[Note: revised and updated]
Now that almost every single film critic in the country has published their top ten list, we can sit back, relax and think about the upcoming year, a year which will bring forth more sequels than ever before and an industry that – supposedly – keeps shrinking in ideas and creative freedom. No worries. There are still great movies out there and there always will be. The rebels that keep fighting for their vision to be shown onscreen are plentiful. I decided this year that instead of naming 10 movies, which I’m sure many of you have heard of before, I’ll switch it up and make a list of the ten best moments/scenes of 2014. Moments when artists decided to break the rules, change the game and leave us gasping for air (or a bottle of oxygen). Here they are.
1. Whiplash “The Final Performance”
The editing, composition, and performance of the drum solo finale in “Whiplash” is as perfect as finales go. An artistic breakthrough happens along the way. Miles Teller’s Andrew breaks on through to the other side by giving an impressive, sweaty, blood soaked drum solo that had audiences applauding to no end once the screen went black when I first caught it at the Toronto Film Festival. The ending is meant to be a provocation of the highest order. Up until that point, writer-director Damien Chazelle had pummeled us into a corner with J.K Simmons’ mentally abusive music teacher. The finale is equal parts disturbing, rousing, confusing and emotionally liberating. It’s the moment when Chazelle’s movie becomes the masterpiece that it is.
2. Birdman “Times Square Lockout”
I could have chosen the final scene or Edward Norton getting a hard on in front of a live audience or really any scene from Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu’s visionary film, but this is the scene everybody keeps talking about. The ballsiest moment for many reasons. Riggan, wearing only his tighty whities, accidentally gets locked out of Broadway’s St. James theater after accidentally catching his daughter making out with one of the stars of his play. Riggan goes for it, marching down Times Square naked. The camera starts with an over-the-shoulder shot, then moves laterally with Keaton, then moves in front of him, to show his reaction. People start to recognize him and dozens of cameras start flashing to take mementos of this crazy moment. The audience gasps in agony and sit at the edge of our seat cringing. Suffice it to say, Riggan makes it back to stage via the front entrance – gasps heard all around the audience – finishing his lines, completing a tour de force moment in a film filled with them.
3. Gone Girl “Coital Bloodbath”
It was this or the “cool girl” monologue, but how can you resist this shockingly bloody post coital night capper? Of course it’s the scene where Amy cuts Desi’s throat, mid-coitus, as he’s climaxing, with a box cutter she sneakily hid from him and the audience. That scene. That scene alone took two days to shoot, as Fincher meticulously constructed and de-constructed the mise-en-scene. The frame is soaked in blood and Rosamund Pike’s Amy revels in the gore all around her by beautifully acknowledging what she has just done. She’s in control, she knows what she’s doing, and she and Fincher make sure we don’t ever forget what just happened.
4. Force Majeure “The Controlled Avalanche”
The money shot in Ruben Östlund’s Force Majeure happens in the first few minutes of the film. It’s a four and a half minute shot that will leave you gasping for air and in disarray about what just happened. A Swedish family dines in an outdoor patio, we overhear people nervously gasping about an innocent looking avalanche coming their way. “It’s a controlled avalanche don’t worry”, says the father. Lo and behold it looks to be more than that as the avalanche comes towards the patio enveloping the screen with whiteness and having the father run for his life without thinking about his family’s fate. Fight or flight response? Or just plain cowardice? Of course our patriarch was right, the avalanche was indeed controlled, but his actions are now questioned and his role as family patriarch is jeopardized.
5. Under the Skin “The Disfigured Man”
Jonathan Glazer’s “Under the Skin” is the most visionary movie of 2014. Scene after scene you are enveloped in its darkly deceptive web of sex and mystery. Just around the film’s halfway mark, the alien picks up a man with a facial deformity. You may assume you’re seeing an actor with a prosthetic, but in fact he’s played by amateur actor Adam Pearson, who has a condition called neurofibromatosis. Johansson’s Alien does not realize he is different, she keeps mentioning how he has beautiful hands and persists for him to touch her face. The film at the moment challenges our preconceptions about human nature, the way we see things, challenging to look at this man through the eyes of an alien who doesn’t know he is different. Yet, there’s a breaking point: our Alien is touched by this man and starts to feel things she hasn’t felt before, setting up the perplexing emotions that are about to come in this staggeringly masterful film.
6. Inherent Vice “Femme Fatale”
Here is a weirdly sexy long take that is one of many riotously dreamy moments in Paul Thomas Anderson’s messy, but at times mesmerizing, Inherent Vice. Up until then, Anderson has confused us and dared us to leap with him in a world filled with hallucinogenic madness. Shasta, who was supposedly missing, decides to stop by our beloved Doc’s apartment with the cool breezy chilled out attitude of a summer bunny femme fatale. She seduces Doc in every which way possible as she recounts tales of her past. They do finally get it on, but not before we are brought into her deceitful web of foreplay. When the coitus is done, she sensually whispers, “This doesn’t mean we’re back together.” I could have chosen Martin Short’s bravura sequence as a coked up paranoid attorney or James Brolin’s final statement, but this is the moment when Inherent Vice gives you the best high.
7. Boyhood “I Just Thought There Would Be More”
“I just thought there would be more.” That is a quote from a scene that will mostly likely be responsible for Patricia Arquette’s Best Supporting Actress statuette this February. These words are uttered near the end of Richard Linklater’s Boyhood, as her teenage son is about to leave for college. It’s the kind of moment that wrenchingly breaks your heart yet never over-sentimentalizes its reach. Throughout the three hour movie, Arquette’s single mother has had to raise her two children practically on her own all in the while going through two difficult marriages and trying to get a degree. The end result is that she is now a successful working woman and is about to send her youngest off to college. It’s that moment in life when a parent has to let go. She feels underwhelmed by the moment but, having just seen 12 years zoom by in 3 hours, we feel like end result is the beauty of life.
8. Nightcrawler “The Home Invasion”
“Nightcrawler” has many incredible set pieces, but none more impressive than a mid-story LA hills home invasion that Lou Bloom and his assistant stumble upon. When Jake Gyllenhaal’s Bloom gets a camera in his hand, every law is thrown out of the window and nothing will stop him from capturing the most vicious crimes. The scene is morally questionable, but filled with undeniable tension, and aided by the brilliant work of Robert Elswit’s cinematography. This invasion of a crime scene before the police even shows up is the start of a nasty series of events that sets forth uncontrollable tensions that will undoubtedly lead to tragedy. I almost chose that incredible Chinese restaurant/car chase scene that ends the movie with a thrilling bang, but that scene wouldn’t have even happened without this creepy, deviously immoral moment.
9. Two Days, One Night “Timur”
Marion Cotillard is mesmerizing in her role as Sandra, a young Belgian mother who discovers her co-workers were pressured to choose a significant pay bonus rather than having her keep the job she so badly needs. In this mesmerizing film by the Dardennes brothers, Cotillard’s Sandra approaches each and every co-worker, asking them to change their vote. After failing to convince the last few co-workers – and on the verge of another mental breakdown – Sandra approaches Timur (Timur Magomedgadzhiev) in a soccer field. The smile on his face when he sees Sandra says everything about what is about to happen. He admits regret for voting against her for the bonus and that he’s been thinking about it ever since. He looks back at a time when he was new to the company and Sandra helped him overcome tough circumstances. Timur breaks down and bursts into tears, bringing a glimmer of hope to a story that seemed solely based in darkness. At that very moment we believe in the goodness of people.
10. Snowpiercer “Axe-Wielding Mayhem”
I could have chosen any of the car hopping, adrenaline pumping, blood running sequences from Bong Joon- ho’s “Snowpiercer” but the one that stuck with me the most was this nightmare Axe-wielding bloodbath that occurs mid-way through the film. You expect unpredictability and downright original storytelling whenever you watch a new Bong Joon-ho film, what you don’t expect is a jaw-dropping workshop on how to shoot the perfect action sequence- a sequence so tightly constructed and so visionary that it pretty much puts all of Hollywood’s action movies to shame. Axes, fish, complete darkness, complete light, a blood soaked floor and that’s only the half of it. The film’s first 90 minutes is the most brilliantly looney science fiction I’ve seen since Terry Gilliam’s “Brazil”.
As Jim Croce sings, time stops, allowing Quicksilver to wreak havoc in X-Men: Days of Future Past
A frighteningly chipper teacher leads her school kids in a song about freezing and death in Snowpiercer
Taken by apes, a tank turret spins, revealing flames and chaos in Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
In a garage, Gary reveals his failings to his teenage son, driving the boy to tears in Kill the Messenger
A weary tank crew sit menacingly around a table with two fräuleins, the tension growing thick in Fury
A crazed journo coldly rolls camera as policemen walk into an ambush that he set up in Nightcrawler
Three drummers, pushed by a sadistic jazz instructor, drum furiously – hands bleeding – in Whiplash
A boy, a girl, a maiden and a baker blame each other for their troubles, musically, in Into the Woods
I have to agree with Whiplash’s finale being #1. Amazing stuff.
That said, I think that Quicksilver using his powers in X-men:DOFP has to be in any list such as those.
The Tale of the Princess Kaguya
Final scene.
Amazing top 10 here! Whiplash as number one is so spot-on…one of the most mesmerizing scene in years!
Loved it the list!
I’d also include the final shot in The Immigrant;
the suicide in Ida;
the whole sequence at the Wedding in Wild Tales ;
and singer in Tangier in Only Lovers Left Alive
I love many of the scenes that have been mentioned above, but I’m going to choose one that hasn’t been said yet from one of my favorite films of the year, ‘Foxcatcher’. The scene in the helicopter where Carell’s John Du Pont gives Tatum’s Mark Schultz the speech that he will be reading, and then the two divulge in some coke and repeat the “Ornithologist, Philatelist, Philanthropist…” is one of the most darkly hilarious scenes of the year, and Carell and Tatum are just dynamite in their delivery.
I feel too lazy too make a giant list, but here are some.
1. “Birdman” – The scene in the street when Keaton snaps his fingers and everything goes full BIRDMAN!
2. “X-Men: DOFP -The Quicksilver scene which makes the whole damn movie, and is probably the sole reason for it’s Oscar nomination.
3. “LEGO MOVIE – Then they enter the cowboy saloon. It’s not an amazing scene, but if make me laugh just thinking about it .
4. “Gone Girl” – Cool girl sequence is great. But so is the rest of the film.
5. “Nightcrawler” – A lot of amazing parts, but one that I never see mentioned that pops up in my head almost daily is the last conversation between the two leads after “the accident” at the climax of the film.
And tons more I don’t want to sit here typing.
BOYHOOD. Mason is packing to leave home and talking about a roommate-matching algorithm when his mother suddenly goes to pieces.
BOYHOOD. Mason and friends have a beer and talk sex with two older guys. There is almost a terrible accident, but ultimately nothing happens.
WILD TALES. The groom comes back, eats a big piece of cake and decides to reunite with his bride in front of everyone.
WILD TALES. The janitor is killed by the widower.
WILD TALES. The aftermath of the roadside diner bloodshed. From the backseat of the police car, the cook winks.
THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL. The secret association of concierges spreads the message to help Gustave.
THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL. Old Zero reveals that he is attached to the hotel not because he is loyal to Gustave, but because he misses Agatha.
THE IMITATION GAME. The chief of MI6 fools Alan about Joan, then reveals to him that he always knew who was the Soviet spy.
THE IMITATION GAME. After discussing with Alan the use of statistics to select the German targets, the chief of MI6 tells him he is the right man for the job.
GONE GIRL. Amy tells Nick she is pregnant.
NIGHTCRAWLER. Lou gets to the house before the police and shoots the dead bodies inside.
INTERSTELLAR. Cooper walks into his house turned into a museum.
BOYHOOD. The darkroom scene. “Who do you wanna be, Mason?”
BOYHOOD. In the car, Samantha tells dad she and Mason can’t tell him everything about their lives without some real father/child bonding.
BOYHOOD. Mason is disappointed because his father forgot about the old car promise. He gets the Beatles Black Album instead.
There were lots of great scenes this year, but the ones that stood out to me were:
Whiplash: The three drummers playing themselves to death. “Nobody is leaving until someone gives me perfect 400ths.”
Mudbloods: The Quidditch World Cup.
Selma: The bloody bridge.
Birdman: Tighty whities.
Penguins of Madagascar: Venice boat chase.
Nightcrawler: Waiting outside the Chinese restaurant, then witnessing the car chase and massacre that is the result.
The Guardians of the Galaxy: “I am Groot.” Every time he says that.
American Sniper: Didn’t actually see the movie, but the trailer easily makes this list.
Girlhood: Shine bright like a diamond! Also the fight scene with the knife.
The Grand Budapest Hotel: The opening and closing of the movie, where we are lead through time with different forms of storytelling.
Favorite scene from whiplash has to be miles teller drumming so hard scene.
The grand Budapest hotel lobby boy scene
John DuPont interview with mark schultz
.
Battle of the five armies in the hobbit
The whole movie of life itself
What about bunch if a holes. Guardians of the galaxy
Michael Keaton riggman running down times square named in birdman
Battle of the 5 armies from the hobbit
Riggman running naked through times square. What is he the new streaker
John DuPont interview with mark Schultz in ffoxcatcher
The whole movie of life itself
I would add:
The live action segment of The Lego Movie.
Dominic West’s dance scene in Pride.
Martin Luther King, Jr. being confronted about his infidelities in Selma.
The parents’ weekend scene (and the following scene at the police department) in 22 Jump Street.
Caesar remembers James Franco’s character in Dawn of the Planet of the Apes.
Alfred Molina and John Lithgow in the gay bar in Love Is Strange.
Brendan Gleeson’s death scene in Calvary.
The opening stand-up routine in Obvious Child.
Keira Knightley’s speech to Benedict Cumberbatch at the end of The Imitation Game.
Dancing Groot in Guardians of the Galaxy.
Mason and his girlfriend go for a date in the city in Boyhood.
The escape tools hidden in the desserts in The Grand Budapest Hotel.
The schoolcar scene in Snowpiercer.
Ben Affleck’s interview in Gone Girl.
Oh, I’ll play 🙂
1. GONE GIRL : Cool Girl Scene
2. WHIPLASH : The Finale
3. BIRDMAN : Emma Stone loses it.
4. THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL : The extraordinary Tilda Swinton’s scene(s) with Ralph Fiennes
5. THE DISAPPEARANCE OF ELEANOR RIGBY – THEM : The End Scene (they can’t escape each other)
6. GONE GIRL : “I’m the cunt you married”
7. THE FAULT IN OUR STARS : “OK” (End Scene)
8. HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON 2 : “A Mother never forgets.”
9. INTERSTELLAR : Murph’s Revelation Montage
10. X-MEN – DAYS OF FUTURE PAST : Quicksilver shows what he’s got
11. EDGE OF TOMORROW : Whenever “Full Metal Bitch” was on screen.
12. THE IMITATION GAME : Breaking the code
13. ST. VINCENT : A modern saint
14. BIRDMAN : Edward Norton is offended he can’t drink on stage AND his erection scene.
15. BIRDMAN : Lindsay Duncan tells Michael Keaton as it is.
16. BIRDMAN : Amy Ryan visits Michael Keaton during intermission.
17. BOYHOOD : Patricia Arquette is pissed off her son is unfazed by leaving the nest.
18. BEGIN AGAIN : Mark Ruffalo “remixes” Keira Knightley’s song in his head while she is singing it.
19. BEYOND THE LIGHTS : After removing all the fake, the real Noni is revealed.
20. BIRDMAN : Naomi Watts wants to hear that “she made it”.
21. BELLE : “Yes, I have a tongue.”
22. THE SKELETON TWINS : “Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now” Routine
23. VERONICA MARS : “Fuck off” (It was just nice to hear R-rated from a character used to network-censored language)
24. PRIDE : Dominic West steals the show on the dance floor.
25. PADDINGTON : Paddington’s letter
Damn, what’s up with all this mushy stuff ? I got soft last year.
Excellent choices. I would add:
“Fury” – the apartment scene.
“Snowpiercer” – the classroom.
“Noah” – the creation scene.
This is a fantastic list of choices!
There are so many great scenes from Boyhood, but maybe my favorite is where Mason Sr. gives Mason his birthday present of The Beatles “Black Album” and is explaining how if you listen carefully, you can hear The Beatles. Classic!