FEBRUARY 2017 GQ.COM.AU 101Kill Bill: Volume 1, 2003
Arriving six years after
Quentin Tarantino’s last
film, Jackie Brown, the first
instalment of the Kill Bill
franchise certainly didn’t
leave eager fans wanting
for gore. But more than a
simple bloodbath, the film
received strong reviews,
with Tarantino even winning
feminist praise for casting
Uma Thurman as a kick-arse
action hero. While Tarantino
had long been a favourite of
movie nerds, this also proved
the director’s broader appeal
at the box office, pulling in
more than $180m from a
$30m investment.
Eternal Sunshine of the
Spotless Mind, 2004
Jim Carrey. Our relationship
with this film should have
ended there. And yet
it works, thanks to the
inventiveness of French-
master Michel Gondry and
the charms of a flame-haired
Kate Winslet. A romantic tale
with many slowly unfolding
twists – the connection is
amplified by a soundtrack
featuring Beck’s stunning
take on ‘Everybody’s Gotta
Learn Sometime’.
Brokeback Mountain, 2005
Rodeo star meets ranch
hand and they fall in love.
It’s a traditional Hollywood
premise, but because it was
also the tale of two men, this
film missed out on the many
Oscars it deserved, losing
to the glaringly obvious and
clunky Crash. Seriously, this
still pains us. Heath Ledger
provided one of his best
turns opposite good mate
and on-screen love interest
Jake Gyllenhaal, with the
Perth boy showing the world
what he could do by bringing
to life a script that riffs on
love and loss, pain and joy.Pan’s Labyrinth, 2006
One of the great fantasy
films, which shouldn’t
come as any surprise given
Guillermo del Toro (Blade
II, Hellboy and Pacific
Rim) is the man pulling
the strings. A violent fairy
tale, it’s the story of Ofelia
(hello!), a labyrinth, and
works on many varied layers- arguing everything from
the triviality of war to the
importance of one’s soul.
It’s certainly a different
adventure to the year’s other
standout, Little Miss Sunshine.
No Country for
Old Men, 2007
Up there with the prolific
Coen brothers’ best efforts,
this is a faultless neo-western
framed by murder and
money. And then there’s
Javier Bardem’s unstoppable
killer-for-hire, Anton
Chigurh, and whatever
the fuck that thing is he uses
to murder people. Chilling
and so incredibly alluring –
the type of film you wish to
be able to watch for ‘the first
time’ again and again, much
like the year’s other must-
see, Before the Devil Knows
You’re Dead.THE DIRECTOR
STEVE MCQUEEN
What about Christopher Nolan? Yeah,
yeah, Nolan’s great. But McQueen’s better- watch Hunger, then Shame, then 12 Years
A Slave, then his artistic back catalogue of
shorts. You’ll see the progression and the
nuance – the artistry. Want more evidence?
He works with Michael Fassbender; has a
Turner Prize for art (true!); has already been
awarded an OBE and CBE; he’s not yet 50;
and his name is Steve McQueen.
THE ACTOR
MICHAEL SHANNON
Menace is his stock-in-trade (think Boardwalk
Empire), though there have been softer moments,
the odd blockbuster and even comedy. Still, the
gruff and the aggressive is what you want from
the Illinois-native, whose standouts include 8 Mile,
Revolutionary Road, Before the Devil Knows You’re
Dead and more recent efforts 99 Homes, Midnight
Special and Nocturnal Animals. Best yet – the guy’s
42, so there’s more greatness to come, so long as
he doesn’t hire Robert De Niro as a career coach.AUSSIE,
AUSSIE,
AUSSIE
DESPITE A LACK
OF SUPPORT AND
FUNDING, THE
LOCAL INDUSTRY
STILL PUNCHES WELL
ABOVE ITS WEIGHT.The Castle, 1997
The Boys, 1998
Head On, 1998
Two Hands, 1999
Chopper, 2000
Lantana, 2001
Somersault, 2004
The Proposition, 2005
Look Both Ways, 2005
The Square, 2008
The Black Balloon, 2008
Beautiful Kate, 2009
Animal Kingdom, 2010
The Babadook, 2014
Mad Max: Fury Road, 2015