperated from them for nearly 25 years. The film smartly dedicates its first half to Sheru’s journey from poverty in India to being seperated from his brother and ending up being adopted and taken in from an Australian couple. Sheru’s determination to find his family and the eventual outcome is one of the most emotional moments in any film I’ve seen this year, serving as a payoff moment in an already emotionally charged. Beyond this, Lion is a gorgeous looking film by first time director Garth Davis that’s deeper themes of love, family, and hope all serve together as a great singularity.
#7 : Arrival
Arrival is a drama of destiny and communication disguised as a sci-fi thriller. And Denis Villanueve’s direction and genius story deserves to be seen multiple times for its fantastic storytelling and editing as well as how Amy Adam’s performance ties into all of it. Arrival’s biggest achievement isn’t the production design, cinematography or visuals. But it’s how they twist the Artificial Intelligence on Earth concept is turned into something deeper and more personal, raising personal questions and concepts about fate and how communications between people stand as the greatest weapon of time.
#6 : Sing Street
Sing Street takes a genre that has been done a million times over, and turns it into something that feels and looks original. The young actors turn in great performance and the story of the misunderstood teen who forms a band to get the girl is done charmingly well and the film is just a huge joy to watch. The fond nostalgia and tribute to 80’s pop culture and musical progressive influences in the Ireland setting is damn well entertaining and uplifting.
#5 : The Nice Guys
A criminally underrated the Nice Guys was. Shane Black directs and writes this crime-noir comedy set in the 1970’s and carried by terrific performances from Russell Crowe and Ryan Gosling. The screenplay is smart and filled with attention to detail with witty dialogue, along with a story that moves along with precision and quick pace. Hopefully, there are more films like The Nice Guys that’ll come along in the future.
#4 : Moonlight
Barry Jenkins’s three chapter story of a young African American man’s life and his struggles with poverty, sexuality and acceptance serve as a film experience unlike any other. The decision to use three different actors to play Chiron, the protagonist of the story, is a genius move as each performance represents a different arc of the character, and each age that we see the character through in their life culminates into one message of deciding one’s true individuality. As the drug dealer father figure Juan, played terrifically by Mahershala Ali says to a young Chiron, “Sooner or later you’re gonna have to decide for yourself who you wanna be. Can’t let anybody else make that decision for you.” And that’s the point of Moonlight is that sometimes the struggles we have in our lives change us and force us to be someone else than we intended for ourelves. But eventually, we can always find our way back.
# 3 : Silence
Martin Scorsese’s 20 year passion project is a controversial story about faith and colonialism, and it’s an intense 3 hour epic that challenges the faith of its protagonists and its viewers. What makes Silence so great is its willingness to not censor or water down the subject material and instead trusts its viewers to handle everything they see and the ideas explored. Andrew Garfield, Adam Driver, and Liam Neeson shine as the priests whose faith are tested to dangerous levels throughout the film and Issei Ogata as the Inquisitor and Tadanobu Asano are scene stealers as Japenese enforcers of Christian apostasy. Although not an easy watch, it’s an important one, and it stands as one of Scorsese’s best films of his tremendous career.
#2 : Nocturnal Animals
Tom Ford’s stunningly violent and visceral thriller shines as a future underrated classic. The two stories told in the film are beautifully reflected upon each ther as they both deal with pain, regret, and violence. Jake Gyllenhaal and Michael Shannon shine as they give career performances as men who want to see justice achieved at any means. Nocturnal Animals was a strange, hypnotic, and intense film unlike any other released this year, and deserves to be seen for its genius handling of two seperate plots in one film.
#1 : La La Land
Damien Chazelle’s directorial follow up to Whiplash is one of the best films I’ve seen in my lifetime. A musical that not only is a callback to Hollywood nostalgia, but also an original love story transcending as a tribute to dreamers and aspirers. The production design, cinematography and musical numbers are electric and fun, but the films bigger moments are how charming and talented its two leads are and its eventual outcome addressing ambition and love in a usually unforgiving but aspiring place like Los Angeles. This film is as much of a tribute as it is a criticism of the big city, but it never forgets to address that although big dreamers can fall multiple times, it tells you to carry on, even if the pain still remains as the temporary moments will help one to become what they want to be. And along the way to achieving those dreams, it could mean losing and gaining love and happiness. It’s a beautiful reminder to reflect on how our past leads us to our eventual bright future and to appreciate every living moment and to keep on dreaming until we accomplish those dreams. La La Land is the best film of 2016 and so far, of this decade.