This is the fifth in a series of six posts on what I felt were the best acting and directing performances, as well as films of 2011.
10. Tate Taylor-The Help: Directing actors is still directing, while The Help is not quite a directorial marvel, the way Taylor brought the huge cast together and still made semblance of it earns him a spot on this list.
9. Rupert Wyatt-Rise of the Planet of the Apes: Generally its hard to still have an element of surprise in prequels, but Wyatt made it happen in RotPofA. In addition, Wyatt masterfully mixed the motion capture with live action to make a visual masterpiece.
8. Bennett Miller-Moneyball: Same type of credit I have David Fincher last year, how do you make a boring subject into an entertaining movie? Like Fincher though, Miller nailed it. Miller earns a special place on this list for me as well for not trying to make the A's look like they actually won something that year, he acknowledged the fact they still only made it to the first round of the playoffs.
7. Alexander Payne-The Descendants: Great blend of drama and comedy, Payne never compromised the tragedy of the film for laughs, and never compromised the laughs to make it overly morbid.
6. JJ Abrams-Super 8: A monster movie that used the monster to set up a terrific story of young children and their bonds. You could tell it was a labor of love for Abrams and in a sense was a monster movie that was semi autobiographical.
5. JC Chandor-Margin Call: A film with no clear lead, a ton of great actors in small performances, and a story about the start of the market crash told over a 24 hour period? No problem for Chandor. He balances everything fantastically and the tension in the movie makes it seem more like a shoot out then a fire-sale.
4. Nicholas Winding Refn-Drive: Jumped up my list at the last minute, but from a directing standpoint, the film was a marvel. Refn used many amazing shots to tell his story, and as I stated in my review of the film, is one of the best shot films since Road to Perdition.
3. David Fincher-Girl with the Dragon Tattoo: Right from the first ten minutes of the film you can tell how amazing Fincher is at his job, and it continues for the next two hours.
2. David Yates-Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2: Yates had a steady hand and was chosen to direct the last few films, they could not have made a better choice. Deathly Hallows as a whole was a great film, and what was left for Part 2 was exciting, and extremely well put together.
1. Michael Hazanavious-The Artist: The Artist is a silent film, that uses the silence as a main story point. Hazanavious took what could simply be a gimmick, and made a terrific film that was extremely well directed. Hazanavious' direction made even the biggest skeptics (me) into believers in The Artist.
-Maximus
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