As I traditionally do around this time, mid January, I finally compile my own list of the ten best films of the year. So this week, I will take a break from the reporting on the various precursors to share with you what I thought were the best film achievements of the year, and first up, my top ten list! This will be in two parts, and first up we countdown from #10 to #6.
Well, what a year it was! 2002 was one of our best recent years for films, and almost everyone agreed that it was extremely difficult to make a Top Ten list. I instead had about 30 films that could all make a ten best list in any other year. But ultimately one has to narrow down the ten absolute best achievements, and as tough as it was, I finally completed the task. When I try to look for themes in my choices for the ten best films of 2002, I find so many films which could be classified on the level of "emotional human drama", the stories of some truly memorable characters at some interesting and critical stages in their lives. Look at the broad range of human experience in my top ten ...
Jack Nicholson delivering one of his most unique and best performances as a retired man realizing his life has been wasted. A seemingly happy married couple having to cope with the very real pains and consequences of the wife having a wild extramarital affair. A cop suffering from insomnia and struggling with his own personal turmoil who must find a serial killer. The true story of a young con man which ended up leaving us in amazement at how much he was able to get away with. These characters were all embodied by some incredible actors working at the top of their craft ... Nicholson, Pacino, Hanks, Gere, Lane, DiCaprio, Williams ... and Sandler??? Did I say that? Yes indeed, Adam Sandler redeemed himself in my eyes finally, and he not only gave a wonderful performance in Paul Thomas Anderson's newest film, but it also was my choice for the best film of the year. Punch-Drunk Love was a movie so alive with energy, excitement, and surprise, and created an extremely memorable lead character ... and yes, he was portrayed by Adam Sandler. Punch-Drunk Love also represented bold and experimental filmmaking, and as I mentioned, true excitement just burning on the screen. You felt alive being a part of that film experience, and that's another theme throughout some of my ten best films ... they were movies that were just so "alive" on screen, and so very new and original.
