Best Films of 2012: Part 4

In 2012, there were movie revelations we might have expected and those we really didn’t.

A frontrunner for the latter was Matthew McConaughey, often more famous for showing off his washboard stomach and perfect pecs than his acting ability. But then he astounded with a thesp-triple-play showing off his versatility as a wily district attorney on the trail of Jack Black’s unlikely killer in the comedic mock-doc Bernie then made a chilling turn as a cop who moonlights as a hitman in Killer Joe and all this after donning the leather chaps as the leader of (ironically) an all male stripper troupe in Magic Mike. Phew! No wonder Oscar talk has been brewing ever since.

Much to be expected, though no sure thing, was Michelle Williams who seemed to effortlessly embody the bombshell that was Marilyn Monroe in My Week With Marilyn, an uncanny performance that neatly balanced the sexy star and the vulnerable little girl within. And her co-star Eddie Redmayne proved more than a single threat, revealing an impressive vocal talent in Les Misérables , one of the best of a cast with a mixed vocal range.

In 2012, actors better known for their lighter sides showed their more serious ones and vice versa. Seth Rogen (Knocked Up) and comic Sarah Silverman (School of Rock) were both funny and pathos-fuelled in the dramedy Take This Waltz and Keira Knightley proved that she can be funny – very, even - if given the right material in the under rated rom-com Seeking a Friend for the End of the World.

Aussie comic Rebel Wilson’s stocks in Hollywood rose dramatically thanks to prime, scene stealing performances in The Bachelorette and Pitch Perfect off the back of her breakthrough in 2011’s Bridesmaids.

Her countryman Barry Humphries was also revelatory but for entirely different reasons. Humphries, after popping up as alter ego Dame Edna Everage in Kath & Kimderella was actually in Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit too though you wouldn’t have known it. He played The Goblin King, a kind of atomic toad meets Jabba The Hut but it was all done in motion capture (like Gollum) so he was unrecognizable. What distracted either way was the character’s quaint elongated chin. It had a mind of its own, resembling a jiggling scrotum. Some may say fitting for the man who played cultural attaché Sir Les Patterson.

But back to the most revelatory and to Bernie. My revelatory pick for 2012 is Jack Black’s absorbing performance as Bernie Tiede, a mild-mannered, civic minded funeral director who, pushed beyond even his enduring patience, murdered wealthy widow and town battleaxe Marjorie Nugent (Shirley MacLaine) in cold blood in 1997 in Carthage, Texas. The thing was, Bernie was so nice that none of the townsfolk believed he could have done such a thing.

Under the direction of Richard Linklater who worked with Black on School of Rock, Black showed his mettle as an actor blending understated humour with genuine pathos and made this killer surprisingly multi-layered. I’d never been a fan of the deranged-eyed performances of Black - often as some version of a man-child - but Bernie made me see him in a whole new, very flattering light. It’s one of the standout performances of 2012 and a true revelation.

In the gripping finale, find out which film is my best of 2012!