102 GQ.COM.AU FEBRUARY 2017
The Dark Knight, 2008
Heath Ledger as the Joker,
in a nurse’s outfit, waddling
towards the camera as the
hospital behind him is raised
to the ground. It’s a lasting
image – not least because of
Ledger’s ownership of this
Batman outing debuted after
his death. A darkly comic
Christopher Nolan tale we
often reheat and consume.District 9, 2009
More than a science fiction
thriller – this smarter-than-
it-first-seems South African
film calls out racism and
xenophobia generally,
and apartheid specifically.
Here, the marginalised
‘people’ are aliens, known
as ‘prawns’, who revolt
against their physical
segregation. A film that’s
worth seeking out again.Inception, 2010
Who says Hollywood’s
all out of ideas? We’re
not even going to try to
explain Christopher Nolan’s
extraordinary mind-fuck of
a sci-fi epic. But there’s no
doubt the film delivered on
all fronts, with a killer script
and brilliant performances
from Leonardo DiCaprio,
Joseph Gordon-Levitt,
Marion Cotillard and Tom
Hardy. There’s also the small
detail that it made upwardsBEST USE
OF A
PROSTHETIC
Look past the noses
of Nicole Kidman (The
Hours, 2002) and Steve
Carell (Foxcatcher, 2015)
and reach for Mark
Wahlberg’s groin. Not
like that. We’re talking
Boogie Nights (1997),
and an appendage that
cast equal measures
of fear and pleasure
while also scaring off
any nearby horses.THAT TIME
WE CRIED AT
THE MOVIES
It was in 2010 at a media
screening of Blue Valentine.
The small theatrette was
packed with misanthropes
wielding pens with lights
attached, as warm, salty
water tumbled across our
cheeks. Then we opened up.
Not one for Valentine’s Day- or a new partner – given
anyone with actual human
emotions, or who’s grieved
for lost love, will find it
hard to watch Ryan Gosling
and Michelle Williams
detail the disintegration of
their relationship without
at least wincing.
FACT V
FICTION
THE IMPOSTER,
2012