Some of
the debuts that didn’t make my top ten list, but were still good include: Cheap Thrills (E.L. Katz) an amusing,
bloody horror comedy that is actually much smarter than its premise. The Heart Machine (Zachary Wigon) an
internet age love story, about two navel gazing, asshole Brooklyn hipsters. It Felt Like Love (Eliza Hitmann) an
interesting coming of age drama about a young girl trying to keep up sexually
with her best friend. Rhymes for Young
Ghouls (Jeffrey Barnaby) an exploitation film, set around the Residential
schools in Canada during the 1970s. Rosewater
(Jon Stewart) which was smart and funny, and a little bit harrowing. The Two Faces of January (Hossein Amini) a
classical, Hitchcock-inspired thriller with fine performances by Viggo
Mortenson and Oscar Isaac.
The Top 10
10. Butter on the Latch (Josephine Decker)
Josephine
Decker’s Butter on the Latch is a sort of existential horror movie – with two
best friends at a New Age retreat, whose friendship is gradually put under
strain from unseen forces. The film is all mounting tension – you sense from
the beginning that something bad is about to happen – and finally it does in
the end (or does it?). The film was largely improvised by its two stars, has
wonderful handheld camerawork and intuitive editing. I saw this the same day I
saw her second film – Thou Wast Mild and Lovely – which had a similar look and
feel, but was somewhat more conventional and terms of story, and also less ambiguous
– and as a result slightly less effective. But both films show a real talent in
Decker – who has a real eye for camerawork, and gets great performances out of
her cast. She may not have made a great film yet – but she may well in the
future. 
9. Palo Alto (Gia Coppola)
This
latest Coppola to make a movie (this one is Francis’ granddaughter, and Sofia’s
niece), Gia Coppola’s adaptation of the James Franco book of short stories
about affluent teenagers growing up in the title city, is actually much better
than that sounds. At the center of the movie is Emma Roberts – the lone virgin
in her group of friends, who is drawn to two people – a boy her own age (Jack
Kilmer) and her predatory soccer coach (Franco). Kilmer is also friends with
the self-destructive Fred (Nat Wolff), while Emily (Zoe Levin) sleeps with
every boy who glances at her. The film is one party after another that bleed
into each other, as the adults in their lives either don’t know or don’t care
what’s going on with them. The film isn’t exactly original – and Coppola is
clearly a little too inspired by her famous aunt’s directorial style, but it’s
still an impressive debut from yet another talented member of the Coppola
filmmaking clan.
8. John Wick (Chad Stahelski & David
Leitch)
Two
stunt co-ordinators, Chad Stahelski & David Leitch, made their debut with
this excellent action film – that uses smooth camera work, instead of the rapid
fire editing that has ruined many recent action movies. The story works as well
– with Keanu Reeves as a retired hitman and grieving widow who seeks vengeance
on the Russian mob for killing his (absolutely adorable) puppy. The film moves
at lightning speed, with Reeves as good as he has ever been, and a fine cast of
supporting badasses. It is the action that makes me want to see what these two
do next however – in many ways it’s a throwback to the action movies of the
1990s – but since those are better than the current ones, I’m in for whatever
this pair does next. 
7. The Strange Little Cat (Ramon Zurcher)
When I
reviewed The Strange Little Cat, I said it struck me as the first film of a
master filmmaker. Everything about this film is assured – every shot perfectly
framed, every performance hits the right notes. It is about one long day in the
life of one family – as the mother prepares for a big family dinner, the grown children
return from college, and the younger ones get into mischief. The title cat is
just one of the animal characters who drifts in and out of the frame. The film
reminded me of the work of Michael Haneke – it has the same cold, clarity of
vision to it, the same sense of unease running throughout. The film,
ultimately, doesn’t really add up to much though – I’m not quite sure what the
point of it is was, and even at just over an hour, it’s a little too long. But it’s
such an assured debut that I cannot imagine Zurcher isn’t going to go onto to
something bigger and better next time. 
6. The One I Love (Charlie McDowell)
The One
I Love is a very strange relationship film – about a couple (played excellently
by Mark Duplass and Elisabeth Moss), who are in couple’s therapy, trying to
salvage their marriage after he had an affair. Their therapist (Ted Danson)
suggests a weekend away at a country house. They get there, are having a normal
time – and then, at the end of act one, something strange happens that throws
the whole movie into chaos. The film is surreal, funny and surprisingly
perceptive about real life relationships – a triumph for director Charlie
McDowell, and first time writer Justin Lader, who are supposedly teaming up
again. The only really wrong step the movie makes is at the end – when a movie
that had been unpredictable throughout gives us the most predictable ending
imaginable. Still, I want to see what this writer-director combo does next.
5. Coherence (James Ward Byrkit)
James
Ward Byrkit’s Coherence is no budget, sci-fi filmmaking at its finest. Four
couples gather for a dinner party on the evening when a comet is coming close
to earth. After a first act that establishes who everyone is, and their petty
problems, the power goes out everywhere on the block – except for one house. So
two of the men go to that house to try and find out what happened, setting off
a series of events that I won’t reveal (because that’s half the fun). The movie
has some surprisingly complex science going through it, but it’s the way it
effects each of the people – especially the character played by Emily Foxler,
in a great performance, that makes the movie work so well. Big budget sci fi is
mainly about special effects these days – Coherence shows that you don’t need
any to make a great, smart, hard sci-fi movie.
4. A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night (Ana
Lily Amirpour)
Like
several films on this list, Ana Lily Amirpour’s A Girl Walks Home Alone at
Night leans a little too heavily on its influences – mainly early David Lynch
and Jim Jarmusch, along with Sergio Leone and James Dean – but what it comes up
with is still wholly original and unique. The logline on the movie – an Iranian
feminist, vampire western – is a neat descriptor, but doesn’t describe the film
totally. A very visual film – with great, stark black and white photography,
the film was clearly shot for very little money – but they use that to its
advantage. The film was shot in Bakersfield, California – but set in Iran, with
everyone speaking Persian, the film has an almost otherworldly feeling to it.
This is not the best debut film of the year – but Amirpour may just be the
filmmaker on this list whose second film I’m looking forward to the most. 
3. Dear White People (Justin Simien)
Justin
Simien’s Dear White People is heavily inspired by the early work of Spike Lee –
I’m thinking specifically of School Daze – but is fascinating in its own right.
Set on the campus of an Ivy League school, with one traditionally black dorm on
the cusp of being integrated with the others, and the conflict that arises. The
film was hit with the ridiculous criticism that it was “reverse racist” – ridiculous
because while the film clearly does have several racist white characters, it
offers a rather complex view of modern day black culture – and the difference
of opinion that runs throughout. It has characters like a gay writer who feels
excluded everywhere he goes, a black girl who wants to be a reality TV star for
white people and a charming student politician whose father wants him to be the
next Obama. The most fascinating character is played by the wonderful Tessa
Thompson – a mixed race woman who has embraced the militant black stereotype a
little too much – and is struggling with her own feelings. The climax, at a
painfully realistic, racist party at a frat, is great. The movie is funny and
smart – and shows Simien is a director to watch.
2. Obvious Child (Gilliam Robespierre)
Gillian
Robespierre’s Obvious Child is a funny, smart comedy about a woman in her late
20s who still acts like a teenager. After her most recent boyfriend dumps her,
she goes out, gets drunk and has a one night stand – and ends up pregnant. That
she is going to get an abortion is never in doubt – she knows that she cannot
take care of a child – she cannot even take care of herself. But her one night
stand is actually a guy she thinks she could actually like – and she struggles
to find a way to tell him all of this. Meanwhile, her stand-up comedy act – which
wasn’t very good – takes a turn for the better when she starts being more
honest about what she’s going through. The lead performance by Jenny Slate is
one of the best of the year – she doesn’t shy away from making her character at
least somewhat selfish and immature – but we still feel sympathy for her as
well. Robespierre has made an excellent, modern day romantic comedy – and made
it equal parts funny, truthful and daring. We need more films like this. 
1. Nightcrawler (Dan Gilroy)
I’ve already written about Nightcrawler in this report – it made
my top 10 list after all, and both Jake Gyllenhaal and Rene Russo should have
received Oscar nominations for their work. Gilroy, who has worked as a
screenwriter for two decades, has never done anything to suggest he had
something this good in him (his work includes the forgettable Matthew
McConaughey-Al Pacino gambling drama Two for the Money and the even more forgettable
robot boxing film Real Steel). Here, he has made an angry, disturbing capitalist
horror movie – with its main character a sociopath who becomes a news reporter,
getting more and more violent footage to feed a hungry L.A. news industry. The
film is brilliantly shot by Robert Elswit – making L.A. look even darker and
scarier than normal. And the performances are amazing. But it’s Gilroy's
direction and (Oscar nominated) screenplay that make the film brilliant. Here’s
hoping that now that the 55 year old Gilroy has broken through with his first
directing effort, we get more like this, and less like Real Steel. He is a
great talent – and he made the best debut film of 2014.
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