THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1997, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, January 7, 1997 TAG: 9701070038
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MAL VINCENT, ENTERTAINMENT WRITER
LENGTH: 287 lines
IN A WORLD in which we have 100 channels at home, the movies were still the ``event'' that we talked about for days, or weeks, afterward in 1996.
Last night's TV show was history, and, besides, your fellow office workers probably didn't watch the same show you watched anyway.
Life is different from when we just had three networks and we were bonded by a kind of watchful togetherness. But the pros and cons of the latest movies still emerged as universal conversation subjects - even for those who seldom actually went to the theaters.
Local folk, as well as those across the nation, spent more money going to the movies in 1996 than in any year in history. A record $5.8 billion was taken in nationally - a whopping 9 percent increase over 1995 which, in itself, had been a record. As 1996 came to a close, the local movie craze was evidenced by the fact that although there are now more than 100 screens in Hampton Roads, plans are in the works for additional multiscreen theaters in downtown Norfolk and the Virginia Beach Oceanfront.
The annual task of compiling a ``Top 10'' list, however, exposes an alarming trend. For most of our lives, movies have meant Hollywood; the ``big'' movies were the best movies.
This year's ``Top 10'' suggests otherwise. With Hollywood obsessed with the big bucks and centering its attention almost exclusively on high-tech explosions or dumb-dumb comedies, few big-studio films made the list.
Those films, while offering a glitzy diversion, are not the stuff that either illuminate or move us. The ``Top 10'' list should be films that furthered the art of film - and should, perhaps, have a chance of standing the test of time. For this, the so-called ``independent'' films came to the rescue.
On this year's list, one of the films was made in Australia, one is of European extraction, one is British, one is the work of a small-budget director. We had to stretch to even find four that were remotely attuned to the Hollywood studio system - once the mainstay of our moviegoing experience.
Traditionally, the list is limited to films released locally in the calendar year, but this year the rules had to be stretched a bit. So many of the year's best films were released at the last minute in bigger markets that two of the 10 have not yet opened here (Shine'' and ``The People vs. Larry Flynt'') - but will within weeks. As always, January and February are the best movie-going months of the year for those seeking outstanding fare, as the last-minute Oscar candidates are released here.
Only the limitations of the ``10 only'' rule prevented the inclusion of ``Evita,'' ``Marvin's Room'' and ``Sling Blade'' from the list.
Here are the 10, with the reasons for their inclusion:
``The English Patient'' - It has the epic look of a David Lean film (with the most photogenic sand since ``Lawrence of Arabia'') but the cinema version of Michael Ondaatje's novel encompasses two complex love affairs - complete with passion and a ``Casablanca''-like sadness. Juliette Binoche, as the caring nurse, just barely missed our choice as ``best supporting actress'' of the year. The cast includes a mysterious Ralph Fiennes, an aristocratic Kristin Scott Thomas and an intense Willem Dafoe, all directed with great flair by Anthony Minghella. It has just the largeness, and the literate respectability, that attracts Oscar voters.
``Fargo'' - This offbeat tale of a kidnapping plot gone wrong is an outrageous and truly original comedy. The Coen brothers return to the inimitable styling of their ``Blood Simple'' and ``Barton Fink'' in this mixture of horror and absurdity. Although released early in the year, it remains unchallenged in sheer originality. Steve Buscemi is one of the inept kidnappers but it is Frances McDormand who steals the film as a pregnant cop who has a steel-trap mind. It's one of the showiest roles of the year, and she makes the most of it.
``Shine'' - A raw, emotional portrait of a shattered musical genius emerges as one of the most intelligently hopeful films in years. David Helfgott, a young Australian pianist, experiences a nervous breakdown just at the moment that should have been his most triumphant. Directed by Scott Hicks, the film forgoes the cliched triumphant ending in favor of mere hope. Geoffrey Rush, who plays the adult Helfgott, contributes the best performance of the year in creating a babbling, almost incoherent man who is still holding on to his humanity. There are other fine performances: John Gielgud as Cecil Parkes, the noted teacher; Lynn Redgrave as the woman who comes to the pianist's rescue; Noah Taylor as the young Helfgott; and Armin Mueller-Stahl as the overbearing father. This movie persuades us to cheer for the best in the human spirit.
``Lone Star'' - Seldom has small-town Americana been captured with such detail and complexity as in this murder-mystery set in a Texas border town. A 40-year-old murder, uncovered when a skeleton is discovered outside town, sparks an investigation that exposes racial and ethnic differences amongst people who successfully live together. Chris Cooper is fine as the present-day sheriff who has personal stakes in what he may find. John Sayles both directed and wrote and keeps a half dozen subplots firmly within control. In fact, Sayles narrowly gets our vote, over Joel Coen, as the director of the year. Only ``The Last Picture Show,'' a true masterpiece, did it better in chronicling small-town Americana.
``The People vs. Larry Flynt'' - The most audacious and, by many counts, the most imaginative film released by a big studio this year is this off-beat tale that ends with a Supreme Court show-down between Larry Flynt, the publisher of the infamous Hustler magazine, and Jerry Falwell, who sued the magazine claiming he was emotionally distressed by its parody of him. Woody Harrelson turns in a bravura performance as the porno peddler who turns out to be the defender of First Amendment rights. You don't have to choose sides to be intrigued by director Milos Forman's ability to let us experience both comedy and tragedy in the proceedings. Courtney Love, the rock curiosity, turns in an amazingly assured performance as Flynt's drug-addicted stripper wife, Althea Leasure. Both should be Oscar nominated. Forman (who has already won Oscars for ``Amadeus'' and ``One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest'') should be in the running again. He knows how to wring comedy out of supremely distasteful material and, at the same time, convince us that we should care. It's opening here soon.
``The Crucible'' - Arthur Miller's 1953 play, so often overplayed by amateur theater groups in the past four decades, gets a supercharged and ultra-serious treatment from a dream cast. The witch hunts of Salem, Mass., in 1692 provide a scary reminder that mass hysteria is still present in the year 1996. Daniel Day-Lewis, Winona Ryder and especially Paul Scofield play it so earnestly and convincingly that we are made to believe that yes, it could have happened in America. Joan Allen so convincingly underplays the noble and repressed wife that she got our nod as the best supporting actress of the year.
``Secrets and Lies'' - From Great Britain, Mike Leigh delivers a family comedy that is so personal and mischievous that it avoids all the usual cliches. It is sparked by a brilliant performance by Brenda Blethyn as a working-class, white housewife who is found by the daughter she never knew she had. The well-educated daughter (well-played by Marianne Jean-Baptiste) is black - and just as surprised to find her unlikely mom. A kind of ``Guess Who's Coming to Dinner'' for the 1990s, the film avoids what must have been temptingly cheap jokes and goes, instead, for honesty. Most of all, Blethyn's performance is the showcase. She should be an Oscar nominee.
``Primal Fear'' - Outwardly, this thriller would not seem to be in the same class with the others on the list, but, in spite of its cheapjack title, it rose above being just another genre film. Lurking beneath its thrills, and deliciously entertaining plot twists, is illumination of one of the year's most persistent social problems - growing distrust of the country's legal system. Richard Gere, usually a terrible actor, is expertly cast as a hotshot lawyer who is so concerned with his own ego that he is an easy target for injustice. The film's real spark is delivered via an amazing performance from Edward Norton as a young man accused of murder. Norton is an enthusiastic choice as best supporting actor of the year. He cements his claim to the title with equally impressive roles in the upcoming ``People vs. Larry Flynt'' and Woody Allen's musical, ``Everyone Says I Love You.''
``The Hunchback of Notre Dame'' - The Disney animators did it again. Just when their rebirth had settled into what might become commercial sameness, they came up with this artistically stunning, and surprisingly dark, interpretation of the Victor Hugo classic about an outcast hunchback. The darkness was disliked by some concerned parents but the studio should be congratulated for going a bit adult in its treatment. (And it is unlikely any children will be permanently damaged by being exposed to the rudiments of drama at an early age).
``Welcome to the Dollhouse'' - Seldom has adolescence been so tellingly captured with all the comedy as well as the temporary tragedy. Writer-director Todd Solondz reminds us that junior-high was not such a lark for those who were not cheerleaders or football heroes. Heather Matarazzo delivers a bravura performance as the oh-so-nerdy Dawn Weiner.
The second 10
Just missing the list were: ``Mother'' (Debbie Reynold's comeback with a likely Oscar nomination in Albert Brooks' script); ``Evita'' (a commendable effort to transfer pop opera to film); ``Sling Blade'' (a lovable and complex character study about an accused murderer that smacks of ``Forrest Gump''); ``I Shot Andy Warhol'' (a sly comedy about fame and its results); ``Trainspotting'' (a burst of energy about drug addiction); ``Michael Collins'' (a fine performance from Liam Neeson and an epic history lesson from Ireland); ``Flirting With Disaster'' (the best social comedy of the year); ``The Pallbearer'' (fine romantic comedy); ``Emma'' (Gwyneth Paltrow in a delightful Jane Austen entertainment about clueless matchmaking); ``Jude'' (a gorgeously photographed tragedy that illuminates Thomas Hardy).
Best actresses
It was a particularly strong year for actresses, with more films than usual for and about women. The most outstanding were: Frances McDormand in ``Fargo,'' Brenda Blethyn in ``Secrets and Lies,'' Debbie Reynolds in ``Mother,'' Madonna in ``Evita;'' Nicole Kidman in ``The Portrait of a Lady,'' Winona Ryder in ``The Crucible,'' Courtney Love in ``The People vs. Larry Flynt''
Best actors
Geoffrey Rush in ``Shine,'' Ralph Fiennes in ``The English Patient,'' Woody Harrelson in ``The People vs. Larry Flynt,'' Liam Neeson in ``Michael Collins,'' Daniel Day-Lewis in ``The Crucible,'' Denzel Washington in ``Courage Under Fire,'' Mel Gibson in ``Ransom''
Supporting actresses
Joan Allen in ``The Crucible,'' Piper Laurie in ``The Grass Harp,'' Lauren Bacall in ``The Mirror Has Two Faces,'' Juliette Binoche in ``The English Patient,'' Barbara Hershey in ``The Portrait of a Lady,'' Marion Ross in ``The Evening Star,'' Marianne Jean-Baptiste in ``Secrets and Lies,'' Queen Latifah in ``Set It Off,'' Mary Tyler Moore in ``Flirting With Disaster,'' Whoopi Goldberg in ``Ghosts of Mississippi''
Supporting actors
Edward Norton in ``Primal Fear,'' Paul Scofield in ``The Crucible,'' Harry Belafonte in ``Kansas City,'' James Woods in ``Ghosts of Mississippi,'' Cuba Gooding Jr. in ``Jerry Maguire,'' Lou Diamond Phillips in ``Courage Under Fire,'' Samuel L. Jackson in ``A Time to Kill''
Directors
John Sayles for ``Lone Star,'' Joel Coen for ``Fargo,'' Milos Forman for ``The People vs. Larry Flynt,'' Scott Hicks for ``Shine,'' Anthony Minghella for ``The English Patient,'' Alan Parker for ``Evita''
Newcomers
The past year may well be recorded as the first year you noticed: Liv Tyler, Matthew McConaughey, Kate Winslett, Jada Pinkett, Ewan McGregor, Lela Rochon and Gwyneth Paltrow, as well as the entire cast of TV's ``Friends,'' who showed up regularly on the big screen.
And retreads
It was also the year of the recycling of the disaster flicks and the sci-fi epics. Aliens, after a friendly decade or so with ``E.T.'' and ``Close Encounters'' turned mean again - even though audiences laughed heartily when they blew up the White House (in ``Independence Day'') and Congress (in ``Mars Attacks!'').
With ``Twister,'' the disaster films of the 1970s got a rebirth. Upcoming will be everything from a flood to the eruption of a volcano.
Most overrated
``Jerry Maguire,'' ``Big Night,'' ``Looking for Richard,'' ``Evita,'' ``Mission: Impossible''
Most underrated
``Primal Fear,'' ``Flirting With Disaster,'' ``Beautiful Girls,'' ``The Pallbearer,'' ``Bound,'' ``Caught''
The worst
This list could be too long to print, but we try to keep in contention only those that could have been better but weren't. The list of infamy includes: ``From Dusk to Dawn,'' ``Down Periscope,'' ``Mary Reilly,'' ``Hell Raiser: Bloodline,'' ``Striptease,'' ``Bio-Dome,'' ``Celtic Pride,'' ``Dunston Checks In,'' ``Girl 6,'' ``Ed,'' ``Jingle All the Way,'' ``The Cable Guy,'' ``The Crow: City of Angels,'' ``Mission: Impossible,'' ``Up Close and Personal,'' ``Chain Reaction,'' ``Set it Off,'' ``Big Night,'' ``The Nutty Professor,'' ``Kazaam,'' ``The Island of Dr. Moreau'' and ``Kingpin.'' And those are just the ones that come to mind quickly.
There were actually a few that were so bad they never got released locally. Mercifully, we didn't have to see Cher in ``Faithful,'' Antonio Banderas in ``Two Much'' or Winona Ryder in ``Boys.''
So bad they were fun
Call it guilty pleasure, but I actually had fun watching ``Barb Wire,'' ``Striptease,'' ``Joe's Apartment'' and ``Beavis and Butt-head Do America''
Finally, a horror movie with a good review
``Scream,'' one of the real surprises of the year. A hilarious script that had dozens of ``in'' jokes about Hollywood and horror films. Who would have ever dreamed something this witty would be directed by Wes Craven.
Some memorable lines
``What was my motive for murder? Peer pressure.'' - from ``Scream''
``Movies don't make psychos. They make psychos creative.'' - from ``Scream''
``Once you've done it, no one can ever take it away from you.'' - from ``Shine''
Doggies
It was a big year for canine heroes on film. Disney's live remake of its animation classic ``101 Dalmatians'' featured the appointed number of spotted ones, with the spots pouring over to clothing and toy shops everywhere. A Great Dane on roller skates was the cause of much of the romance in ``The Truth about Cats and Dogs.'' A terrier who is brought back to life got more tears than John Travolta does in ``Michael.'' Sylvester Stallone saves a doggie while many of the humans don't make it in the flop ``Daylight.'' Doggies survive alien attack in ``Independence Day'' and KKK bombing in ``A Time to Kill'' as well as a tornado in ``Twister.''
Best fight scene
Adam Sandler getting punched out by elderly game show host Bob Barker in ``Happy Gilmore.''
Top box-office movies
``Independence Day,'' ``Twister'' and ``Mission: Impossible.''
The year ended with ``Beavis and Butt-head'' garnering the biggest December opening gross in history. So much for the ``Top 10'' list and all the critics' search for quality.
Explosions, slashings and jokes about bodily functions are sure to surface in 1997, but somewhere among the rabble, there's sure to be 10 to make the next list. ILLUSTRATION: Color photos [from the top ten movies]
1. The English Patient
2. Fargo
3. Shine
4. Lone Star
5. The People vs Larry Flynt
6. The Crucible
7. Secrets and Lies
8. Primal Fear
9. The Hunchback of Notre Dame
10. Welcome to the Dollhouse.
KEYWORDS: TOP 10 MOVIES