Train Dreams

I'm really liking what Clint Bentley and Greg Kwedar are bringing to the cinematic table of late. The two wrote Sing Sing (directed by Kwedar), Jockey, and this one (both directed by Bentley). All 3 are humanistic character pieces that say something about men and their places in society. Bentley's efforts in particular, are slow, and quiet -- In Train Dreams, Joel Edgerton stars as a good man in an ever changing and callous world - where he is haunted by nightmares and overcome with a grief that cuts cruel and deep.

As part of his journey, there is also camaraderie, with a native America store owner (Nathaniel Arcand), with William H Macy's life-loving explosives expert, Arn Peeples. And for a spell, there is the peace and love found in the isolated woods with his family.

Style wise, it's a mix of Terrance Malick with Kelly Reichardt. The script is reflective, existential, and in touch with nature, which is shot by Adolpho Veloso. His cinematography is both gorgeous, and smartly framed, while also reflecting our protagonist's mindset, the serenity and the hardships - there is a tangible, and significant relationship between man and nature. Acting is understated - Edgerton gives an award worthy 'less is more' performance. Felicity Jones is warm hearted as his wife, and Kerry Condon shares a nice scene with him, playing a sort of kindred spirit. Through it all, soft spoken Will Patton provides the folky narration.

In short, Train Dreams is about beauty and sadness, what comes and goes, what life takes, and what it gives back, and how we resolve ourselves to the twists and turns that come our way. It's emotional and will probably bring tears to one's eyes; a person might even find it healing; restorative at the end.

A real gem of a movie, one of 2025s finest.

Back to 2025

Hamnet

Jessie Buckley -who brings so much emotional depth to the film- stars as Agnes, a daughter of nature (called a forest witch by those in the community) who catches the eye of teacher, and burgeoning playwright and poet, William Shakespeare (Paul Mescal) - consider him more a son of the bustling cities, the places where his talents can flourish - despite these differences, love blossoms between them. While conflicts arise, primarily with the parental figures*, this is a tender told tale, with little touches that reveal much, like when a drunken, creatively blocked Will, pulls away when Agnes offers comfort, she attempts to touch and hold, because that's who she is, but he won't have it, foreshadowing his leaving.

Hamnet is a spiritual, earthy film, full of green forests and foliage, very much in Chloé Zhao's wheelhouse. There are gorgeous shots aplenty - the compositions, colors and lighting in certain scenes are like paintings, especially when you see Agnes in the places where she thrives, among the grasses and streams and animals. In addition, symbolic imagery acts as a character revealing tool. Our first glimpse of Agnes, for example, sees her curled up like a babe in a wooded womb, near a cave (acting as birth canal? Though later, Will looks at it as if it were a gateway to the hereafter). Production design lends period authenticity, while mirroring the personalities of the characters and the spaces they inhabit. Their two worlds (Will's stages, Agnes' forests) which merge in the final act, where the plays backdrop is not a castle, but trees.

Along with the romance, this is about unfathomable grief, the loss of a child, played ably by Jacobi Jupe, is crushing, and it drives a wedge between the couple, leaves them untethered and searching for answers - all of which felt raw, and true to life. And for a creative person, there's only one way to articulate the pain, to come to terms with it, to say the tender goodbyes you were unable to utter due to being so far from home...

I didn't really know how Hamlet could connect to Hamnet -- as Agnes wonders early on during the play, how is this about my son? But somehow, that connection is made, powerfully, communally - the change in Buckley's demeanor, from anger to the rapt attention that overcomes her as the story unfolds. She is locked in, and moved, as was I, which culminates in an emotional finish that elegantly captures the back-and-forth connection between art and audience.

In closing, Hamnet's creative ingredients impressed me - Łukasz Żal's camerawork, Max Richter's haunting score (On the Nature of Daylight played a vital role in shaping the end scene), the sound design, and Zhao's direction, which is anchored by acting that was authentic, heartfelt, and beautiful. I found it an incredible picture on all phases.


* I should note that while the parents' roles are cut back in this adaptation, Emily Watson makes the most of her time on screen, as William's hard, but compassionate mother.

Back to 2025

2025

Sound of Falling (Director: Mascha Schilinski)
Nominees: Hamnet, Train Dreams, One Battle After Another, Sentimental Value, Bugonia, Marty Supreme, It Was Just an Accident, Life of Chuck

Oscars pick: One Battle After Another
Nominees: Bugonia, F1, Frankenstein, Hamnet, Marty Supreme, Sentimental Value, The Secret Agent, Sinners, Train Dreams

For a while I feared that 2025 was going to be as middling a season as 2024, as I found a few darlings either overrated or complete busts. But then came One Battle After Another, followed by Train Dreams, Bugonia, and Hamnet, and in their wake, enthusiasm was reborn. From those 4 I'd choose a victor, right? And indeed, Hamnet and Train Dreams battled back and forth for months, and at zero hour I thought for certain it would be Hamnet. I adored Hamnet.

And then I saw Sound of Falling, and that caused a seismic shift, as Deadline's Damon Wise wrote... "Cinema is too small a word for what this sprawling yet intimate epic achieves in its ethereal, unnerving brilliance."

The picture addresses generational trauma, often stemming from men's actions towards women - sometimes it's physical, other times it's a word, or a gaze, and within the film these women speak about pretending not to notice, not to see. Narration allows the audience access to the inner thoughts of these four ladies, while those beyond the screen are equally important storytellers—in regard to seeing, noticing, for example, the camera occasionally blurs out faces.

Fabian Gamper's cinematography stands out, in a year when the camera did more than just deliver pretty images (see Żal on Hamnet, or Veloso on Train Dreams). Gamper, along with editor Evelyn Rack (who plays a crucial role in piecing together this non-linear tale). and sound designer Billie Mind, gives the film the feel and look of a ghost story. We float through rooms, we float through time, character's suddenly gaze into space as if they are seeing something that can't be there, sometimes they are spied on by some unseen presence. Trauma speaks to trauma, and what is born from that defies easy labels - but I feel confident in calling it a singular art-house masterwork.

For further insights, an interview with Evelyn Rack.

Top films of 2025 - with notes and links and a full list of awards.

🎭 In the past I've mentioned my appreciation for understated, quiet acting, this year however I have some explosive, energized works in the mix. 3 are first time nominees, with my best actress winning her first after 4 noms (she was also the first Irish woman to win an Oscar in that category). I was torn at actor, DiCaprio, Edgerton... and while I've never thought much of Chalamet, darned if Safdie didn't pull a hell of a performance out of him, far better than the lifeless, dead-eyed Dylan he was overpraised for last season.

At support I went with the horror genre. One is terrifying and over the top, the other brings a poetic vulnerability and innocence; though Elordi is right on the line between co-lead and support (the 2nd half of the film is his), conceptually I lean toward him being more a supporting figure, a son - the creation of Victor, the father.

Other performances I liked - Vikander & Olsen (The Assessment), Shih Yuan Ma, Janel Tsai, Nina Ye, Brando Huang (Left-Handed Girl), Vesta Matulytė & Ieva Rupeikaitė (Toxic), Mia Threapleton & Benicio del Toro (The Phoenician Scheme), Carmen Maura, Ahmed Boulane (Calle Málaga), Ethan Hawke (Blue Moon), Kate Hudson & Hugh Jackman (Song Sung Blue), Wagner Moura (The Secret Agent), Jennifer Lawrence (Die My Love), Amanda Seyfried (The Testament of Ann Lee), Rebecca Hall & Ben Whishaw (Peter Hujar’s Day), Everett Blunck (The Plague & Griffin in Summer), Sophie Thatcher (Companion)

Best Actor: Timothée Chalamet, Marty Supreme

Honorable Mentions: 

Joel Edgerton, Train Dreams * Stellan Skarsgård, Sentimental Value * Leonardo DiCaprio & Sean Penn, One Battle * Vahid Mobasseri, It Was Just an Accident * Paul Mescal, Hamnet * Lee Byung-hun, No Other Choice * Jesse Plemons, Bugonia * Saleh Bakri, All That's Left of You * Toni Servillo, La Grazia

Best Actress: Jessie Buckley, Hamnet 

Honorable Mentions: 

Rose Byrne, If I Had Legs I'd Kick You * Wu Ke-Xi, Blue Sun Palace * Radhika Apte, Sister Midnight * Renate Reinsve, Sentimental Value * Mariam Afshari, It Was Just an Accident * Kathleen Chalfant, Familiar Touch * Emma Stone, Bugonia * Chase Infinity, One Battle * Cherien Dabis, All That's Left of You * Sally Hawkins, Bring Her Back

Supporting Actress: Amy Madigan, Weapons 

Also: Odessa A’zion, Marty Supreme & Nina Hoss, Hedda - followed by Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas & Elle Fanning, Sentimental Value, Emily Watson, Hamnet

Supporting Actor: Jacob Elordi, Frankenstein

Also: William H Macy, Train Dreams - followed by Andrew Scott, Blue Moon, Jacobi Jupe, Hamnet, Mohammad Bakri, All That's Left of You

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Mona Lisa

While Neil Jordan's Mona Lisa treads on familiar ground and the ending is a bit too pat (what happened between what occurred in that room, to George’s happy state at the end?) Overall, "the great" overshadows any nitpicks. And I'm not alone in my affection for it, author Dennis Lehane called it his favorite movie of the eighties, and comedian Bill Hader included it in his Criterion Top 10, as did filmmaker Jeremiah Zagar. So, good company there.

Particularly great is Bob Hoskins, who gives a touching performance, arguably his best ever (one that is rather Marty-like, but with an edge.)

Hoskins plays a low-level criminal named George, fresh out of prison, who is given a job chauffeuring for a call girl. At first, they are like oil and water, but soon George starts to care about this woman, and aids her when she asks for his help in locating an underage hooker that she fears is in danger.

While there is crime, and Jordan gives a sense of a city's tragic seedy underbelly (as well defined as the one Scorsese drew in Taxi Driver). The strength of the picture is its character study, and that it takes its time and allows us to get to know these people. George is a guy who is discovering that the game has changed. He's out of his element, slow on the upswing, not sophisticated in the least. But he's got the heart of a white knight. He feels concern and stands up for the women he encounters – whether for the daughter he's trying to get reacquainted with, or the streetwalker he rescues, or the hooker he falls for. 

It's sad seeing this poor lug convince himself that the tramp is a lady (and Bob's acting near the end when he finally ‘gets it’, was heartbreaking). Not that she's a terrible human being – there seems to be some genuine affection there, but she wants something from George, and she'll do whatever it takes to get it.

Hoskins isn't the only acting ace. Michael Caine plays George's snake in the grass boss, the great Robby Coltrane is his crime novel loving best friend -- and Cathy Tyson is so good in her début, playing the elegant prostitute Simone, that I'm stunned that she hasn't done more feature film work.

While there are great moments throughout - the character interaction and acting, direction and script come together in one scene that left a lasting impression. It's in the final act, when Simone -looking for understanding- asks an upset George, "You ever need someone?" and he responds with a tiny crack in his voice, "All the time." Man, that stole the breath from my lungs. And the movie is sprinkled with small, beautiful touches like that one.

Back to 1986

Viridiana

Viridiana is Luis Buñuel's scathing look at religion and humiliation... which he saw as going hand in hand. He also looks at Saintly trials and sacrifices as sought after –not for want of holiness- but for love of suffering. Bathed in sociopolitical symbolism (a little girl deliberately spilling her milk on a cow's head. A crucifix that opens to reveal a knife), Viridiana is complex, cruel, darkly funny and endlessly thought-provoking.

Writer Hal Erickson's synopsis... "After 25 years' exile, Luis Buñuel was invited to his native Spain to direct Viridiana -- only to have the Spanish government suppress the film on the grounds of blasphemy and obscenity. Regarded by many as Buñuel's crowning achievement, the film centers on an idealistic young nun named Viridiana (Silvia Pinal). Just before taking her final vows, Viridiana is forced by her mother superior to visit her wealthy uncle Don Jaime (Fernando Rey), who has "selflessly" provided for the girl over the years. She has always considered Don Jaime an unspeakable beast, so she is surprised when he graciously welcomes her into his home. Just as graciously, he sets about to corrupt Viridiana beyond redemption -- all because the girl resembles his late wife. It is always hard to select the most outrageous scene in any Buñuel film; our candidate in Viridiana is the devastating Last Supper tableau consisting of beggars, thieves, and degenerates. As joltingly brilliant today as on its first release, Viridiana won the Golden Palm at the Cannes Film Festival."

Back to 1961

Shadow of a Doubt

Psychological and character driven, watch it for Joseph Cotten, who was note perfect as the suave but diabolical Uncle Charlie. I love how the train he rides into town on, billows out thick black smoke from its stack, as if it's bringing something evil. But the opening sequence overall is a masterclass in choreographing scenes, in world building, in the importance of setting the table. For example - The credits roll as couples dance (a sound and visual motif that pops up here and there), which takes us not to a thriving city, but to the places where the homeless dwell -- That will later contrast to the perfect, idealized American town, with a smiling cop directing traffic. From a cheery, chattering wholesome family, to Uncle Charlie sitting alone in a dark room, his mind a little scattered... but sharp enough - and from the start we are shown that he's a parasite, he gets everyone to cater to him, nurse him on the train, carry his bags afterwards... and it's all accompanied by this Dimitri Tiomkin score that could fit right in with any old Andy Hardy flick.... which continues throughout, a bit overcooked and soap opera-ish in spots - so far removed from Bernard Herrmann's surreal, haunting compositions that suited Hitchcock best, but so right for what the director was serving up here. It's chiaroscuro in all phases, score to photography to tone. (Teresa Wrights the perfect contrast to Cotten, sweet to his sour - but when it all comes crashing down, and the ugly world intrudes on her ordinary life - then it becomes a face-off, and here she shows some steel)

While the character of the detective was a bit weak - there is so much to admire and enjoy. Critic Dave Kehr said summed it up nicely when he wrote… “Hitchcock's discovery of darkness within the heart of small-town America remains one of his most harrowing films, a peek behind the facade of security that reveals loneliness, despair, and death. Thornton Wilder collaborated on the script; it's Our Town turned inside out.”

And along with that, Alfred throws in splashes of black humor throughout.

Memorable Scenes: The Charlies, one at the top of the stairs, with concern on his face, looking down at the other, framed by the door, looking cool as a cucumber and unaware of what's going on in that sick mind of his - The camera zeroes in on the ring - The train bringing Uncle Charlie to town billows out thick black smoke - Joseph Cotten speaks of his hatred for rich single women, his niece Charlie argues that they are people like everyone else. Cotten turns, looks directly into the camera and replies chillingly... "Are they?"

Memorable Quote: "Do you know the world is a foul sty? Do you know, if you rip off the fronts of houses, you'd find swine? The world's a hell. What does it matter what happens in it? Wake up, Charlie. Use your wits. Learn something." - Joseph Cotten as Uncle Charlie

Hitchcock Cameo: 14 minutes into the film he can be seen on the train playing bridge with a man and a woman.

Of Note: Playwright David Mamet calls it Hitchcock's finest. Alfred sometimes told interviewers that it was his personal favorite among his American films.

Back to 1943

Psycho

The progenitor of the modern slasher film is as effective today and IMHO reigns as the best of the genre because it tells its chilling story with class and style - every angle, every shadow, every sound embodies the Hitchcockian ideal, and he achieves this on a modest budget using his television crew. While North by Northwest saw Hitch going bigger and brighter, Psycho is a more intimate, smaller scale production, steeped in dread.

The shower scene remains as horrifying as ever—the transition from the swirling drain to the victim's eye is among the most striking images in Hitchcock's oeuvre, or any film for that matter. The later sequence in the dark, foreboding house, where Vera Miles seeks to question Mother, features a storytelling tool we are by now familiar with, that regardless, works wonderfully; as each step of her search uncovers aspects of Norman's character, from his "little boys" bedroom to the shocking revelation in the cellar.

While the segment with Simon Oakland towards the end is overly expository -these parts should have been pared down to the essentials or removed entirely (writer Joseph Stefano pushed to have this scene included, but it violates Hitch's rule of the MacGuffin and forces the audience to examine the mechanics of the story too closely). Thankfully it rebounds with that final eerie scene, with Norman enveloped in shadow, hearing mother's voice in his mind. (Hitch used 3 women to voice dear old mom. And while we consciously might not be aware of this, we do notice that something’s not quite right. It's another beautiful touch that again, highlights the directors command of image and sound).

It's true that we are too familiar with the story these days - it doesn’t surprise us the way it did theatergoers in the 60s (my mother spoke of the lingering effects of the picture, and how it continually set you back on your heels). Nevertheless, it remains essential Hitchcock viewing, distinguished by Anthony Perkin’s sympathetic/disturbing performance and Bernard Herrmann’s iconic score.

Memorable Scenes: The shower - Mother revealed - The final shots of Norman with Mothers face quickly superimposed over his.

Memorable Quote: "You know what I think? I think that we're all in our private traps, clamped in them, and none of us can ever get out. We scratch and we claw, but only at the air, only at each other, and for all of it, we never budge an inch." - Anthony Perkins as Norman Bates

Hitchcock Cameo: 7 minutes in he can be seen through a window, wearing a Stetson hat, standing outside Marion Crane's office

Of Note: Hitch had to finance the film himself because Paramount didn’t want to make it and was expecting him to direct "No Bail for the Judge", with Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn instead.

Back to 1961