Jonathan R. Lack’s Top 10 Films Of 2013

This is the Top 10 list I have been waiting my entire critical career to write. I have been reviewing movies since 2004, and compiling Top 10 lists since 2006, and while the latter task has become increasingly stressful with each passing year – maybe because I see a greater number of movies each year, and maybe because the industry has been on a general upward trend in recent times – I have never had the pleasure or challenge of compiling such a dense collection of cinematic brilliance for my year-end countdown. It is always tough at first, whittling the list of contenders down to the actual ten titles, but if I am being honest, I also find that most Top 10 lists I make are made up of a few films I might call legitimate masterworks, a bunch of great movies I love intensely, and, at the bottom, a sentimental pick or two that most clearly reflects my own obsessions and interests. And that’s perfectly fine, because a Top 10 list constructed like that still represents a whole lot of very meaningful cinema.

Jonathan R. Lack

Published: Dec 20, 2013 11:28 am

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[h2]8. 12 Years a Slave[/h2]

12 Years a Slave

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Few films this year left me as deeply shaken as Steve McQueen’s 12 Years a Slave, a brutal, honest, sharp, and at times overwhelmingly emotional account of Solomon Northrup, a free black man sold into slavery in pre-Civil War America. The precision of McQueen’s artistry is largely unparalleled, especially in his stunning command over the power of single, unbroken shots, and what impresses me most is the unbelievable level of calm, measured control he exhibits over the entire affair.

Transcending words like tragic or harrowing, the film is downright haunting, deeply disturbing for how it illustrates the repulsive moral foundations of our nation’s past, and endlessly provocative in the ways it reflects the lingering scars and prejudices of the present. Brought to life by one of the greatest ensembles in recent memory, the film is positively littered with terrific performances, though the impossibly rich and nuanced work done by Chiwetel Ejiofor in the lead role is on another level. I cannot imagine another actor doing better work in this part, nor can I imagine any filmmaker and crew doing better by this immensely challenging material.

12 Years a Slave is now playing in limited release.

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Author

Jonathan R. Lack

With ten years of experience writing about movies and television, including an ongoing weekly column in The Denver Post's YourHub section, Jonathan R. Lack is a passionate voice in the field of film criticism. Writing is his favorite hobby, closely followed by watching movies and TV (which makes this his ideal gig), and is working on his first film-focused book.