FEBRUARY 2017 GQ.COM.AU 103of $825m at the box office –
an extraordinary amount for
a non-franchise film, which
cemented Nolan’s place
among the 21st-century’s
greatest filmmakers.Drive, 2011
The story of a Hollywood
stuntman who moonlights
as a getaway driver, this is
peak Ryan Gosling. Not only
did he deliver a powerful,
understated performance,
but Danish director Nicolas
Winding Refn won praise
for skilfully treading the
line between art and
entertainment. Together
with a brilliant and original
soundtrack, the result is
a film that builds with an
intensity that makes it
impossible to look away.Killing Them Softly, 2012
At a winery wedding in the
hills behind Melbourne- over mains of chicken
or the fish – we engaged
in a heated conversation
with a TV actor about Ben
Mendelsohn’s performance
in this dark gangster tale.
“Lazy and over the top,” he
wailed. “Real”, our response.
The languid Aussie is the
standout performer in
this wonderfully paced
and absorbing piece that
proved one of James
Gandolfini’s last outings.
Also, the last time we liked
Brad Pitt on screen.
The Wolf of Wall Street, 2013
Hookers and blow, baby,
hookers and blow. The Wolf
of Wall Street is frivolous,
hedonistic and completely
unnecessary, but, incredibly,
the true tale of former
stockbroker Jordan Belfort.
Martin Scorsese’s robbed-
of-an-Oscar epic is about
Leo as much as Margot and
‘that’ scene. And it sits nextto Her and Inside Llewyn
Davis as the year’s best.Boyhood, 2014
There’s no doubt Nightcrawler
and Whiplash were both
great films, but Boyhood is
undoubtedly the biggest
cinematic feat of 2015.
Filmed over 12 years, it
follows Mason Evans Jr
(Ellar Coltrane) from six
to 18. Also starring Ethan
Hawke and Patricia Arquette- who were on board for
the full duration of filming –
Boyhood won over the critics,
landing six Oscar nominations
and a slew of Golden Globe
wins. But even if you disliked
the film, there’s no denying
it’s a seriously impressive
piece of cinema.
Ex Machina, 2015
Without doubt 2015 was a big
year for film, with Ant-Man,
The Big Short and, of course,
Leo’s Oscar-winning turn in
The Revenant. But our pick is
the dark, atmospheric thriller
Ex Machina. Starring Oscar
Isaac, Domhnall Gleeson
and Alicia Vikander, it follows
a tech CEO who’s developed
a humanoid robot. But it’s
also about a lot more than
that, as the plot expands to
pose questions about the
interaction between humans
and machines, consciousness
and even gender. It’s a
complex, beautifully shot film
with performances that prove
there’s still plenty of depth in
the Hollywood talent pool.Nocturnal Animals, 2016
When Tom Ford first
announced he was trying his
hand at filmmaking, many
were quick to dismiss him
as a bored fashion designer
with too much time on his
hands. The critics aren’t
saying that anymore. A Single
Man, his 2009 debut starring
Colin Firth and Julianne
Moore, was fantastic but
Nocturnal Animals lifts the
bar even higher. Though
Ford was always going
to produce a beautiful-
looking film, it’s the cast
that makes this memorable,
with Jake Gyllenhaal, Amy
Adams and Michael Shannon
delivering primal, haunting
performances that stay with
you long after the credits. THAT TIME
WE LIKED
GUY PEARCE
It happened in 2000, in
Momento, a film that asked
more questions than it
answered, such as are Jag
XK8’s cool? And who the
fuck wrote this film that asks
the audience to engage and
even take notes in order to
keep up? (The answer to the
latter is, again, Christopher
Nolan.) Former Ramsay
Street resident Pearce shines
as Leonard, the anterograde
amnesia sufferer searching
for more than just the man
he alleges to have raped and
murdered his wife.True tales that leave you stunned – there’s
more than a few. Yet none quite like this
gripping documentary detailing the bizarre
exploits of Frenchman Frédéric Bourdin, who in
1997 was discovered by Spanish authorities and
claimed to be Nicholas Barclay, a missing 13-year-
old boy from Texas. Simply brilliant.
Notable Others: Man on Wire; When We Were
Kings; Murderball; March of the Penguins; Enron: The
Smartest Guys in the Room; Sicko; The Act of Killing;
Touching the Void; SennaADDITIONAL WORDS: JAKE MILLAR; ADAM BAIDAWI. PHOTOGRAPHY: GETTY IMAGES.