The Best Films of 2011

Ten-best lists are a game to play with equal amounts of conviction and self-irony. One man’s bests are another woman’s worsts, and anyway, how could a mere ten movies represent a whole movie year? Well, the bad news is they pretty much can because the year has been fairly dismal. The good news is there enough good films for me to list my ten best with more conviction than self-irony.

The best of the best is an easy pick. It’s called A Separation. It’s a genuine masterpiece from Iran, and it starts with a marital separation, then opens up a succession of fissures, chasms and moral dilemmas that define an entire society.

The rest, in alphabetical order are:

The Artist

The Bridesmaids

Buck

The Descendants

Midnight in Paris

Moneyball

Of Gods and Men

The Tree of Life

Young Adult