Indignation
The impression James Schamus' debut makes is deceptively sleight; a precise examination of society's adherence to tradition and the reservation those customs force on youth. Even though the script and direction defy grandeur, the loss felt by the characters in the end lasts longer than I initially expected. The images, the script, and the characters all reveal themselves with stark simplicity, capturing the life of Marcus Messner (played tremendously by Logan Lerman) as the quiet but thoughtful soul he was, unable to meet his potential caught in a cycle of repression and indignation. Every member of the cast is phenomenal, and the writing is intelligent in both its patter and brevity. Damned fine filmmaking.
Kicks
I suppose an epic is elevated by milestones so far but so deeply connected, the journey feels in totality both vast and whole. Kicks hardly ever feels coherent, hopping between slapstick imagery, seething tension, immobile bursts of the surreal, and eventually, a tragic understanding of how violence threads these disparate places in lives defined by insecurity. In the tradition of the "sundance indie," Kicks feels sort of inconsequential, but marks the significant change in a young persons life. In that mold Kicks is epic for depicting growth of its central character as hard fought, stuck in an impoverished society where every inch gained feels vital when compared to the alternative. Scored with some killer hip hop, celebrations and reflections on those milestones, torn between fronting against ever present fears, and being truly man enough to deal with yours. This movie needs some love guys.
Hell or High Water
Simultaneously filled, start to finish, with exciting well designed set pieces, and a slow burn that hits you all at once. I suddenly realized this wasn't just a fun genre exercise, but a human examination of genre themes, here, Americana in crisis. Losing a land once owned by libertarianism and character to soulless and spineless modernity. This isn't exactly an elegy to the west, there is a thoughtful consideration to the morality lost to the unruly, examining to borders of criminality. The west, its symbols of freedom and conviction are still alive in the culture of modern texas, even if we have smart phones, video surveillance, and fully automatic weapons. These characters' want for liberty has turned to the want for money, a cure to the "disease" of poverty, an escape to its cycle, more than a want for traditional ethics. Lawlessness for liberty's sake; is anything more Texas than that?
This year suddenly got hard to capture in a top 10... and i still have more to see...