Best Films of 2012: Part 2

2012 was the year that senior-centric films truly threw down the gauntlet to the youth obsessed product of mainstream Hollywood. Films featuring over 60’s actors playing characters facing aging in a plethora of ways positively teemed and thrived – Judy Dench in Skyfall, Maggie Smith and Billy Connolly in Quartet, Frank Langella in Robot and Frank, Martin Sheen in The Way, Clint Eastwood in Trouble with the Curve and Jane Fonda in And If We All Lived Together among them.

My favourite though was the sleeper hit The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel from director John Madden (Shakespeare in Love). Some may have found elements of it mawkish or contrived but I found the story of a gaggle of seniors (again featuring those go-to Dames Dench and Smith) choosing to live out their winter years in a ramshackle hotel in the exotic city of Jaipur was filled with vibrancy, humour and a joie de vivre that proved that age does not necessarily weary.

Now to the youf films. There’s never a shortage of these year on year. In 2012 The Twilight Saga was sucked dry, The Hunger Games offered a surprisingly violent, sophisticated and anti-altruistic premise and the sci fi anti-superhero cautionary tale Chronicle also proved impressively chilling.

Miley Cyrus teamed up with Demi Moore for the social media laden story of teen love in LOL, Paranormal Activity 4 continued to frighten pants off and teen party hijinks drew audiences in to Project X. Dance films continued to proliferate with Step Up 4: Miami Heat and Streetdance 2 while Pitch Perfect proved popular as a kind of edgier Glee alternative.  

But my winning teen film was 1980’s set The Perks of Being a Wallflower. Stephen Chbosky directed his adaptation of his novel of the same name, the story of an utter high school outsider (Logan Lerman, Percy Jackson)  taken into the fold of a bunch of self-confessed, though edgily cool misfits played by Harry Potter’s Emma Watson and Ezra Miller (City Island).

The totally unconditional inclusiveness these characters employ was heartwarming without being cheesy, and was totally exemplary. Education departments everywhere would do well to put the film and novel on the curriculum as an antidote to bullying.

Next up in Part 3 of The Best Films of 2012, the best films based on true stories.